Not up to normal standards.
I am a huge supporter of Rick Stein and have been delighted with restaurant and takeaway experiences over the years as well as the online fishmongers and At Home food boxes ordered more recently. Sadly, my experience this year of ordering Christmas gifts was not up to the same high standard. At the start of November I ordered a Cornwall Christmas bauble and two candle holders. About a week later I received a message saying the red bauble (my colour choice) would not be available until the end of November so they would send all three items at that time. By the 10th December I still had not received anything so phoned customer services and was told the red bauble would not be available until the new year (not especially helpful for a Christmas related item!). They said they would send on the candle holders. though. A week later I still had not received anything so had to ring Customer Services again for exactly the same conversation I’d had the week before. The person I spoke to was rude and unhelpful, speaking over me and failing to understand why I might be upset that my gifts chosen weeks before had not arrived. She just said they were busy in the orders department! She said she would phone back to let me know what was happening. She didn’t, but I got an email saying the order was on its way and I eventually received the delivery on 20th December. The items were beautiful but I’m not sure they warranted the stress involved in the ordering.