How to choose a shop without crowdsourcing a winner

West Texas is full of Facebook recommendations that name a cousin and skip the details. Use those as introductions. Then ask the same short list of questions at every counter, including shops you already like.

Confirm the work is real

• Where is the press or the embroidery head? “We handle it” can mean a broker. Brokers are not automatically bad; they are a different lead time.
• Can you see a recent job in the same method — not a collage of every product they have ever sold?
• Who is the licensed decorator if the art includes a school or university mark? Unauthorized marks get stopped.

Talk about the job, not the vibe

• Quantity, garment, colors, due date, and whether you can pick up in Lubbock or need a ship-to.
• Minimums. A shop that wants 24 for screen and will embroider one cap is describing equipment, not attitude.
• Proofs. Ask whether you get a digital mockup, a strike-off, or both — and how many revision rounds are included.
• Art files. Vector logos survive; a photo of a photo of a JPEG does not. Ask what they need on Monday to print on Friday.

Money and risk, said out loud

Deposits are normal. What matters is what the deposit buys: reserved press time, blank garments, or just a place in line. Ask who pays if a size run is wrong, if a PMS color shifts on a dark shirt, or if you change the roster after blanks are ordered. Get the answer in email.

Visit if you can

A public address you can stand in front of is worth more than a clever domain. Our directory only lists shops whose public sites still match a street, city, and phone. That is a verification step, not an endorsement. If two shops answer the same way, pick the one whose hours and parking you can live with — or split the work by method.