Tiqets is a popular ticket booking platform for museums, tours, and attractions worldwide. As a frequent traveler, I often seek convenient e-ticket solutions to skip long lines and secure bookings on the go.
Tiqets promises exactly that. Instant mobile tickets and even 24/7 customer support to assist whenever needed. On paper, it sounds ideal for travelers who might face last-minute plan changes or booking issues. But does Tiqets’ customer service truly live up to expectations when things go awry?
This review dives into the support quality and responsiveness of Tiqets, exploring real user experiences, both good and bad, to see how the company handles booking errors, refunds, delayed confirmations, and other hiccups on the road.
Booking Convenience When All Goes Well
First, it’s important to acknowledge that many travelers have smooth, hassle-free experiences with Tiqets. The platform boasts an excellent overall rating on major review sites, suggesting that when everything goes right, customers are happy.
Tiqets holds a 4.3/5 TrustScore on Trustpilot from over 50,000 reviews , with roughly 80% of users rating their experience as “excellent”. On the Google Play Store the Tiqets app even averages 4.8 stars (from 47K reviews) , indicating widespread satisfaction.
Travelers often praise how easy and convenient the app is for booking tickets. For example, one recent Trustpilot reviewer said it was “super easy and convenient to use. No hassle at the gates” and they “wouldn’t hesitate to use Tiqets again”. This mirrors many first-time experiences, like a traveler’s account of their first Tiqets booking, which showed just how simple and reliable the process can be.
Having all your attraction tickets instantly on your phone is a major perk, especially for spontaneous trips. In my own experience, Tiqets’ interface is intuitive – you can discover attractions in a city, read fellow traveler reviews, and purchase tickets in minutes.
When no complications arise, Tiqets delivers on its promise of hassle-free, paperless tickets. I’ve walked straight into museums by scanning my phone, bypassing ticket queues, a real time-saver.
Customer service is often a moot point on these smooth trips, simply because you don’t need to contact support at all. This perhaps explains the abundance of 5-star reviews focusing on convenience and skipping lines, with little mention of support (many users never had to test it).
Tiqets even touts that it provides “instant and mobile tickets… hassle-free entrance” as part of its mission. Indeed, for the majority of travelers who faced no snags, Tiqets worked exactly as expected: book, show up, and enjoy your experience.
However, the true measure of any travel service is how it performs when things don’t go perfectly. It’s when you encounter a problem – a booking error, a cancellation, a delay – that a company’s support quality really matters.
In the sections that follow, we’ll shift from the rosy seamless scenarios to those “uh-oh” moments where customers needed help from Tiqets’ support. This is where the experiences start to diverge sharply from the glowing first impressions.
Support Availability: 24/7 Promise vs. Reality
Tiqets advertises that its customer service team is available “24/7 via chat, email and WhatsApp”. In theory, this around-the-clock support in multiple languages should be a lifesaver for travelers in different time zones facing urgent issues.
For example, if you’re standing outside an attraction with an invalid ticket or a question, you’d expect a quick response any time of day.
In practice, travelers report mixed experiences with Tiqets’ responsiveness. On the positive side, some users have successfully reached out via the live chat or email and gotten the help they needed.
The company’s own data shows they “typically reply within 24 hours” and have replied to 96% of negative Trustpilot reviews , indicating they do monitor customer feedback.
I’ve noticed that Tiqets’ support will often publicly respond to app store and Play Store reviews, inviting users to contact their 24/7 help for further assistance. This suggests an active support team ready to step in – at least in follow-up.
That said, many travelers have found the “24/7” claim doesn’t always equate to immediate or effective help. A number of users complain that it’s difficult to reach a real human quickly.
One Reddit user bluntly described that “the promised 24/7 customer service was nonexistent; automated responses left me without assistance in time to resolve my situation”, and only after four hours did Tiqets finally email back – too late to fix the problem.
By then, the traveler had missed their chance to use the tickets. Similarly, on a consumer complaint forum, a frustrated customer wrote “Zero customer service available at all… Tried to contact, but there’s literally no way to communicate with a real person”, after an urgent ticket mistake that cost them over $500.
The absence of a responsive support agent in the moment of need is a recurring theme in negative reviews.
Live Chat & Bots:
Several users describe the live chat system as unhelpful, often manned by bots or scripted agents.
One traveler recounted that the “customer service on live chat was]absolutely abysmal” – the agent provided copy-paste answers with “no customer empathy”.
This person was anxiously trying to confirm a rebooking for a family trip to Disneyland Paris, but the chat agent simply kept insisting on a refund for the new order rather than helping salvage the holiday plans.
The user felt the agent was avoiding questions and giving irrelevant info, ultimately escalating the issue without resolution. This kind of scripted interaction (perhaps an AI chatbot or a strict protocol) can be infuriating when you need creative or urgent solutions.
Phone Support (or Lack Thereof):
Unlike some competitors, Tiqets does not prominently advertise a customer support phone number. They do list a phone line to their Amsterdam office in some places , but multiple travelers report that “no contact number” is effectively available for immediate help.
One reviewer noted “Contact number does not work. I was not able to make [the] tour in time”, and they could not reach anyone to assist. In short, if you prefer speaking to a human by phone, Tiqets might disappoint – you’ll be funneled into digital channels.
WhatsApp and Email:
Tiqets does offer WhatsApp support and email. Email responses tend to be slower (often a few hours or a day). WhatsApp could be handy for quick text communication, but again it likely connects you to the same support agents/chat system.
A few users on Trustpilot did mention eventually getting issues resolved via email after initial chat failures, but by then their immediate issue (like finding a tour guide or entering an attraction) had passed.
Overall, the expectation of round-the-clock, quick support meets a more sobering reality: Tiqets’ support can be slow or hard to reach precisely when you need it most.
This doesn’t mean they never help – many customers do get responses and resolutions, just not always with the urgency a traveler might hope for. As one independent review summarized, “customer service may be hard to reach sometimes” , and difficulty contacting support is one of Tiqets’ notable cons.
Booking Errors and Confirmation Delays
Mistakes happen – especially when booking travel in a hurry. I was curious how Tiqets deals with user errors (like booking the wrong date or location) and system issues (like delayed ticket confirmations). Unfortunately, many travelers report that Tiqets shows little flexibility in these situations.
One common scenario is booking the wrong tickets by accident. Because Tiqets lists many venues and options, it’s possible to click the wrong one. A traveler on Reviews.io shared a story of purchasing Sea Life Aquarium tickets for Porto, Portugal instead of Puerto Marina, Spain due to the similar name.
Realizing the mistake at the aquarium, they had to buy new tickets on-site and then asked Tiqets for a refund of the unused ones. Tiqets’ response? Sorry, all tickets are non-refundable – even though this was an honest mistake. The customer service refused any help, essentially saying it was the user’s fault for not seeing the no-refund policy.
The aquarium staff themselves said if the booking had been direct, they’d have made an exception for such a mix-up, but through Tiqets, their hands were tied.
The user lamented that Tiqets offered no sympathy or solution, concluding “Lesson learned: Never use Tiqets… if something goes wrong they will not help. Book direct; you are much more likely to be treated sympathetically if something unexpected goes wrong.”
This underscores a key expectation gap – travelers assume an intermediary like Tiqets might assist with changes, but in reality Tiqets often sticks rigidly to policy.
Another user on Google Play warned about a glitch leading to double booking. They ordered one ticket (knowing it was non-refundable), but the app issued two tickets and charged twice.
Tiqets’ support insisted that their system showed two orders and refused a refund for the duplicate, effectively blaming the customer. “It was a €10 lesson. Don’t use Tiqets,” the reviewer wrote. Tiqets replied with a generic apology and asked them to contact 24/7 support (ironically, the very support that had already wasted the user’s time).
This kind of system error combined with poor support resolution is a red flag – while not extremely common, it can happen, and the company’s response left the traveler eating the cost.
Delayed or Missing Confirmations have also caused panic for some. Normally, Tiqets sends your ticket (QR code or voucher) instantly to the app and email.
But in a few cases, confirmations were delayed or lost. One PissedConsumer review noted “I didn’t receive any ticket confirmation or QR code and I could not reach them on their customer service link” after paying. Imagine being charged for tickets but not having anything to show at the venue – and no quick way to contact support.
Another user had a similar issue with a payment showing as taken but the order “not confirmed” in the system. In that Trustpilot review, the customer proactively contacted live chat when no confirmation email arrived for a Disneyland ticket rebooking.
The support agent’s solution was simply to cancel and refund the new order, rather than help push through the confirmation. While they did get their money back, this left the family uncertain and scrambling last-minute for replacement tickets.
Such stories highlight that Tiqets may not always resolve technical snags in a traveler-friendly way – the default is often to refund (eventually) rather than ensure you still get to do your activity as planned.
From these examples, it seems Tiqets handles booking hiccups very by-the-book: if the system says non-refundable, they rarely budge; if a confirmation fails, they might just void the transaction.
There’s a lack of proactive problem-solving (like calling the venue, or rebooking you for a later slot the same day) which some traditional travel agents or more service-oriented platforms might attempt.
For a traveler, this can be frustrating – you’d hope an intermediary would smooth out mistakes, not leave you high and dry.
Refunds, Cancellations and Last-Minute Surprises
Travel plans aren’t always set in stone. Flights get canceled, attractions close unexpectedly, or personal emergencies arise. Tiqets’ approach to refunds and last-minute changes is a critical aspect of their service experience – and one that draws significant criticism.
Refund Policy Reality: Officially, Tiqets allows refunds only in specific cases. If you buy their added “free cancellation” option for your ticket (for an extra fee), you can cancel by a certain deadline for a refund. Some venues on Tiqets also permit cancellation up to 24-72 hours in advance, but many tickets are marked non-refundable.
The fine print is that without the cancellation add-on or a venue’s flexible policy, “refunds can be an option… but they aren’t a given”. In practice, many users report difficulty getting refunds even when they feel it’s justified.
For instance, one reviewer recounted “We couldn’t receive our money back when we canceled the tour. They never refund money in any circumstances. Never buy tickets on this platform.”
This might be an extreme take (surely Tiqets has refunded some people in some circumstances), but it reflects the perception among unhappy customers that Tiqets is very inflexible with refunds.
Another traveler shared that Tiqets sold them tickets for a day when the museum was actually closed, and after discovering the error, the customer tried three times to get help. “They are ignoring me now. Terrible customer service. BEWARE!” that user wrote.
Selling tickets for a closed venue date is a serious lapse; at minimum one would expect an immediate apology and refund. The fact that the customer felt ignored suggests a breakdown in basic service recovery.
Venue Cancellations & Schedule Changes:
Sometimes the attraction or tour operator makes a change – how does Tiqets handle that? Not too gracefully, it seems. Multiple users complain of last-minute cancellations or changes communicated poorly.
One TripAdvisor (Trustpilot) review describes Tiqets notifying them just 50 minutes before a scheduled church visit in Venice that their order was canceled. They did receive an automatic refund in that case, but their day’s plans were ruined, and due to currency exchange they got back about €8 less than they paid.
Another user had a tour of Sagrada Familia canceled at the last minute due to “technical issues”, and only one of their two tickets was canceled. This “half-cancellation” spoiled the experience for a pair of friends.
Tiqets made them wait “a few weeks” for the refund of the one ticket, which the user called “shameful”. It’s understandable that technical glitches occur, but the slow refund and lack of compensation left a bitter taste.
Even worse are cases where the schedule changes and customers never get the memo. A detailed account on Reviews.io tells how a family’s guided tour tickets for a Krakow attraction became invalid because the local partner changed the meeting time by an hour without proper notice.
The Tiqets voucher didn’t clearly instruct that the customer needed to meet a guide to exchange for actual tickets, so they tried scanning the app tickets at the original time – only to be denied entry. The Tiqets chat support (a “robot-employee” as the user calls it) initially didn’t even know about the schedule change and kept suggesting pointless re-scans.
By the time Tiqets acknowledged the issue (blaming an “unknown venue partner”), the travelers had already bought new tickets at the door to avoid missing the attraction. Tiqets promised a refund for the original tickets due to the mix-up, but later refused to refund claiming the customers missed the tour (shifting blame onto them for not receiving the schedule change email).
This family ended up paying twice for a tour, and described Tiqets’ behavior as “trickery” and “a TACTIC they use on many others… You have no one to talk to or find a real solution… all their explanations are FAKE!!!”.
That’s an extreme example, but it encapsulates how a simple rescheduling can snowball into a nightmare when customer support fails to manage it properly.
Even when the cause is outside Tiqets’ control – say, a natural event – customers expect honesty and help. A recent 1-star review noted Tiqets kept selling tickets to Mount Vesuvius knowing the park was closed due to wildfires, unlike other agencies which stopped sales.
Tiqets provided “absolutely NO warning” and then refused immediate refunds when travelers discovered they couldn’t visit. The company said they’d “analyze” the refund request after the weekend, leaving the customers stranded and incurring extra costs waiting in vain.
Understandably, the reviewer was outraged, calling it “shameless exploitation”. This illustrates a disconnect between traveler expectations and Tiqets’ actions – one would expect a proactive alert or at least a no-questions refund for something like a wildfire closure, not bureaucratic delay.
To be fair, not every change ends badly. Some users have gotten quick refunds when venues canceled. Tiqets’ policy does state if the supplier can’t provide the tickets, they may cancel within 48 hours of booking with a refund. But the way those cancellations are handled (short notice, lack of help rebooking something else, etc.) often disappoints travelers.
As a frequent traveler, I know that flexibility and understanding from customer service are crucial when plans crumble. This is a major area where Tiqets is often found lacking, according to numerous personal accounts.
Real Traveler Feedback
No review would be complete without directly hearing from those who’ve used Tiqets. Let’s highlight a few representative voices from across the web that show both the strengths and weaknesses of Tiqets’ customer service:
- Excellent experience, no issues. Many users on forums and social media vouch that Tiqets is legit and safe. One Reddit traveler said they used Tiqets for the Vatican Museums and “no issues, quite an excellent experience”. Others have echoed that they had “no problems at all using them” and found the process easy. These folks likely never needed to contact support – a silent success from Tiqets’ perspective.
- Responsive and helpful in some cases. There are anecdotes of Tiqets support stepping up: e.g., one Trustpilot reviewer mentioned “great help in obtaining our Lisboa travel pass ahead of time”, saying they received it with minimal hassle at the airport. Another 5-star reviewer thanked Tiqets after a guide made their tour special – not directly about support, but it shows Tiqets can connect you with quality local operators. It’s worth noting Tiqets has local partners for tours, and when those partners are good, the experience reflects well.
- They changed my booking without asking. On the flip side, a user named Teodora reported a litany of issues: higher prices than the venue, useless customer support, and worst of all “they changed my booking without asking, completely messing up my schedule… Frustrating and unprofessional”. Having your plans altered without consent is a serious complaint – it suggests poor coordination between Tiqets and their tour operators, and support failing to mitigate the impact on the customer.
- Terrible customer service. BEWARE! This sharp warning from a user who was sold tickets for closed museums is a sentiment echoed in various wording by others. Phrases like “useless customer support”, “they will not help”, “no one to talk to”, and “run FAR AWAY” appear in multiple independent reviews and complaint forums. For a company with a largely positive overall rating, it’s telling that the minority who had issues often describe support quality in really harsh terms. It implies those bad experiences were genuinely aggravating.
- Got no priority despite priority tickets. Another complaint (Leanne’s review) noted “We purchased priority tickets and got no priority – waited 3 hours in line”. While this is more about product expectation, it becomes a customer service issue if you seek a refund or explanation. If support doesn’t remediate (and it appears they did not, in that case), it leaves a feeling of being misled.
- Developer/Company Responses: On platforms like the App Store and Play Store, Tiqets’ team often replies to negative reviews apologetically, sometimes with an explanation. For instance, one user complained a 5% off deal still ended up pricier than the official site (feeling “scammed”), to which Tiqets responded about how prices can vary with availability and that they’ll “ensure transparency for future bookings”. In another case of a last-minute cancellation, Tiqets apologized for the inconvenience and refund delay, saying “we understand how frustrating this can be… thank you for your patience”. These responses are polite, but they sometimes ring hollow if the core issue (like the refund taking weeks) isn’t proactively fixed. Still, it shows Tiqets is aware of the complaints and at least attempts to address them publicly.
In summary of user feedback, the pattern is clear: Tiqets excels when everything goes as planned, but it falters when customers need special assistance. Travelers expect that a service which charges a premium (often Tiqets adds a small markup over direct ticket prices) will in return provide premium customer support – but in many cases, expectations have not been met.
Expectations vs. Actual Service Delivered
Going into using Tiqets, a traveler might expect the following: a convenient one-stop app for tickets, slightly higher prices or fees in exchange for peace of mind, and support that has your back if something goes wrong on your trip.
Tiqets certainly fulfills the convenience factor – it’s incredibly easy to discover and book experiences, even last-minute. On that front, it often exceeds expectations, allowing spontaneous travelers to snag tickets they might otherwise miss.
It also provides useful info like maps for meeting points and venue tips in-app (some Reddit users noted Tiqets gives you maps to find ticket pickup locations, which helped them in places like Rome). So in terms of the product functionality, many travelers find Tiqets delivers what it promises.
Where the expectation vs reality gap widens is in the customer service and support realm. The expectation: “If my plans shift unexpectedly – say my flight is delayed and I’ll miss my timed entry slot – Tiqets’ customer service can help rebook or refund”.
The reality for many: support might quote policy and say “too bad,” or not respond until it’s too late to do anything. The expectation: “They’re selling me a ticket, so it must be valid and the event must be on”.
Reality: occasionally tickets are sold for unavailable slots or closed days , and then you have to fight for a refund. The expectation: “24/7 support means I can get help instantly”. Reality: you often get a chatbot or scripted agent who may not solve the problem in time.
Frequent travelers like me also expect a certain empathy from travel service providers – recognizing that travel can be chaotic and bending the rules a bit to help a customer can build loyalty. Some Tiqets users did experience empathetic service, but quite a few felt “no empathy” from customer support.
In fairness, part of this disconnect is that Tiqets is an intermediary. They rely on the actual tour operators and venues to deliver the experience. If those partners are uncooperative or slow (for instance, delaying confirmation or refusing refund exceptions), Tiqets’ hands may be tied beyond a refund. But travelers don’t care about those behind-the-scenes nuances – they want the company they paid to take responsibility.
On this count, Tiqets meets expectations when delivering the ticket, but falls short when service is truly tested. As one review site neatly summarized: “Most users ask Tiqets for a refund as a solution to their issues. Consumers are not pleased with [the] Exchange/Refund policy and Customer service…”.
Ultimately, the actual service delivered by Tiqets is a mixed bag. If you go in expecting flawless execution every time, you might be 9 times satisfied and on the 10th time (when something happens) be deeply disappointed. If you expect limited support and treat Tiqets as a self-service tool, you’ll be less surprised when you’re on your own in a pinch.
Strengths and Weaknesses
To wrap up the review, here’s a quick overview of where Tiqets’ customer service shines and where it struggles, especially from a frequent traveler’s perspective:
Strengths:
- Convenience: The app and website are user-friendly, offering instant tickets and skip-the-line access that many travelers love. You can book on the go and avoid language barriers or sold-out situations by booking through Tiqets ahead of time. When everything goes smoothly, there’s no need for support – and that’s a win.
- Multi-Channel Support: In theory, Tiqets provides 24/7 support via live chat, email, and even WhatsApp, plus FAQs in multiple languages. This is great in principle, allowing customers to reach out in various ways. For straightforward issues (like needing an email re-sent), these channels can work fine.
- Global Coverage: As a traveler, it’s nice to have one service that covers attractions in 500+ destinations worldwide. Tiqets having local partnerships means they often have tickets even when official sites are confusing or sold out. The breadth of offerings and the ability to read reviews of attractions in-app can enhance the travel planning experience.
- Public Responsiveness: Tiqets actively monitors platforms like Trustpilot, App Store, and Google Play and often responds to reviews (especially negative ones) within a day. This indicates they are listening to feedback and at least making an effort to maintain their reputation. If you leave a negative review publicly, chances are they’ll reach out to try to resolve your issue, which can be a back-door way to get attention if private support channels aren’t helping.
Weaknesses:
- Responsiveness in Emergencies: Numerous reports indicate that “24/7 support” isn’t truly 24/7 in practice. Response times can be slow (hours, not minutes) and often it’s too late to fix on-the-spot problems. There is no reliable hotline for urgent issues, and the live chat can feel like talking to a wall of scripted replies.
- Lack of Empathy/Flexibility: Tiqets support tends to stick to policy. If tickets are non-refundable, agents rarely make exceptions, even for genuine mistakes or unforeseen events (illness, delays, etc.). Stories of support saying flatly “no, you can’t amend” even in extenuating circumstances abound. This rigidness is frustrating when travelers are pleading for a little understanding – be it moving a time slot by an hour or refunding a duplicate charge.
- Communication Gaps: There have been cases of poor communication about changes – customers not being informed of time changes or cancellations in a timely manner. Some only found out at the venue or by chance. When Tiqets does send notifications, they can come very last-minute. This undermines trust, since travelers expect the booking platform to keep them updated.
- Refund Process: If you are owed a refund, prepare to be patient. While simple cancellations might be processed quickly, more complicated cases (partial refunds, disputes) can drag on. One user noted their refund took weeks. Others had to chase support repeatedly to get money back for things like closed venues or invalid tickets. Tiqets’ general stance that “no free refunds” (without the paid add-on) means you shouldn’t bank on getting your money back unless clearly eligible – and even then, you may need to fight for it.
- Pricing and Partners Issues: A side note – some travelers feel they paid more through Tiqets for no added benefit (e.g. “priority” tickets that gave no priority, or package deals that weren’t as advertised). When they complained, support basically said nothing could be done. Also, if a local partner fails to deliver (a no-show tour guide, a misinformation on meeting point), Tiqets tends to defer blame to the partner rather than immediately refunding or compensating the customer. As a user, that distinction doesn’t help – you expect Tiqets to handle the partner on your behalf.
Summary of the Customer Service Experience
Tiqets offers a highly convenient service for buying attraction tickets, but its customer service quality is a tale of two extremes.
For the vast majority of straightforward bookings, you’ll likely never need to contact support – and you’ll come away praising how easy everything was. In those cases, Tiqets meets or even exceeds traveler expectations by removing stress from travel planning.
This is reflected in thousands of positive reviews about the smooth booking process and enjoyable experiences.
However, the real test of Tiqets, how they handle issues, reveals notable weaknesses. When faced with booking errors, urgent changes, or problems with a ticket, Tiqets often falls short of the level of support an experienced traveler would hope for.
Response times can lag when immediacy is needed, refund policies are strict unless you paid extra for flexibility, and customers sometimes feel like they’re talking to indifferent or automated agents rather than a helpful human.
While Tiqets isn’t outright fraudulent (it’s a legitimate service used by millions), these service shortcomings can make a bad situation worse during your travels. In essence, if everything goes right you’ll love Tiqets, but if something goes wrong, you might be on your own.
For a frequent traveler used to high-touch service, Tiqets’ reactive and policy-bound approach can be disappointing. Expectations of seamless support and “we’ll fix it” attitude often clash with the reality of scripted apologies and “nothing we can do” replies. f you’re wondering how Tiqets stacks up against alternatives, this comparison with GetYourGuide highlights the key differences in booking experience and support quality.
That said, Tiqets’ high overall ratings indicate that most trips don’t encounter issues – it’s a bit of a lottery, and many people never draw the short straw of a trip-up. This mixed performance means Tiqets’ customer service earns both praise and criticism in equal measure, and it’s important to go in with eyes open.
