Le Creuset Stoneware 4-Piece Dinnerware Set, Marseille

First, I have to confess, I didn't buy in the set as pictured. I didn't want the soup bowls, but instead ordered 12 of the dinner plates, 12 of the salad plates, 12 mugs, 12 cereal bowls, and 12 pasta bowls. I'm posting the review here because A) I am too lazy to go into each of those items and review, and B) I think more people will start here by looking at a set, and I want them to see this review and be warned.

Ive been a big fan of Le Creuset cookware for a long time. I have a full set of pots and pans, bakeware, etc. As my household is allergen friendly, I cook a LOT. We can't really eat pre-packaged meals. I don't use a microwave. So having plates that can be put into my convection oven for heating, reheating etc is very important. I'd had a set of dishes that I had inherited from college that said they were oven safe, but the glaze was cracking, and I decided it was time to get grown up and have some plates that matched.

I came upon these and was thrilled. They looked great, they were a brand I trusted, and yeah, a bit pricey, but they were just gorgeous! I decided what I needed and placed the order. This was in late October.

As I said, I didn't order the set, I ordered individuallyand in three different colors. So my shipments came from all over. I guesstimate that I got probably 1215 boxes total during the course of my shipment. At no time did I ever open up a box and not find at least one broken item. More often than not, multiple items were broken.

As has been mentioned in other reviews, these plates are HEAVY. They would frequently split the box they were put in, and the packaging was just flat-out poor. Amazon usually manages a bit better than thisbut this was just hands down, the worst packaging I have ever seen. Still, they were great about replacing, and with two or three more attempts, I finally got my full order.

A note: the 12-inch dinner plate won't fit in most cabinets. It's VERY large. It's more a charger, in my opinion than a plate. And it alone weighs about 3-4 pounds. Empty. So we use the more reasonably sized salad plate. (They don't offer a B&B plate, if you can believe that!) And right away, we started to experience problems. I would say about once a week, I hear a PING! noise when something is in the dishwasher. Or the convection oven. When we go to pick up our plate, it just breaks into two or three pieces under it's own weight. It's December. I have 5 salad plates and 8 dinner plates remaining. So I go into the Amazon system to return, and, of course, I'm well outside the return window. I am advised to contact the manufacturer.

I won't bang on with the details, but basically Le Creuset shrugged at me and offered to repair my plates (really??) or give me "up to a 70% discount" on new ones. I was furious. I considered getting rid of my cookware for a brief, crazy moment. In desperation a few days ago, I did what I should have done in the first place. I emailed customer service directly and poured out my heart. I told them truthfully that I was at the point where I would never order housewares from amazon again. That their shipping incompetence had cost me about $1000. That I had had it.

Well, within 12 hours I had a response. Within 24, I had a refund. They don't even want the unbroken plates back!

So, to recap. LOUSY plates. FANTASTIC AMAZON CUSTOMER SERVICE.

By the way, I love the cereal bowls, the mugs, and the pasta bowls. I'm keeping them. Maybe I have fewer problems with them because they were packaged better. Maybe the plates are just too heavy to sustain themselves. Maybe they can't take the heat...literally...from my kitchen. I'll be replacing with colored pieces from the Fiesta ware linemore reasonably sized, reasonably priced, and the workhorses of the restaurant industry. But I see they have already pulled them from amazon because of a shipping problemI expect these won't be far behind.

Good looking set, but the pieces are really large. They are a bit much for everyday dishes unless you eat giant portions. They are also a bit fragile for stoneware. We have broken 3 pieces so far. I will also mention, it took 3 shipments and returns to get a full set since so many pieces came broken. Amazon is always awesome with returns so not really that big of a deal.

Buy Le Creuset Stoneware 4-Piece Dinnerware Set, Marseille Now

This was a gift, but my stepmother loves them. They're graduated in color, which you can't really tell from the pictures... darker at the bottom to lighter at the top... very pretty!

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