I love small towns! I grew up in Harlan, Iowa, a town of 4500, so any time I am privileged to speak in a small town, I am excited. This week I was asked to speak to the entire staff of Elmira Savings Bank in Elmira, New York. This is a bank that has been in existence for over 100 years in a town of 30,00. It was a special day, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all their employees.
What always impresses me is the “remarkable” (their mantra) service I always get in a small town. First of all, these are some of the things the bank does for both their internal and external customers:
• Free coffee in the lobby
• Name tags for every employee so customers can learn their names
• Customer Appreciation Days at every branch
• “Say When You Pay” program – people can choose two months of the year when they do not have to make a mortgage payment
• CARE program—Employees donate $1 a week to a fund for those on staff who are experiencing financial issues. A committee awards help to anonymous applicants.
• Every year the senior managers put on a humorous skit where they poke fun at themselves. This year they brought me in to speak on “Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm™–Creating Workplaces of Passion, Purpose, and Productivity.” They served an amazing spread of food and beer, wine, and soft drinks to the staff to appreciate their hard work.
I also experienced extraordinary service from the hotel staff at the Holiday Inn there:
• I received a sweet gift bag of goodies from the hotel when I checked in.
• On the day I was speaking I did not realize breakfast ended at 11:00, but they let me in to the restaurant anyway, even though I was the only one there!
• I spent an hour with all the senior managers at the bank in the afternoon and missed lunch. Since I would be speaking to the staff at 5:15 and setting up before that, I needed a bit of extra energy. Again the restaurant was closed; however, Amy, the banquet manager, had the cooks prepare a lovely salad for me and brought it to the room where I was presenting.
• Every staff person greeted me whenever I met them in the hallway.
• Whenever I needed bags moved, there was always someone there with a smile.
All in all, it was a lovely experience. I found out that Mark Twain had a home in Elmira and is buried there, and other famous natives are Brian Williams and Tommy Hillfiger. They even still have a drive-in movie! It always touches me that the organizations who are already giving “remarkable” service, like Elmira Bank, who just won an award for one of the best banks to work for in the country, seem to be the ones who hire me to speak rather than those who REALLY need my messages.
Hooray for small town service!
To learn more about Barbara’s work in customer service, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/programs
