Building a Better Mousetrap, version 627....

I am proud of how NSFCU strives to continually figure out a better way of doing things. We run a very efficient operation and this trait is one big reason why - along with employees that work hard and really care. We also take to heart any feedback we receive from members, whether it is good or not so good. This all helps in the never ending process of delivering the best service possible to you. This is trickier than it appears when you consider we don’t know when you are coming or what you might need. It’s with this in mind that we are making two changes to our daily work flow.

First, we have purchased self service coin counting machines for the Grand Marais and Silver Bay offices; these machines should be installed by the end of August. The amount of bulk coin we process has increased so dramatically that it has started to impact the normal operations of our teller lines. We purchased the machines because it will allow members to get their bulk coin processed at their convenience without interrupting service to other members. The machines are easy to use and should be a great solution to this challenge. We try to avoid charging any fees but because of the cost of the machines, there will be a small fee of 1% of the total amount.

Second, we are making internal staffing changes to make our drive up teller lanes as fast as possible. It’s always a bit of a juggling act to make sure we handle both the drive up teller lanes and the lobby traffic with equal effectiveness. We’ve received feedback from you that you want faster, express lane type service from the drive up lanes so we are going to make that happen. We will have designated people assigned to the drive up lanes for the fastest possible service. One thing I would really ask you to do is use the second drive up lane as much as possible. Because of the flow of typical teller transactions, our tellers can process transactions in both lanes much faster than if all the cars stack up in the first drive up window.

On a related note, we monitor the number of transactions we do in all our offices and break it down by branch, by day, and by time of day. You might be interested (not surprised?) to know that Mondays and Fridays are by far the busiest days of the week. Wednesdays are clearly the least busy. There are clear patterns within the day as well: the peak periods are usually at 9, noon and between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. This indicates a strong preference on the part of some members to use our lobby for all their transactions even though the drive up lanes are available far earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon.

One other area we are investigating is statement delivery. Regulations require that members receive statements; the frequency varies depending on accounts and activity (it is too in-depth and boring to go into here). However, we know that many members don’t even want a statement and others never use the statements we spend a lot of money to deliver to them. Anything we can do to make this more efficient is just more money that goes into the Patronage Rebate. So, you will likely see some changes in how we handle statements in the coming months. In the meantime, please know that we offer electronic statements and the cost savings for your credit union is huge. It’s easy to sign up for this service and it’s free. Plus, you receive your statement within hours of month end, not days.

OK then, I think that is enough inside baseball for today.

Mark