A Simple Sizing Mistake Turned Me Away From the Brand Before I Even Made My First Purchase back into golf and…
I recently got back into golf and attended an AGO golf outing where I participated in a “Beat the Pro” challenge. I was fortunate enough to beat the pro and win a $300 Bad Birdie gift card. I was genuinely excited to use it, explore the brand, and potentially become a repeat customer. Unfortunately, my experience with Bad Birdie's customer service has completely changed that. I placed an order for several items, including a French Terry Polo in the wrong size. I realized my mistake and promptly contacted customer support (within an hour) to see if the size could be corrected. I wasn't asking for anything unreasonable — just to change the size of a shirt before it shipped. I was initially told that orders could not be changed once confirmed. I then learned that cancellation was not guaranteed and that the shirt was marked Final Sale, meaning I might not be able to return it if the cancellation failed. When I raised this concern, customer support initially told me the item was not marked Final Sale. I had to send a screenshot of the actual product page showing the Final Sale designation before the representative acknowledged the discrepancy and offered an exception for an exchange. I also requested escalation to a supervisor, which required additional back-and-forth. Eventually, a manager named Shaun was able to cancel the order, and I received confirmation that the funds had been returned to their appropriate places. However, when I attempted to place the exact same order again, I discovered that my original 15% discount had changed to 10%. My original order had a $349 subtotal and a $314.45 total after the discount and taxes. The new checkout showed a total of $332.94 — an increase of $18.49 for the same merchandise. At that point, I was simply exhausted by the entire experience. To be fair, the manager did ultimately resolve the cancellation, and I appreciate that. But it should never have taken this much effort to address a straightforward sizing mistake, and the subsequent pricing discrepancy only added to my frustration. The most disappointing part is that I was excited about this brand before any of this happened. I had a $300 gift card that I won through a golf outing, and I had planned to make additional purchases in the future. Now, I'm seriously considering giving the gift card to someone else because I no longer feel interested in associating with the brand. I understand that companies have policies, fulfillment procedures, and final-sale restrictions. What I find disappointing is the lack of a straightforward resolution at the beginning, the conflicting information I received, and the additional complications that followed. I haven't even received or worn a single item from Bad Birdie, yet this experience has been enough to make me reconsider ever purchasing from them. A company has an opportunity to build customer loyalty when someone is excited to try its products for the first time. Unfortunately, my first experience has done the opposite. I hope Bad Birdie takes a closer look at how it handles simple order correction requests and ensures that customers aren't left feeling penalized for trying to resolve an honest mistake.
By David B.