Misleading ship times, poor communication I rarely write poor reviews, but in this case I felt I had to as I've had multiple negative experiences with this company. I placed an order for 2 standing desks in May 2023. The website said the ship time was 2-3 weeks. I had to wait FIVE MONTHS for the desks – which ended up shipping separately, weeks apart. Throughout that whole time I was consistently told (over 7-ish different interactions) that the desks were "still 2-3 weeks out". Had I known how long the desks were going to take I would likely have cancelled the order or not placed the order. The same issue happened when I ordered 2 desk lamps, they took months instead of the advertised 1-2 weeks to ship. So misleading and so frustrating. I also think it's telling that in their marketing emails they display their Trustpilot rating as 4 stars – when it is currently 3.1 as of the writing of this review, and many recent reviews reflect the same issues I had with them. They are clearly not addressing serious operational issues and continuing to misrepresent lead times on their website and disappoint customers.

Long wait for product, inferior product - but satisfactory outcome Long wait for delivery - chair was an inferior product, but I am very pleased to say that Eric N at The Essential was very accommodating and helpful and gave us a full refund. They will also review the product before sending more out.

Tasty with a side of poor communication The products themselves were very tasty. However, there was about a few weeks delay in shipping with no email or notification sent out to customers. I emailed them at which point they let me know of a shortage in dry ice. The product was shipped the following week.

Great Customer Service An item in my first order was defective. The Essential sent me a new one in a couple of days, no questions asked. I really appreciated not needing a lengthy back and forth to get a replacement.

The merchandise itself is good, BUT The merchandise itself is good - once it finally arrives! Shipping estimates are always wrong, add two to three months minimum to what they list. It's a dark pattern, they have been in business long enough to have data that would allow for a truthful estimate. They certainly should have the capacity to proactively communicate delays. Sorry the essential, you've fooled me more than twice now - shame on me.