It’s not often I have a positive experience with customer service worth talking about. In this day of altering corporate attitudes driven by shrinking profit margins with a more concentrated focus on the bottom line and less on the customer, I feel it’s important to mention one fine experience I had recently.
A couple of weeks ago I posted to Twitter, using the Hampton Roads hashtag #hrva, my dis-satisfaction with my bank. In particular I don’t like some policy issues and rising fees. My tweet was responded to by @ChartwayFCU inviting me to join them.
After checking them out I applied for membership online. A day later I received an email from “K” with my acceptance invitation. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I responded with a thank you.
Today I sent an email to “K” informing her I would be by to take care of things. Almost immdiately she shot back a warm welcome and wanted to know when and where I’d be arriving. She also included information about upcoming computer upgrades that may impact my visit.
At noon I sent her an email that I’d be arriving at a given location in 25 minutes. Shortly thereafter she let me know “M” would be waiting for me.
Sure enough, when I arrived “M” was at her desk with my paperwork in front of her ready to go. It took just about 5 minutes for “M” to take care of everything. She was thorough and told me everything she was doing and answered each question I had for her. When she stepped away from her desk she told me exactly what she was doing and what she was retrieving.
After leaving the facility I sent an email to “K” letting her know I was signed up and thanking her for her time. She promptly replied with another warm and welcoming thank you.
All this communication made me feel like they actually wanted my business, not as if they were entitled to it.
Chartway may not have all the fancy tools a big bank does, but they do have some good people who truly make you feel wanted. They also have someone who’s pretty good at social marketing and recruiting because if it wasn’t for that I may never have contacted them in the first place.
