There’s nothing like an emotive quote to make you think, pause, or smile. Teddy Roosevelt once mused, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Ross Perot attested, “Spend a lot of time talking to customers face to face. You’d be amazed how many companies don’t listen to their customers.”
These two trailblazers may have had opposing political views, but they certainly share a similar ideology when it comes to human connections and the crux of what we all have in common: the desire for interactions with others who are kind in spirit and speak with sincerity.
Look no further because eight of these benevolent smile makers comprise the team at Columbia Bank. A staff that has been unchanged since the Ocala branch opened in 2017.
While Columbia Bank can boast about its longevity of 107 years – and deservedly so in the current banking sphere of mergers, acquisitions, and frequent employee turnover – any business is only as good as its human representations. It’s not cliché or presidential prattle. It’s fact. With everything else equal, people still like interacting with congenial people. It’s a bonus when they treat you like Norm from Cheers! and greet you by name when you walk in the door. It’s a double bonus when they offer a bottle of high quality H20 or a hot coffee. It’s a home run when you actually know their names, too, because their seats aren’t a rotating placeholder for the next team member.
No matter how much emerging technology precipitates the convenience of banking from home or the office, at the end of the day when you forgot your password or accidentally paid the wrong bill and don’t know what to do, it’s a calming bygone feeling to know your banker is just a phone call away (and with a number that begins 352).
Columbia Bank hit the mark when they hired this all-star team. It’s easy to see that it’s a close-knit group that plays hard but works even harder. Every single one of them is sharp, sociable, and will sometimes deliver a dose of satirical wit when their guests are in a playful mood. It’s relationships like these that make customers feel like they’re really invited guests. Maybe it’s the birthday cards they send each month, or the way they follow-up to make sure any matters are resolved, or how they go an extra step just because. There really is no one attribute that elevates this group and Columbia Bank so far above the others. It’s simply the perfect recipe of eight extraordinary individuals who organically blend to create the most satisfying experience for an otherwise necessary daily drudgery.
