By Lisa Hochgraf
Long, long ago, as the junior editor at a business magazine in Dane County, Wisc., I rang a good-sized bank to find out its asset size for a "biggest businesses" list we were creating. The CEO of the bank answered his phone, and I nearly fell out of my chair. Needless to say, he knew the answer to my question and I was well taken care of.
Apparently the members of $518 million San Francisco Firefighters Credit Union sometimes experience a similarly pleasant shock. CUES member Diana Dykstra personally responds to member concerns that come in via the "Ask Diana" link on the CU's home page. She has an application on her Blackberry that allows her to check members' accounts before she calls a member back ... and when she calls them back, some can't believe they have the president/CEO on the line!
Of course, for Diana, this is par for the course, just one more example of inspired member service. I've been impressed with her work since I saw her discuss Net Promoter Score (opposite Ron Shevlin, bless her heart) at FORUM Symposium last year.
I can easily think of other good examples of CEOs connecting with members to create goodwill and deepen relationships. Check out the Ask Jack blog from $200 million Members Credit Union in Winston-Salem, N.C. View video Q&As from CUES member Gary Easterling, CCE, on the "common sense" Web site of $815 million United Federal Credit Union, St. Joseph, Mich. And here's a story from my own experience with CUES. Last week at our Director Development Seminar in Charleston, S.C., an attendee's spouse fell and had to go to the hospital. When the attendee phoned to say thanks for the flowers CUES sent, he mentioned appreciating that CUES President/CEO Fred Johnson cared enough to include himself on the card.
CEOs can clearly touch their members in special ways. What does your credit union do to promote such connections?
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
Also read "Why More CEOs Should Blog."
