diff --git a/pkg/grpc/concurrency_test.go b/pkg/grpc/concurrency_test.go
index b778084..8551f21 100644
--- a/pkg/grpc/concurrency_test.go
+++ b/pkg/grpc/concurrency_test.go
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ type SequencedString struct {
 	str string
 }
 
+type SequencedBytes struct {
+	seq int
+	byt []byte
+}
+
 // TestGRPCCodecConcurrency deliberately intersperses extremely long messages
 // and spawns tests concurrently in order to ensure the client correctly returns
 // responses to the thread that requested them
@@ -115,12 +120,14 @@ func TestGRPCCodecConcurrency(t *testing.T) {
 	// We will keep track of ins and outs for log prints
 	var qCount atomic.Uint32
 
+	log.Println("encoding received items")
+
 	wg.Add(1)
 	for i := range generated {
 
 		go func(i int) {
 
-			log.Println("processing item", i)
+			log.Println("encode processing item", i)
 
 			// we need to wait until all messages process before collating the
 			// results
@@ -169,7 +176,7 @@ func TestGRPCCodecConcurrency(t *testing.T) {
 	for item := range stringChan {
 
 		counter++
-		log.Println("collating item", item.seq, "items done:", counter)
+		log.Println("collating encode item", item.seq, "items done:", counter)
 		// place items back in the sequence position they were created in
 		encoded[item.seq] = item.str
 		if counter >= testItems {
@@ -177,6 +184,75 @@ func TestGRPCCodecConcurrency(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// To create a collection that can be sorted easily after creation back into
+	// an ordered slice, we create a buffered channel with enough buffers to
+	// hold all of the items we will feed into it
+	bytesChan := make(chan SequencedBytes, testItems)
+
+	log.Println("decoding received items")
+
+	wg.Add(1)
+	for i := range encoded {
+
+		go func(i int) {
+
+			log.Println("decode processing item", i)
+
+			// we need to wait until all messages process before collating the
+			// results
+			wg.Add(1)
+			qCount.Inc()
+
+			log.Println(
+				"decode request", i, "sending,",
+				qCount.Load(), "items in queue",
+			)
+
+			// send out the query and wait for the response
+			decRes := <-dec(
+				&proto.DecodeRequest{
+					EncodedString: encoded[i],
+				},
+			)
+
+			// push the returned result into our channel buffer with the item
+			// sequence number, so it can be reordered correctly
+			bytesChan <- SequencedBytes{
+				seq: i,
+				byt: decRes.GetData(),
+			}
+
+			wg.Done()
+			qCount.Dec()
+
+			log.Println(
+				"decode request", i, "response received,",
+				qCount.Load(), "items in queue",
+			)
+
+		}(i)
+	}
+	wg.Done()
+
+	// Wait until all results are back so we can assemble them in order for
+	// checking
+	wg.Wait()
+
+	decoded := make([][]byte, testItems)
+
+	counter = 0
+
+	for item := range bytesChan {
+
+		counter++
+		log.Println("collating decode item", item.seq, "items done:", counter)
+		// place items back in the sequence position they were created in
+		decoded[item.seq] = item.byt
+		if counter >= testItems {
+			break
+		}
+	}
+
 	log.Println("shutting down client and server")
 	// wg.Wait()
 	stopCli()