Twiglets and the folly of Royal Mail

Today the stick insects intended for my daughters Christmas present arrived. Fortunately, they were all intact and live, but it could have been a very different story.
Last week I decided that since my six year old had been pestering me for a pet for what feels like forever, and since she has taken such an active interest in checking on the Spoods each night with me, that I would order her pets of her own. I was very aware that ultimately the responsibilty of the pet would most likely end up on my shoulders, and that she wasn't ready for something like a Guinea pig or a hamster. So I looked for an appropriate invertebrate pet. Stick insects were my favoured choice, as snails tend to smell really bad. Stick insects are also reasonably easy to keep for beginners, don't require any special food (many eat the plants native to the area around my house) and they are nice and slow for building confidence with handling.
Obviously, The Spider Shop is my preferred distributor of invertebrates. I have ordered from them many times and have had no issues with shipping, their customer services are fantastic, and they have a great selection. Unfortunately, at the time of ordering, they did not have any stick insects at all (they have since sent out a newsletter to say that they are now in stock - sods law!) I found myself browsing the internet for a supplier who did have them in stock - a harder feat than I initially thought. Perhaps it is not stick insect season at the moment, as most suppliers are selling eggs right now? However, I was able to find a supplier who not only had stick insects in stock, but who also had a 100% live arrival guarantee. This is important to me, as it means they are more likely to ship their insects in good conditions.

I was actually looking for Indian stick insects - Carausius morosus - as these were a simple species that I used to have when I was little, therefore I knew that they would be easy to care for. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anywhere that had these in stock at all. That said, Bug Pets are a British Supplier who had a species of stick insect in stock called the "Sunny" stick insect. After as little bit of research, I was able to determine that Sunny stick insects - Sungaya inexpectata - are just as easy to care for. They grow 3 to 4 inches long, and eat bramble leaves. Living by a train line we have bramble leaves in abundance, so this seemed perfect.

I ordered four individual sticks (dubbed "The Twiglets") to arrive at my place of work, paying extra for a seven day insurance guarantee (if they insects died within the first 7 days of arrival, I would be refunded/get replacements).
I can't fault Bug Pets at all. They had a prompt dispatch, they packaged them very well, and before I knew it, it was their arrival date.... Unfortunately, they were sent via Royal Mail's next day Special Delivery. In a working world, the insects should have been with me by lunchtime on Friday... but Royal Mail have gotten notoriously bad for their shipping times. I'm not even sure how they can claim to offer their "guarantees". I contacted Bug Pets who shared my frustration, but there was very little they could do because it was out of their hands. Friday came and went, and with it went my last day at work for the semester. I was panicking now because - never mind the weekend - I wasn't due back at work until January. But there was nothing I could do.
Fortunately, the stick insects arrived on the Monday (3 days late) and were thankfully still alive. My colleagues transferred them to a larger container and gave them some fresh food, where they stayed cosy and snug until the next day when they were able to be collected.

I would definitely order from Bug Pets again, I just wish I had an alternative to Royal Mail delivery.