Uniform Chaos: The $6,000 Sweatshirt Problem

Uniform Chaos: The $6,000 Sweatshirt Problem

How a Simple Miss Can Make People Feel Forgotten — And How CrewHero Fixes It

By Dave Fairburn, Co-Founder of CrewHero and North Point Outdoors

Fall is coming.

The mornings are colder.

And that shelf with sweatshirts? It’s empty.

No big deal, right?

We’ve added some crews this year. We’re up to 40 people.

Let’s say 4 sweatshirts each.

Easy math — 160 sweatshirts.

They’re cheap enough, and our team deserves them.

I pick up the phone and call the vendor.

The first questions are easy:

“What brand?”

Boom: Truewerk. Navy. Back logo, front chest. Let’s go.

Then comes the question I dread:

“What sizes do you need — and how many of each?”

And just like that, my brain locks up.

Welcome to the Sweatshirt Guessing Game

I’m a large.

Rob’s bigger — probably XL.

Scott lost some weight… Medium?

Then it gets worse:

I start working my way down the list — the list that still lives in QuickBooks.

A list that includes people who quit 6 months ago.

People we onboarded last week.

People whose sizes I’ve never known.

It’s a mess.

Texting 40 people for sweatshirt sizes?

It’ll take a week. And half won’t respond in time.

We’re behind already.

The order needs to go in yesterday.

So, I guess.

Best I can.

And then I place a $6,000 order —

For a bunch of guesses.

Monday Morning: Team Meeting + New Gear

Three weeks go by.

The vendor does me a solid and drops the boxes off early.

It’s Monday. Team meeting day.

I’m pumped — the team is gonna love this.

We wrap up the meeting and start handing out the new sweatshirts.

“This place is awesome.”

Then…

The XLs run out.

A few big guys are still standing in line.

Then the Larges run out.

Now we’re down to Smalls and Mediums — and no one left is fitting into those.

Suddenly, this happy moment?

It just turned awkward.

I Didn’t Mean to Miss — But I Did

I didn’t forget about those guys.

I didn’t say, “They don’t matter.”

But now they’re headed out for the day — watching the rest of the team wear fresh, matching sweatshirts while they’ve got their old, crusty ones.

That’s how people start feeling like they’re not seen.

That they don’t matter.

That they’re not part of the team.

That wasn’t my intention.

But it’s the result of a small miss that could’ve been avoided.

Why Is This So Hard?

Because databasing in our industry is hard.

• People change sizes

• New hires come in

• People leave

• Fit preferences matter

• And no one updates the spreadsheet

We rely on paper forms, old records, and best guesses.

And those best guesses can still cost thousands and disappoint dozens.

What If It Was Easy?

What if every crew member could just…

• Log in to their profile

• Update their shirt size

• Set fit preference (snug, loose, long)

• Add winter gear sizing, too

And then you —

You could pull a simple report with accurate data.

Not from QuickBooks.

Not from a sticky note.

Not from memory.

From CrewHero.

Final Thought

We talk a lot about retention.

We talk a lot about culture.

But culture isn’t built on motivational speeches.

It’s built on small moments of being seen.

Ordering the right sweatshirt size isn’t a big deal…

Until you’re the one without one.

Then it’s a signal.

One that says:

“You weren’t on the list.”

CrewHero changes that.

No stress.

No spreadsheets.

No sad faces.

Just simple, accurate, thoughtful logistics —

So your team walks into fall feeling like they belong.

Let’s stop guessing.

Let’s start getting it right.

— Dave