I always tested my pillars with plates before the cake got added, for each order. You have no control over any new batch of pillars...
I'm sorry to say that you have found out that not all pillars are compatible with all plates. What you can do is look for caps that will fit over the smaller plate feet so that you can still use pillars with the larger opening. Think of shoes for the plate feet... After you find the right caps, then you can make all the feet smaller on all your plates.
There are all kinds of generic plastic goods on ebay. Plastic is easy to sterilize with bleach and water solution.







