Super frustrated with The Officials Choice
 

I have tried and tried to get my order sent to me from these guys. No response to e-mails, the customer service voice mail box is full, and of course they have charged my credit card. Anyone got any advice on how to proceed? Has anyone else been jacked around by these clowns??

Easy. Don't order from them anymore.

I had one bad experience. I said that I was going to call the Better Business Bureau and I got a call from the owner the next day.

I haven't spent a penny there since. Shop at ump-attire...it might cost you a little more from time to time, but their customer service is top shelf.

I will say I tried to exchange something with them and after going so long without hearing anything from them I tried contacting them to no avail. But lo and behold about 6 months later it did finally magically show up with no explanation.

Their prices are good, but their service sucks, their shipping costs suck, and their products are so-so on a good day. You can get better products and better service for not much more money elsewhere.

I went through Referee's Call on my last purchase. Price was great, and the shipping was great ($10 regardless). Big time recommend.

Seeing that you're new here, I'll be nice with the answer.

Yeah. Like, everyone who's ever ordered from them.

Having dealt with them for a while now, here's the tricks I've learned. First, never expect an order to be filled by a certain time. If you need something by a certain date, specify it. "I need this by 12 December, or don't process my order. Can you do it?" Me, I order and forget it.

They advertise stuff with an expected arrival date. Never expect that's correct. They're betting on a shippment from the overseas supplier. That rarely happens on time.

If they took half the advice I've given them over the years, they'd own the market. Alas, they make one step forward, and two step back every time. It's a shame.

I'd make a call to your credit card company tomorrow morning. They'll make it right.

I've had great service every time from both Ump-Attire.com and Honig's Whistle Stop.
Neither place is paying me to say this either.

Ordered the "Limit of 1 each" pants from them (Official's Choice) 3 times. Got 3 plates and 3 base.
Perfect service. VERY promt shipping. VERY VERY good price.
I spoke live to them each time to place order.
Then I called and asked if they were going to get more and had no trouble getting a live answer (Which, unfortunately, was no,)

I have NO stake in this - just passing on historic facts.

They sell pants? I just went to their website, and could only find shirts.

I've only ordered a couple of things from them. I do a lot of girls fastpitch softball, and I wanted a couple of the pink umpire shirts to wear in the month of October, and when high school teams have their cancer awareness games in the spring. The shirts came in with no issues that I can recall.

For most stuff I buy online, I've used Purchase Officials. I've been pretty satisfied with their Smittys line of products.

A good friend of mine owns this business. I don't know how he stacks up against his competitors, but I can vouch for his honesty and his dedication to service.

The Sports Loft: Home

They did have pants - May have been a one time thing as they told me they were sold out and no plans of stocking soon.
They were the poly / wool like Honig's premiums except they were about $20.00. Hands down best value i've ever gotten. In fact, I use the Honig's so the discount was a bonus. They were a slightly darker color.

Okay, now I'm starting to get frustrated with Official's Choice as well. I've received three emails today alone spamming me about sales for whistles, basketball referee shirts, and football elastic down indicators. Hello?? Look at my order history and figure out what I officiate!

You're not seriously comparing the pants OC was selling to the polywools are you?

Why not? They are, in fact polywool. They are a little darker (almost charcoal) but other than that very very similay. The stitching was virtually identical. The material was slightly less heavy (not a derternt at all) and actually held a crease better and the material did not fur ball at all which the Honig does.

Those pants were inferior to real polywools in every way. They are not charcoal, they are almost black. (The Honig's and UA polywools are actually charcoal) I have seen no Official's Choice products that are superior to any of the big supplier's gear in baseball or basketball. (Honig's, UA, Smitty, etc)

The Honig's/Hardick pants "fur ball" if you throw them in the washing machine and dryer. Dry clean them, as directed, and they stay sharp.

The OC pants aren't uniform in color. We wear uniforms. If everyone is wearing them, and that goes for the Davis pants too, fine. If not, the OC pants really stick out as being a different color.

I've been round-n-round with the OC owner about this. From what I can gleen, he tries to order stuff from his off shore suppiers that matches other brands. They fail, and then he says he wants to set the market, not follow it.

First it was ill fitting, gigantic shirts. Then the stripes were too big, and the buttons were the "wrong" color. Their light blue shirts matched nothing on the market. The camo shirts, which had potential, were hunter's camo, and not military digital (which would have made him a fortune, IMO). The ball bags had inside pockets so big, balls could get stuck in them.

But he made one product that cinched it for me that he didn't know his customer: Light blue ball bags. Can you imagine what they'd look like after a game?

Then pile on that long gap in shipping time. The web site that rarely gets updated, etc. It just got old.

All of my pants are professionally dry cleaned only and as a matter of fact, my shirts go to the cleaners also.

I was not complaining about the Honig, but fact is the "balling" is only noticable with them and not the the OC pants.

You brought up size also. That was my only complaint about OC pants. The BASE pants are a little too thin in the leg for me. I still have a pair that I wear.

Why would anyone buy a camoflauge umpire shirt?

Gerry Davis has barely updated his website in 5 years, yet most enjoy his products.

Well, they fit like compression Under Armour with plate gear, there's one difference.

I'm not wasting my fingers typing how these compare in no way to the polywools other than that they're both pants.

YMMV

Well, "the best umpires are the ones who go unnoticed"

I disagree with that quote ^^


What better way to go unnoticed than with a camo shirt? :D

Guess you got a bad batch, or I got a good batch. Like I said, I have no skin in this at all, but I would buy 20 plate pants if they were offered again.

The plate pants ate identical in dimention to Honig, the base are narrower in the leg (At least the ones I purchased.)

But their color was noticably different than any other uniform pants on the market. If everyone in your area chose them, that would work. But I've seen them on the field with fellas wearing other drawers, and they really stick out. Even more than the Davis pants.

Many folks don't care, and that's fine. Charcoal, heather, OC all look the same to them. And trust, the only folks who care is other umpires. Coaches, players and fans won't know, nor care what shade of gray you're wearing. I guess it comes down to who you're trying to impress, and how you want to look.

That may be the case with regular season Little League and other rec ball. But if you're doing high school, college, summer tourneys, etc., there will be a lot more people who notice, and they will say something about it.

The Officials Choice is NOT
 

Man I've had it with The Officials Choice. I ordered a couple of shirts in early May and haven't heard a word from them since. I've called and e-mailed 3 times now. They don't answer the phone or respond to e-mails sent to their support address. I just want an answer!

Working Memorial tourneys or Veteran's events is when the camo shirt comes in handy as a supportive gesture, the response we get when we wear them is heartwarming. Its similar to wearing Pink when the event is an Awareness type of promotion.

I use Honig's almost exclusively. Part of that is because I am within a reasonable driving distance of the Ann Arbor office. I try to support companies in my local area. The second reason is that I have never had an issue with anything product or service related from Honig's. Finally, I know family members of Mr. Honig.

If it is this bad, and you paid by credit card, contact your credit card company about the lack of shipment of the order. You can generally dispute the charge. When the credit card company contacts the merchant, normally things get done quickly.

Don't waste your time with "The Officials Choice"
 

Why can't somebody do something about this company? :mad: I experienced the same thing as most everyone else who ordered from them. First, the equipment never arrived. Then when I called their customer support I was instructed to leave a voicemail which I couldn't because the voicemail box was full. The last straw was when I emailed customer support and it bounced back saying there was no such addressee and the message was undeliverable. The next step was simply calling my credit card company to have the charge removed from my account which they did immediately. :)

I agree that both Ump-Attire and Purchase Officials are good places to shop for ump gear. Honig's isn't too bad but their prices are almost always the most expensive. Lester's Upstate Sports is pretty good as well.