GoDaddy Checkout Issues

THIS IS WHAT REALLY HAPPENED — AND IT’S UNACCEPTABLE

In mid-December 2025 — the busiest sales season of the year — GoDaddy Airo shut off our Square credit card checkout on BellsBarbeque.com, where we offer products like our popular apple butter BBQ.

We did not request this.

We were not notified.

We were not warned.

They simply turned it off.

The only way we could have discovered this was by attempting to purchase our own products from our own website, including our beloved Belle's Barbeque dry rubs. Why would any business ever do that?

We remained completely unaware until January 26, 2026, when one of our loyal customers contacted us to say she’d been trying — and failing — to check out and purchase our dry rubs.

Because I was out at the time, I bypassed GoDaddy entirely, processed her order directly through Square, and sent it out with something extra for her trouble.

THE NEXT DAY

I spent over four hours on the phone only to learn the truth:

👉 GoDaddy reset our website WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION

👉 They removed our Square payment connection

👉 They never told us

That resulted in 43 DAYS OF LOST SALES.

Forty-three.

Then came Sherry — “the highest-ranked person who speaks to customers” (her words, not mine).

Her solution?

“To make it up to you, we’ll give you one month free — a $40 value. I’m not supposed to do that, but I’ll make an exception.” — Sherry (last name conveniently unavailable)

Let’s be clear: This happened during Christmas shopping season. Lost sales could easily exceed $8,000.

AND THEN CAME THE TRUTH

Sherry again:

“That’s on you for using a third-party processor instead of GoDaddy processing.”

Read that again.

GoDaddy disabled our checkout, cost us thousands, then blamed us for not using their payment system.

This is not an accident. This is coercion.

They are punishing long-term customers for choosing alternative payment processors by quietly sabotaging their websites — a blatant violation of ownership rights and an unethical business practice.

THIS IS WEBSITE JACKING.

SHARE THIS EVERYWHERE. DO NOT USE GODADDY AIRO. Don’t let this happen to others at places like Bell's BBQ, where customer service should be paramount.