1 reviews | Active since Mar 2016
Webtickets: A Masterclass in How Not to Support a Paying Customer
Attempting to renew an annual Kirstenbosch membership via Webtickets is an exercise in frustration that would be funny if it weren’t so utterly dysfunctional.
It starts with a website that simply does not allow you to renew. The relevant page sends you in circles, offers no clear renewal pathway, and provides zero guidance on what should be a routine, annual transaction. There is an obvious “renew membership” function that just doesn't work — just dead ends and ambiguity.
When the website fails (as it inevitably does), you’re pushed toward an online assistant, which is little more than someone with a scripted dead-end. She cannot answer basic questions, cannot escalate the issue meaningfully, and appears entirely incapable of dealing with anything that falls outside the most trivial of scenarios.
Escalation to telephone support offers no relief. I spoke to two different agents, neither of whom could explain:
how to renew an existing Kirstenbosch membership,
whether it is even possible through Webtickets,
or what a customer is supposed to do when the system doesn’t work.
Both calls ended with variations of “we don’t handle that” or vague redirection — with no ownership, no solution, and no follow-up.
This raises a very simple and uncomfortable question: How does one actually renew a Kirstenbosch annual membership?
If the website can’t do it, the online assistant can’t help, and the call centre has no answers, then Webtickets has fundamentally failed at one of its most basic responsibilities: enabling customers to give you money for a legitimate, recurring product.
For a platform entrusted with ticketing and memberships for one of South Africa’s flagship national attractions, this level of incompetence is frankly unacceptable.
Until Webtickets fixes:
a broken renewal flow,
useless automated assistance,
and under-trained support staff,
customers should be warned that something as simple as a membership renewal may turn into a multi-channel, time-wasting ordeal with no resolution.
Deeply disappointing.
Thank you for bringing the above to our attention.
We note that you have been in contact with our Support Team via the WhatsApp chatline, who advised that the membership you previously held is no longer available for renewing, as SANBI has since loaded new memberships onto our system. As a result, you are required to book one of the newly available membership options.
We further note that you have renewed your membership via our website.
Best regards,
Webtickets Team
Thank you for bringing the above to our attention.
We note that you have been in contact with our Support Team via the WhatsApp chatline, who advised that the membership you previously held is no longer available for renewing, as SANBI has since loaded new memberships onto our system. As a result, you are required to book one of the newly available membership options.
We further note that you have renewed your membership via our website.
Best regards,
Webtickets Team
Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately, it fails entirely to address the substantive issues raised in my complaint. Your response reads more like a scripted brush-off than an attempt to resolve the actual problem.
To be clear:
- My complaint was not about the availability of “new memberships” but about the complete dysfunction of your renewal process for existing members. The website is broken, the online assistant is useless, and your call centre staff are unable to provide guidance. These are process failures, not individual misunderstandings.
- Stating that I “have renewed via your website” is misleading. Any renewal I was able to achieve was only after hours of frustration, confusion, and dead-end interactions, which is exactly what I highlighted in my complaint. The fact that a transaction eventually went through does not excuse the systemic failings that made it needlessly difficult.
- Your response does not explain why a routine, annual membership renewal cannot be completed easily or intuitively, nor does it indicate any measures you will take to fix the broken flow, retrain staff, or improve the online assistant. These failures reflect a fundamental lack of accountability and customer care.
This is not a matter of semantics or “new membership options.” This is about your company’s inability to deliver on a core service, and your response demonstrates that the problem is still unresolved. I expect that fellow readers (and me, for that matter) would have probably expected an explanation of how Webtickets intends to prevent this ordeal for other members going forward, and clear guidance for existing members who want to renew without repeated frustration and wasted time.
Anything less is unacceptable.
Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately, it fails entirely to address the substantive issues raised in my complaint. Your response reads more like a scripted brush-off than an attempt to resolve the actual problem.
To be clear:
- My complaint was not about the availability of “new memberships” but about the complete dysfunction of your renewal process for existing members. The website is broken, the online assistant is useless, and your call centre staff are unable to provide guidance. These are process failures, not individual misunderstandings.
- Stating that I “have renewed via your website” is misleading. Any renewal I was able to achieve was only after hours of frustration, confusion, and dead-end interactions, which is exactly what I highlighted in my complaint. The fact that a transaction eventually went through does not excuse the systemic failings that made it needlessly difficult.
- Your response does not explain why a routine, annual membership renewal cannot be completed easily or intuitively, nor does it indicate any measures you will take to fix the broken flow, retrain staff, or improve the online assistant. These failures reflect a fundamental lack of accountability and customer care.
This is not a matter of semantics or “new membership options.” This is about your company’s inability to deliver on a core service, and your response demonstrates that the problem is still unresolved. I expect that fellow readers (and me, for that matter) would have probably expected an explanation of how Webtickets intends to prevent this ordeal for other members going forward, and clear guidance for existing members who want to renew without repeated frustration and wasted time.
Anything less is unacceptable.