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When Cintas is looking for the best restrooms in America every year they look for something that is unique, not all the entrants are art galleries or fancy restaurants but rather something that is simply memorable. There are certain requirements to be included of course, such as that it must be a non-residential, publicly available restroom and located in the United States. Style and cleanliness are two of the most important factors, Cintas is a manufacturer of restroom supplies so they encounter great (and not so wonderful) bathrooms all the time so the contest is a fun way to highlight those restrooms deserving of recognition.

The finalists were announced on August 1st, 2011 and the winner will be announced September 19,2011. The best restroom will receive a plaque to show off to their customers and a permanent spot in the America’s Best Restroom Hall of Fame. Previous winners include a restroom in a hotel, in a theater in Missouri, Fort Smith regional airport bathroom, a university bathroom, a casino restroom, and a restaurant restroom. So the field is diverse and anyone can win making it easy to follow and simple to vote online. Anyone can be nominated and it gives a chance for small businesses to get some national exposure through the competition, even if they don’t win.

The 2011 finalists for America’s Best Restroom come from all across the country, from a California winery to a New York Ninja-themed restaurant. Two states, Virginia and New York, can boast about each having two restrooms representing their fine states in the contest. Some are eco-friendly, some are family friendly, and some are just plain beautiful. Let’s have a closer look at some of the finalists.

Most business owners who are interested and motivated in running their business look for ways and means to improve the business productivity and that means improving customer relations. One way to do this is by having the right on hold messages for when customers phone and have to be kept on hold.

Statistics show that without anything to listen to, customers who have to wait on the phone will hang up within about 30 seconds. But if they have an on hold message and music to listen to they will often wait for up to three minutes. The benefits are immediately apparent as your staff will have many more customers to talk to if they do not hang up so soon. More customers mean more business.

There are certain other benefits when you have the right on hold messages for your customers to listen to.

· It not only keeps the customers on the phone for longer, it puts them in a better mood so that they are easier to deal with.

· You can use the messages to impart important information about products that the customers may find useful.

· You can brand your company with the right kind of messages.

· You can reassure the customer that they are important to you as a business.

· You can inform them about other goods or services they or their friends may need.

· It presents your business in a professional light. Most customers are now used to on hold messages and if there are none they feel like the business is disorganised or unprofessional.

It is true that communication is extremely important in customer relations. When you communicate clearly and effectively it makes the customer feel valued both as a person and as a customer. They will therefore be far more likely to deal with you again and to recommend you to their friends. Having hold music and messages is a time-honoured way to ensure that is what happens to your customers.

Want to increase the value of your business? When times get tough, as they certainly were in mid 2011, no business can afford to lose even a single customer. Smart business owners know this, and some are willing to take extraordinary action to care for and retain a customer. And I do mean extraordinary action. Like the following.

Recently I heard a story about the extraordinary action that Sir Richard Branson took. First a caveat. I heard this story second hand, and have been unsuccessful in contacting someone in the company capable of confirming or denying it. But the person I heard it from is either the brother or brother-in-law of the subject of this story.

It all happened around Christmas time of 2010. The subject of the story lives in the UK, and frequently flies to New York. His airline of choice has been Virgin. If you think back to the events leading up to Christmas of 2010, you will probably remember that gigantic snowstorms swept over the UK and the European Continent. Planes were grounded everywhere because airports were effectively closed to traffic, due to impassable runways.

The subject was in New York awaiting his return to the UK. Not only was he in New York, but was also at the airport at Virgin’s check in area. Because there was nowhere to land, planes could not even leave New York. Passengers were stranded at the airport, and like the old saying, “nobody knew nuthin”.

Frustrated passengers were looking for some information on when their flights would leave. But nothing was available. Virgin’s passengers knew no more than any others awaiting departure. The whole place became a zoo.

I may be a little biased, but I am still surprised on a regular basis in calling on businesses that have, shall we say, a less than professional way in which their employees answer the phone. We have all experienced it, you catch someone on an ‘off’ day, or the person who answers is reading from an all-too-obvious script; or worse yet, you get stuck in the dreaded voice-prompt menu when all you want is a live person.

As consumers and business professionals, we simply want a polite, sincere and helpful ‘live’ voice on the other end of the line to help us conduct the business at hand. Why is that so often not the case?

What I don’t think many businesses realize is how their phone etiquette can have a significant negative impact on revenue over time. Almost all companies, big and small, have an established phone answering procedure and voice-mail system. The issue is, they do not review this on a regular basis and do not explore options in this area that can separate them from the crowd and create revenue generating opportunities.

Most employees in today’s belt-tightening economy have more responsibilities and fewer resources than ever, including the office managers and secretaries who are often tasked with phone duties during normal business hours. The result? A lot more opportunities for your prospects and clients to have a negative experience with your company