We ask the parents to fill out slips to order a size. We usually have at least 10% who do not return the slip and we guess. We guess better than they do.
We buy for the teachers too--it's a school spirit budget item.
We rarely have problems with sizes...if it seems small to us, since so many of us know the kids, we adjust the size, and mark it on the slip, saying SHIRTS RUN SMALL or BIG, in case they question. We always order extras, and can change a size if they need it.
We did find a local company that will do our whole order (over 330 shirts) for our budget of $2000....which is a big help, as we don't pay per shirt.
I'm sure the first couple of years was a mess, but it's pretty smooth now.
Last edit: 6 months 4 days ago by lharac. Reason: removed broken image
I feel your pain. We gave all of our students a staff t shirts this year as well and also allowed any family members to order and pay for shirts and sweatshirts at cost. As with you some shirts were small, part of this was the companies problem and part the families. I had ordered extra shirts so the day we gave them out we were able to fix all the problems that we heard about.
It was great going class to class handing the shirts to each student, by the time I left the school everyone had their new shirt on.
As far as the way you handled it, yes I agree, you supplied the product, if a change needs to be made the PTO should not have to pay for it.
WOW what a great gift to everyone at the school! I would talk to the company that
you ordered the shirts from, if your initial
order was large they may give you a break on
a second smaller order. It can't hurt to ask
and on the second order I wouldn't ask folks for sizes and I would order LARGE all LARGE, they'll shrink they can be worn over shorts and jeans and then give folks an option to turn in the shirt that doesn't fit for a Large one. You maybe able to sell the misfitting shirts at another event or use them as give aways or prizes. This would hopefully keep your additional cost at a minimum. Good luck
We did a t-shirt sale at our school, however we didn't give free t-shirts to anyone. Of course, we ran into some snags with parents who ordered the wrong sizes. We did our best to switch with other returned t-shirts/sweatshrits and that actually worked out pretty well. I think we actually had to reorder a couple of tshirts, though. Our PTO just ate the cost. I think the teacher who won't wear the shirt should just have to be the only staff without a t-shirt. Too bad for her! This sale is a headache, to be sure. But it is a great thrill to see kids around town with their school wear on, showing our great school spirit. Good luck!
Your decision sounds pretty sensible to me! If someone made the wrong choice themselves, you shouldn't have to pay for it!
I guess you won't be doing this again soon..?
WoW! How big was your initial order and how many requested a different size than ordered? I would have done the same thing in your shoes. What a generous gift!
