Be kind to your customers

David L. Sutton
Senior vice president, director of retail banking
First Bank Financial Centre
155 W. Wisconsin Ave., Oconomowoc
Industry: Financial services
Employees: 270
www.fbfcwi.com

David Sutton, director of retail banking at First Bank Financial Centre, has found kindness can go a long way toward building both loyal customers and engaged employees.

“In my time at First Bank Financial Centre, we’ve doubled our number of branches and, as such, nearly doubled our number of customer-facing employees. One of the biggest challenges we face as we grow is the ability to maintain our customer-centric philosophy. Adding employees who share our vision of great customer service isn’t always easy.
“Yet our customer satisfaction scores remain very high throughout all of our locations. In fact, our net promoter score, a ranking of those customers who will refer us to others, is on par with the best in the financial services industry.
“The secret to our success isn’t really that much of a secret at all. In fact, it’s something that many great business leaders believe, and that I instill in my team. S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, put it best in his book, ‘How Did You Do It, Truett?’ when he said, ‘Be kind to your customers. It’s the key to success.’
“I’d take it one step further, and add that being kind to your team is equally important. By assuming positive intent and recognizing exceptional customer service, our employees are eager to serve their customers in a way that is helpful, respectful and distinctive.
“We recognize that a visit to one of our branches is just one stop out of many that customers will make throughout their day. They don’t stop in necessarily expecting something remarkable, but it’s a pleasant surprise when we solve their problem, or simply make their day a little better with a smile, a cup of coffee or a cookie.
“It doesn’t cost us any more to be kind, yet it’s the greatest investment we make.”