SANTA ANA, Calif.—Bill Cheney says the close bond SchoolsFirst FCU has formed with its members over the last 81 years has not faded even as the credit union has grown to more than $11 billion in assets—and that is one of the key reasons SchoolsFirst was ranked No. 1 for service in a recent national survey.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the credit union has made a strategic imperative around not compensating employees for product sales, but instead for service.
Consumer Reports recently ranked the best and worst industries and companies for customer service, and credit unions came out on top, with Schoolsfirst FCU named the best of the best.
“It was certainly a nice surprise,” the CEO told CUToday.info. “Consumer Reports is an independent organization and does its own research. We had no idea this study was happening.”
Cheney, who headed CUNA before leaving for SchoolsFirst when Rudy Handley retired, found out when a member of the CU’s supervisory committee, a Consumer Reports subscriber, alerted Cheney via e-mail.
“This is a great honor for our team—the people in our branches, those in our call center, all those who deliver on our promise of world-class personal member service,” Cheney said.
Long Tradition
Cheney attributes the honor to loyal members built from a long tradition of outstanding service.
“I have been at the credit union 14 months and apparently the studies for this Consumer Reports survey began in 2012,” noted Cheney. “All the credit goes to the team, the board and to my predecessor, Rudy Handley, who led this credit union for 31 years. Collectively we have created a culture of service that permeates all that we do.”
Bill Cheney, Schoolsfirst
As the CU has grown beyond its original Orange County Teachers CU roots, expanding with a TIP charter to serve school employees in all of Southern California, the credit union has not lost focus on serving a distinct membership.
“All credit unions are focused on serving their members, but one thing that makes us special is that since 1934 we have been serving one group of members, school employees,” said Cheney.
That, Cheney said, has allowed Schoolsfirst to tailor products and services to a specific consumer segment in how they are named, structured and priced—“Which builds loyalty,” he said.
0% Loans
As examples of the credit union’s loyalty-building efforts, Cheney cited 0% uniform loans for maintenance workers and interest-free loans to teachers for books and classroom supplies. The credit union also offers a Summer Saver 3% savings account to tide school employees over when they are not receiving a paycheck.
“Whether you are a certified employee like a teacher or a classified employee like a bus driver or cafeteria worker, we have products and services designed to help people who work in education,” Cheney said.
The CU also offers a school employee themed credit card and mortgage.
“This reflects organizational values that are consistent with serving the unique characteristics of our members,” Cheney said. “But I don’t kid myself; there are thousands of credit unions around the country that offer summer loans and products such as that. We are just fortunate to have a loyal group of members who rank us highly in terms of service.”
Cheney added that the credit union emphasizes the importance of service to its team every day, and offers competitive pay that limits turnover and keeps dedicated, talented employees on staff.
“We stress the importance of world-class, personal service,” emphasized Cheney. “World-class does not mean good service, it does not mean better service, it means the best service in the world.”
No Sales Talk
Cheney said that when any of the 655,000 members walk into a branch or pick up the phone that personal service is the focus. “That personal interaction with that member is the most important thing to the credit union at that time, no matter what else is going on with the employee, no matter how busy they are.”
SchoolsFirst also regularly recognizes employees for excellent service.
“We do not have sales incentives,” pointed out Cheney. “Our incentives are around service. We don’t talk about sales in our organization, we talk about service.”