We couldn’t have dreamed of a better start! My beloved Burnley have just thrashed fellow relegated side Luton Town 4-1 in the season opener.

With our new gaffer, Scott Parker, at the helm, could we be poised for a glorious return to the Premier League? I’ve got everything crossed…

Of course, our former manager Vincent Kompany doesn’t have to lose any sleep over it. Despite steering us to relegation, he’s landed himself a cosy three-year gig as head coach at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. Shocking, right?

And here I was thinking it was success that was meant to be rewarded!

On a high from Burnley’s emphatic win, I started this week in a great frame of mind. That was until I came into the office and had to answer a particularly galling phone call.

A chap from E.ON Next – who shall remain nameless (Joe, I’m looking at you!) – had phoned to chat about our energy contract. Apparently, we were in our 120-day renewal phase. I explained that the person he needed to speak to was on holiday and kindly asked if he could call when she returned.

But Joe wasn’t having any of it. As he kept pushing, I grew increasingly weary and finally asked for the contract end date. Instead of answering, he suddenly snapped, “I hope your day gets better,” and hung up!

Actually, my day had been going just fine until you rang, Joe!

Needless to say, I was less than impressed. I promptly fired off a strongly worded email to E.ON suggesting they retrain their staff in the art of customer service.

Although if Vincent Kompany’s recent luck is anything to go by, Joe will probably be up for the Managing Director role by the end of the month!

My experience at a leading retailer a few days earlier wasn’t much better. I had gone with the intention of buying a specific Samsung TV I’d been lusting after, only for the sales rep to try to push a much cheaper LG model on me instead. The LG logo emblazoned on his polo shirt made it pretty clear where his allegiance’s lay!

Despite my recent poor customer service encounters, I’m generally in a celebratory mood. If you caught our ad in last week’s newsletter, you’ll know All-Tag^® Europe has just hit an incredible milestone.

We’ve sold a jaw-dropping 1.25 billion EAS security labels in the last 12 months alone! It’s a staggering number, and I couldn’t be prouder of the hard work and dedication that got us here.

Oh, and while we’re on the topic, here are a few other fun facts around about my new favourite number…

• £1.2 billion is the amount contributed to the economy by the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham

• There are 1.2 billion people aged between 15 and 24, according to the UN

• 1.2 billion seconds equates to over 38 years

• A study has found false or misleading US election posts by Elon Musk have been viewed 1.2 billion times this year

• 1.2 billion miles would take you to the sun and a third of the way back

• Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 1.2 billion people Worldwide

Of course, none of these are quite as exciting as our milestone – at least not in my book!

I’ve previously talked a lot about All-Tag’s strong growth, and customer service has certainly been critical to our success.

We take the time to truly understand the unique challenges and needs of our retail partners. Then, we craft a solution that’s tailor-made for them – whether that means tweaking existing products, adapting technology, or even developing brand-new offerings from scratch.

We’ll do whatever it takes to deliver a cost-effective, bespoke solution that meets their goals.

Maybe Joe and his high street based oppo could learn a thing or two..!