Banking on Hometown Hospitality

December 2022

Whether you live in a bustling big city, or a sleepy small town, or somewhere in between, do you prefer to live a local life and interact in-person, or do you thrive online—with your fingers blazing across the keyboard—enjoying the quiet comfort of your private office space, with no one to bother you?

For most of my career, I lived the life of a busy jetsetter, flying here and there to meet in-person with clients and staff. I loved the personal interaction. That said, while I love to travel, most business trips were never quite as exotic as my work-at-home friends envisioned it. But I always enjoyed meeting with people—anywhere and everywhere.

I loved learning about the local customs, discovering local foods, and finding out how the locals spend their time both in and away from the office. Most of all, I enjoyed trying on the local lifestyle for size, so to speak, to the extent I could in the brief time I was there.

While our local hometown cultures may vary dramatically from one place to another, we all have some things in common. When traveling, I would do my best to understand and respect the local customs and I would ask a lot of questions to discover the nuances and commonalities. New friends are waiting to be met everywhere you go. That, you can bank on.

Whenever I meet people face-to-face, anywhere in the world, I develop a deeper appreciation for what they deal with, and vice versa. I always find it easier to uncover hidden roadblocks and build stronger bonds in person than by communicating over Zoom, or by phone, or via emails. In-person connections somehow result in greater camaraderie and more genuine hospitality than any other way.

I must admit that these days I tend to spend more time at my desk than I used to—it’s hard to write books and blogs without dedicated quiet time at the keyboard. Never-the-less, I truly relish taking part in on-site civic, social, and business affairs—in my local community and beyond—because I love to interact, learn, and help make the world a better place face-to-face. 

I recently hosted an on-stage event featuring authors who live in my local community. Each author discussed their respective genres and read a brief selection from one of their books. The audience had the chance to personally get to know each author, purchase the books that interested them, and then have their books signed by the authors. It was a fun and enlightening evening for one and all.

A few weeks later, one of the authors—who I had only known casually prior to that event—called me up and asked where I did my business banking. The question caught me a bit off guard, but I answered and asked why he wanted to know. His response really surprised me when he said, “Because I bank at Pineland Bank and I really love going in there. It’s a hometown bank that always treats me like I’m someone special. I’d like to introduce you to them because I think you’d really like them, too.”

In all my years of business, no one had ever tried to get me to switch banks before. The fact is that I had pretty much stayed with the same big-name bank over the years, wherever I happened to live at any point in time. To me, banking is simply a necessary evil, so it’s all about convenience. Banks are banks, I thought to myself. Why switch? So, I politely thanked my author friend and explained that my current bank was just fine. I would let him know if I ever changed my mind.

A month or so later, my author friend called again to say, “Are you aware that Pineland Bank features the books of local authors? You should ask them to feature your books in their lobby sometime. I’m sure they’ll be happy to promote your books.”

That certainly caught me off guard. “Why would a bank I don’t even do business with want to promote my books?” I replied.

My author friend responded, “Because they like to support the community and they try to offer friendly services that might be of value to their customers. I’ll bet they have plenty of customers who would be interested in your books. How about we meet there, and I’ll introduce you.”

Not wanting to inconvenience him, I thanked him for his generosity and said I’d think about it. Banks are just banks, I again thought to myself, it’s all about convenience. But over time my curiosity got the best of me.

So finally one day I walked into Pineland Bank and introduced myself to the lobby manager, Kathy. When Kathy heard my name, she flashed her warm, charismatic smile at me and eagerly shook my hand saying, “Pat has told me so much about you! In fact, he was just here. I’m so glad you have come in. What can I do for you?”

With such a friendly greeting, I immediately thought to myself, this really is a different kind of bank. So, I asked about their business accounts. After reviewing their various business services with me, Kathy escorted me to a cheerful display table all decked out for Halloween, saying, “Normally we feature local authors’ books here in the lobby, but for now we’re handing out some neighborly trick-or-treat goodies. Would you like to be our featured author for the month of November?  We’ll be delighted to set up a display for you. Just bring in whatever materials you’d like to include in the display, and we’ll feature your books all month.”

Kathy’s hometown hospitality was so unexpected and so genuine, I simply couldn’t decline her offer. The very next thing I did was open an account.  You can see the nice book display they set up for me in the picture below.

And that, my friend, is what makes a “best place to do business” culture. Perhaps Pineland Bank’s example will inspire you to brainstorm some WOW Factor programs that your organization can implement to attract new clients. You might even WOW them so much that they’ll encourage their friends to do business with you, too.        

If you’re ever in the southeast, be sure to pop into a Pineland Bank and introduce yourself to the lobby manager. See for yourself how to take hometown hospitality to a whole new level.        

Deb's Book Display at Pineland Bank