Cheap Lunch/Dessert for Singapore CBD Workers via Xindots – Xindots Review
Xindots – yet another eWallet! I wonder how they came up with their name…
I stumbled upon Xindots a few months ago but only used it for the first time just recently. They seem to sell themselves as a way to skip the queue and order ahead and it seems like they primarily partner with hawker stalls. Massive caveat though – at the time of writing, all their merchants appear to be in the CBD, so if you don’t frequent the CBD, this deal won’t be too attractive to you.
I’m posting about Xindots because of two concurrent promotions.
- 5x $2 off your meal, usable once a day (but I’ve just tried using a second promo and it lets me? It’s possible it will be rejected upon checkout) – Deal Rating: 8/10
- $2 promo code for every meal experience you review on Xindots – Deal Rating: 8.5/10
However, using the app on an ongoing basis? Deal Rating: 5/10 – with the main advantage, in my eyes, being the ability to pay using a Credit Card at hawker stalls that are usually cash only. I think it would be a stretch to say FavePay/GrabPay are common at hawker stalls, but certainly not unheard of, so these options, if available, would be preferable in the absence of Xindots promotions, given the ability to earn cashback + points.
5x $2 off your Meal
The price of food at hawker stalls tends to fluctuate between $1 and $10, where $2 is something like “economic bee hoon” and $10 is the salmon option at the pseudo-Western stall.
Generally, a range of $3-6 is probably more realistic.
I dined at Hong Lim, at “Da Mu Zhi”, or 手工面家 in Chinese (first time writing Chinese on The Bulging Wallet?!), located at shop #02-34. My $4 Dry Chicken Cutlet Noodles ended up being $2 after applying the $2 promo.
You can only use one $2 off promo at a time. There is wording on the “Promo” section of the app below each of the $2 promocodes which states, “Each voucher can be used once a day”. It’s not entirely clearly worded, so here is my interpretation of what this could mean:
- Realistic: You can only use 1x $2 off code per day, but I just tried applying a second one and it works…? It doesn’t mean it can’t get rejected at checkout though.
* Hopeful, but literally what it says: you can actually use each $2 voucher once per day until it expires
Confirming that only 1x $2 promo code can be used per day. As mentioned, the app doesn’t stop you from applying a $2 promo code to your hypothetical second order of the day, but it will be rejected at checkout. This is really irritating. Why can’t it be configured so that it doesn’t let you apply the promo code to your hypothetical second order at all? Ironically, as a result of not being able to use the promo code, I ended up using their competitor, FavePay, at this merchant because I wanted GrabRewards points + cashback, and there is no incentive to use Xindots if there is no promotion.
Update 27 Feb 2019 – Actually, Xindots can have the last laugh. I could’ve still used Xindots to order and reviewed my food, giving me another $2 meal for my next meal, effectively being a $2 discount as opposed to a measly 10% cashback via Fave. Whoops.
The promo codes seem to be valid for one week. I registered on 25 Feb, and my promo codes are valid until 4 Mar 2019.
$2 Promo Code per Xindots in-app Meal Review until 28 Feb
I’ve got to this deal a little late too, so I apologise! I’m hopeful that this helps at least one person…
For each order you make via Xindots, take a photo of your order and leave a review. For every review you complete, you will receive a $2 promo code “within the next working day”. Each review is linked to an order, so you can’t leave an order for a restaurant unless you have ordered from them. Source: Tried it after paying at a Xindots merchants with FavePay (see my experience at the bottom of the deal above).
As part of the meal I ordered from Da Mu Zhi, I left a review, so let’s see if this $2 promo code comes through. A couple of the comments on the Facebook post suggest people aren’t necessarily receiving it promptly, but it also appears that Xindots are pretty proactive in replying to the comments, so I’m not overly concerned. Maybe allow for a bit more than the stated “one working day” though.
Concluding Thoughts
In all honesty, I can’t see myself using Xindots unless there are promotions. I know that they are trying to sell themselves as saving you time by being able to order ahead of time and essentially “skipping the queue”, but there are so many hawker stalls with no lines that I’d be perfectly happy dining at. On the bright side, they don’t surcharge for using their app. On second thoughts, it would be extremely silly for them to. I barely find it attractive enough to use the app without promos, so they’d be instantly losing me as a customer if they started surchaging.
In any case, they are clearly still in start up mode, so I’m going to enjoy the promos while they last.
