If you're running your own small business, delivering exceptional customer service should be your highest priority.

"If you don't deliver on your promises, and quickly, customers will find someone else to do the job," agrees Entrepreneur Mark Silver. "Fast service is particularly crucial for our business because our customers won't tolerate being left out in the cold."

Silver owns NorthRock Inc. Mechanical Services (www.servicecall.ca), a heating and air conditioning service company based in Toronto that provides emergency repairs, replacement equipment, maintenance programs and installations to commercial and industrial clients across Ontario.

When something goes wrong with a building's heating or air conditioning, Silver's clients naturally expect a quick fix. "We face plenty of fierce competitors, so our company has worked hard to develop a reputation as one of the fastest repair services in the HVAC industry," he says.

To build that competitive advantage, Silver relies on his Visa^® Business Card to buy the parts he needs on-the-spot. "We do a lot of out-of-town work," he explains. "Instead of traveling to a client's location and then back to the office to collect parts for the repair, I can use my card to buy the parts locally," he says. "The card helps us to significantly reduce client downtime."

NorthRock now employs 15 people, so purchases are usually made by one of Silver's repair crew while working in the field. "I'm busy running my business, so I don't have time to see each supplier in person," he says. "When one of my employees needs a repair part and they're a hundred miles away, I ask the supplier to fax me an authorization form to charge my Visa Business Card. It really simplifies my life."

In business since 2001, Silver says one of the first business decisions he made was to obtain a Visa Business Card. "I didn't even look at the other cards," he recalls. "I need to make purchases wherever our work takes us, and I went with the Visa card because it's universally accepted."

Silver plans to create a branch network to duplicate his successful business system in other markets. He thinks one of the best things about being an entrepreneur is closing a major sale. "As I expand my business, I expect to be paying for many more client lunches," he muses. "I'll use my Visa Business Card for those purchases, as well."