My latest order from Gear4Music came in two parts. The first was a cheap plastic tuba mouthpiece, which arrived by Royal Mail. It’s not amazing but it might be useful outside in cold weather and the delivery was by our reliable and friendly local postman.

I wasn’t expecting part two, a tuba gig bag, until this Friday at the earliest. However, getting back this evening from a trip out, I had a problem opening the side gate and realised that the parcel had been dropped over – about a 7′ drop onto unknown ground. Fortunately, the soft gig bag (perfect fit, just what I needed to replace an old and failing hard case) survived that undamaged. However, I could have been away for a couple of days or it could have been wet.

I should emphasise that normally Gear4Music deliveries have been excellent. Typically, larger items have come via DPD, who provide a reliable and useful tracking service. This one was meant to come by TNT and the tracking information suggests UPS did the actual (and literal) drop. I’ve conveyed my feelings to the company and I hope that future orders return to their normal, excellent level of service.