I don't want to piss on your bonfire, but you're going to have to accept that customer service levels will always be slightly slower during busy periods.
Besides, comparing an operation the size of Paul Smith with Rapha is nonsensical. Rapha's still a relatively young organisation.
I sent off some returns to Rapha and some to Paul Smith on the same day.
The refund from Paul Smith arrived twelve days ago - still nothing from Rapha. Customer service is definitely getting worse.