Welcome Pickups or Georges Taxi?

I've used Welcome Pickups in both directions in Athens. Excellent service. English speaking drivers. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

I can tell you that Welcome Pickups in Athens are taxis but the drivers speak English and you pay through the app.

Thank you @ Frank II

We had a bad experience in Paris with Welcome Pickups so I can’t recommend them.
Our flight was delayed 1 hour leaving NY and we texted WP to let them know. The driver texted back (all on what’s app) and replied no problem. When we arrived while waiting for our driver we received an email from WP they were cancelling our car since we took too long. No refund, just a credit. Really? They never had anyone delayed before? We called to get a refund since they cancelled us, but the wouldn’t budge.
Since that experience we book our pick ups through booking.com and we haven’t had a problem. Our Paris trip was in 2023.

We used Welcome Pickups last month in Athens. Was very satisfied with the service. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Just to note, if in the past on these forums there is a complaint about Welcome Pickups, it almost always seems to be about experiences in other countries.

Another vote for welcome pick ups in Athens. Have needed the a couple of times and not disappointed.

My friend used Welcome Pickups in Athens last month and had a really good experience. When we were leaving Athens, she arranged our ride with them to the airport and there were no issues.

Maybe it was just the group in Paris that were unreliable, but we should have been given a refund, not a credit. That was a company decision. For us we wouldn’t use them again.

Thanks to all for the helpful responses! It turns out that Georges Taxi is cash only at the time of service so cannot accommodate prepay, which we want to do for our family. So, Welcome Pickups it is.

Cash only for a taxi (or any business in Greece) is illegal. It doesn't mean that they have to accommodate pre-pay but they certainly have to accept cards as payment.

@ JeanCrete — Well, that is most interesting! Georges Taxi sent this in response to a question about prepayment:

“We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you but payment for transfers is in cash euros.”

And then, highlighted:
“Payment method for the transfers: Cash euros directly to the driver at the end of each transfer.”

That’s very interesting mml, totally illegal to not give you the option to pay by card. As I live in Athens I go to & from the airport more than most as it’s my local airport, mostly I use public transport but on occasion when I’ve needed a taxi because of unsocial hours or more luggage than usual etc I’ve used Welcome Pickups a few times (used them in Santorini too on arrival), always had good service :) I’ve used a couple of other local taxi companies too & always said I’d never use George’s taxi, this has reinforced that decision!

@salnav - Thank you! You have reinforced my decision too.

Welcome pickups definitely doesn’t work for Paris, FR.
Be aware in Athens and make sure that you are dropped off at your hotel/rental address.
We, unfortunately, recommended to friends Welcome Pickups in Athens. The driver left them a block away from well
marked hotel entrance and they were promptly relieved of their iPhones. No evidence to explain “set-up”, but these pick up services aren’t well monitored.

Just to clarify, Welcome Pickups isn't a taxi company. It's a third-party platform based in Athens that helps you pre-book licensed Greek taxis.

To put it in perspective, just as if there's a water leak in a bathroom of a room booked through booking.com it's not Booking.com's fault, if a taxi doesn't drop its passengers off at the exact location they requested that's not Welcome Pickups' responsibility, but rather the taxi driver's.

Some hotels in Athens are located on pedestrian streets that cars can't access. Without naming a specific hotel, one could just as easily assume that the taxi driver couldn't have done better than drop its passengers off as close to the hotel as possible.

Regarding the iPhones being relieved, I'm not sure how that relates to Welcome Pickups.

We have used Welcome Pickups many times in Athens to pre-book a taxi, most often at times or places where there was no public transport. We have never had any problems; the taxis arrived on time and at the exact locations we requested. Occasionally, there has been a change in drivers from the one initially planned, but such updates are clearly communicated through the Welcome Pickups app.

@JoLui - Appreciate your input, thank you.

This was the Electra Palace. The point was simply to warn people about taxi transfers and watching your iPhones. Great advert for Welcome Pickups !

Hi! I have used both in Athens and both were good.

I've used Welcome Transfers several times in Athens and all the experiences have been fantastic. I've used in in Berlin and other places and not had as good an experience, so some of it may be location based

Just home from Greece… Our experience with Welcome Pickups was not perfect but, overall, good. We had booked three transports from ATH into Athens for our family. One group had a flight cancelled from USA to Athens so subsequently there was a change to a smaller vehicle for one transfer plus an additional transfer next day. This change was made seamlessly and an unexpected credit issued promptly. We were the first to arrive and could not find our driver in the arrival hall as indicated. Ultimately, the driver was not the one we were advised to expect, was a tad late and messaged us to meet him in the crosswalk median. It was a bit confusing but ended up fine. One other transport also had the driver message them to meet in the median which was okay because we had given them a heads up. The other two drivers met up in the arrival hall as planned. So, not perfect but we all got to Athens relatively smoothly. Would not hesitate to use Welcome Pickups again.

I've used Welcome Pickups in many cities around the world, including Athens.

The overall experience has been positive. But it's very rare to find the driver holding a sign with my name. Most of the time I get a WhatsApp message from the driver with instructions on where to meet them.

One time (in Cape Town), the line for passport control was so long that the one-hour waiting period expired. I got a message saying I would have to pay a certain amount if I wanted the driver to continue waiting. I agreed, but I never actually got charged.

In Madrid I had a driver no-show at Atocha train station. I called WP and they offered to reimburse me for a taxi and they refunded the ride, plus they gave me a future credit.

So not perfect, but mostly good.