The Mistakes That Cost Businesses Time, Money, and Frustration
After working with hundreds of businesses on their workwear programmes, we’ve seen the same mistakes made repeatedly. Most are preventable with a small amount of planning. Here’s the definitive list of what goes wrong — and how to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
Mistake 1: Not Running a Proper Sizing Exercise
The most common cause of exchanges and complaints. Sending a size chart to employees and asking them to self-report results in a significant error rate — people guess, they round up or down, they don’t measure themselves correctly. Run a physical measurement exercise with a tape measure. See our dedicated sizing guide for the full process.
Mistake 2: Providing a Low-Resolution Logo
A blurry 200×200 pixel PNG is not sufficient for quality embroidery digitising. It produces a blurry, imprecise stitch path and a logo that looks rough at any size. Provide a vector file (AI, EPS, SVG) or a high-resolution PNG at 300dpi minimum. If you don’t have high-quality files, ask your designer or recreate the logo before ordering.
Mistake 3: Not Ordering a Pre-Production Sample
Skipping the sample to save time or a small cost is false economy. A sample shows you exactly how the logo reads on the fabric, how the colour matches, and how the garment fits. Discovering a problem on the sample is a minor inconvenience. Discovering the same problem on 40 completed garments is a major one.
Mistake 4: Under-Ordering Quantities
Ordering exactly the right number for your current headcount with no buffer means you’ll need a small, expensive reorder within months. Apply the 15% buffer rule always. Order common sizes in slightly larger quantities than your current team requires.
Mistake 5: Leaving Too Little Lead Time
Standard lead time for embroidered workwear is 7–14 business days from artwork approval. If you need a garment for a specific date, work backwards from that date and factor in approval time. “I need it by Friday” doesn’t work if you email us on Wednesday morning.
Plan ahead, provide good artwork, run a proper sizing exercise, and order a sample. Follow these steps and your workwear order will be right first time, every time. Contact us to get started. Browse our workwear bundles.