Customer feedback audit: Larchwood Supply Co.
Period: Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
1,500 rows read: 981 problems, 461 praise.
Key findings
- Sizing runs small, tight waistband21% of problemsSteady
- Zipper failures17% of problemsRising
- Shipping delays, stalled tracking15% of problemsSeasonal
New since March: discount codes failing at checkout (95, 10% of problems). Six earlier tickets; a sharp rise from March.
Our take
Two problems need action this week. Zipper complaints on the puffer vest and rain jacket went from about 3 a month before March to about 22 a month since, which points to a batch or supplier change. Discount codes increased sharply in March and may be costing orders, which points to a checkout change. Shipping complaints are seasonal, but last year's peak started in November, so there are only weeks to prepare. Sizing is the biggest problem overall but steady: a clearer size guide for the legging is the quickest win.
Problems, ranked
| # | Problem | Label | Items | Share of problems |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sizing runs small, tight waistband | Sizing or fit | 209 | 21.3% |
| 2 | Zipper failures | Product quality | 167 | 17.0% |
| 3 | Shipping delays, stalled tracking | Shipping and delivery | 150 | 15.3% |
| 4 | Colour looks different online | Website or checkout | 111 | 11.3% |
| 5 | Return and exchange portal errors | Returns and refunds | 98 | 10.0% |
| 6 | Discount codes failing at checkout | Website or checkout | 95 | 9.7% |
| 7 | Fabric pilling after little wear | Product quality | 94 | 9.6% |
| 8 | Shoulder strap too short | Product quality | 54 | 5.5% |
| Other (3 items) | Customer service | 3 | 0.3% |
Monthly trends, Oct to Sep
Zipper failures
Peak in July. Mostly the puffer vest (83) and rain jacket (80).
Sizing runs small, tight waistband
Almost all about the Studio High-Rise Legging.
Discount codes failing at checkout
Six before March; 89 from March onwards. All from support tickets.
Shipping delays, stalled tracking
Peaks in November.
By source
| Source | Rows | Problems | Praise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 819 | 359 | 428 |
| Support tickets | 424 | 375 | 33 |
| Return reasons | 257 | 248 | 0 |
The top problems, and what to do about each
1. Sizing runs small, tight waistband
- What and where
- 209 items, 21% of problems, steady at about 17 a month (52 in the last three months, 55 in the three before). Almost all about the Studio High-Rise Legging.
- Likely cause
- The legging's waistband is cut smaller than the size chart suggests. Customers say the length fits but the waist doesn't, so this looks like a waist-measurement issue rather than the whole size running small. (This is our reading of the comments; your product team can confirm it against the spec.)
- What to do first
- Add a “runs small in the waist, size up” note and waist measurements in cm and inches to the legging's size guide. Then ask the factory to measure five units from current stock against the spec.
Owner: merchandising and website. Effort: low.
- How you'll know it worked
- Sizing complaints about the legging fall below 9 a month (half of today) within 60 days of the guide change.
2. Zipper failures
- What and where
- 167 items, 17% of problems, rising. About 3 a month from October to February, then about 22 a month from March to September, peaking at 30 in July. The puffer vest (83) and rain jacket (80) account for almost all of it.
- Likely cause
- A change in the zipper or its supplier around March, affecting two products at once. Customers describe the same failure: the zipper separating at the bottom. (A hypothesis to check with your supplier, not a confirmed cause.)
- What to do first
- Ask the supplier what changed on these zippers in February or March (part, lot or factory). Pull returned units and record their lot numbers, and inspect a sample of unsold stock before it ships.
Owner: product and sourcing. Effort: medium.
- How you'll know it worked
- Zipper complaints return to about 3 a month, the pre-March level, within 90 days of replacing the part.
3. Shipping delays, stalled tracking
- What and where
- 150 items, 15% of problems, seasonal. November (36) and December (25) account for 61, or 41%, of the year's total. The rest of the year runs at about 9 a month. Customers mention paid expedited shipping arriving late and tracking that doesn't update for a week.
- Likely cause
- Holiday volume outrunning your carrier or warehouse capacity, with expedited delivery promises that don't account for it. (Our reading; your carrier data would confirm it.)
- What to do first
- Before November, publish holiday order cut-off dates, adjust or pause the expedited-shipping promise during peak, and set up an automatic email when an order hasn't shipped within 3 days.
Owner: operations and customer support. Effort: low to medium.
- How you'll know it worked
- November and December shipping complaints total under 30 this year, half of last year's 61.
New since March: 6. Discount codes failing at checkout
- What and where
- 95 items, 10% of problems, all in support tickets. Six occurred before March; since then about 13 a month. Customers say a code works in the cart, then disappears or shows as invalid on the payment page.
- Likely cause
- A change to checkout or a discount app around March. Several mention having more than one item in the cart. (A hypothesis; your store's change log would confirm it.)
- Why it's ranked above its size
- Every one of these is a customer trying to buy. Some may have given up, and those never write in, so the real cost could be higher than the count suggests.
- What to do first
- List the checkout, theme and discount-app changes made in February and March. Then test a current code with one item, then two or more, through to the payment page.
Owner: website or e-commerce. Effort: low to find, depends on the cause to fix.
- How you'll know it worked
- No new code-failure tickets in the two weeks after the fix.
Fix list, in order
Ordered by urgency, not size: rising or new problems first, then anything with a deadline, then the largest steady ones. The number in brackets matches the problem ranking above.
| Order | What to do | Problem | Owner | Effort | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ask the supplier what changed; inspect unsold vest and jacket stock | Zipper failures (2) | Product, sourcing | Medium | This week |
| 2 | Find the March checkout change; test codes with 2+ items | Discount codes (6) | Website | Low | This week |
| 3 | Holiday cut-off dates, honest expedited promise, “not shipped yet” email | Shipping delays (3) | Operations, support | Low to medium | Before November |
| 4 | “Size up” note and waist measurements on the legging size guide | Sizing (1) | Merchandising, website | Low | This month |
| 5 | Fix return-portal errors; send labels automatically | Return and exchange portal (5) | Operations, website | Medium | Next 60 days |
| 6 | Re-shoot or colour-correct product photos, starting with Sage | Colour looks different online (4) | Merchandising | Medium | Next 60 days |
| 7 | Wash-test the fabric; add care instructions to the product page | Fabric pilling (7) | Product | Medium | Next production run |
| 8 | Longer or padded strap on the Canvas Weekender Tote | Shoulder strap (8) | Product | Medium | Next production run |
What this data can't tell you
- Rates, not just counts. We see complaints, not sales. If you share units sold per product, we can show complaints per 1,000 orders, which separates a bad product from a popular one.
- Confirmed causes. Causes above are our reading of what customers wrote. Your supplier, carrier and store records confirm them.
- The silent majority. Many unhappy customers never write in, so these counts are likely a floor, not the full size of the problem.
Want the fixes written for you?
The Fix pack turns your top 3 problems into ready-to-use material: help-desk replies, size-guide and product-page copy, and a holiday shipping email your team approves before anything goes out. $500 with a 12-month audit, $750 on its own.
See pricing →Method: every row was cleaned of contact details, labelled as a problem, praise or neither, and grouped with rows describing the same problem. Counts are rows per group; shares are of all 981 problem rows. Groups were read by a person before release. Summaries are in our own words; no quotes or names appear.