“The way we make a difference is with our customer service,” says Russell Colombo, president and CEO of Bank of Marin. “We provide what I’d call an extraordinary level of service and commitment to our customers.”
The public has noticed, voting Bank of Marin this year’s Best Company to Do Business With in Marin County and contributing to its steady growth. The bank formed in 1989, followed by two branches—one in San Rafael and one in Corte Madera—in 1990. It now boasts more than $900 million in assets and 11 offices with locations in Sausalito, Strawberry, Corte Madera, San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma and a commercial loan office in San Francisco. An additional branch will open in Mill Valley this summer.
Bank of Marin’s mission is to be the bank of choice for depository, lending and wealth management services. The bank acts as a knowledgeable resource for its customers and is continually looking for what new products and services it can introduce to meet customers’ needs. Case in point, last year alone, the bank introduced several new services, including “remote deposit,” which lets businesses deposit checks electronically from their office or other locations by using a designated scanner at their desktop and sending them electronically to the bank, and “positive pay,” a fraud detection service that matches the checks customers say they’ve written to those that come into the bank.
“We’re always looking at new products to try to expand our offerings, primarily to the small business market, so we can continue to be a good place to do business. We’re very proud of our standing as the number one business bank in Marin,” explains Colombo.
The firm’s 200 employees are all trained to deliver extraordinary customer service, which means being responsive to customers’ needs, being accessible and approaching a customer’s problem or issue as an opportunity to help.
Colombo shares one of his favorite examples of how the bank’s employees continually go above and beyond to help their clients: “One of our customers, writer and motivational speaker Jason Jennings (who wrote Think Big, Act Small: How America’s Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-Up Spirit Alive), was on the way to the airport at 8 a.m. and pulled up at our Strawberry branch ATM to get some cash,” tells Colombo.
“The ATM said ‘Temporarily Out of Service.’ He thought, ‘What am I going to do? I have to go to the airport, I won’t be able to give the driver a tip….’ The branch manager and assistant manager, who were there early, saw him outside and asked what the problem was—even though the bank and vault weren’t open yet. He explained he needed cash, and so the two of them opened their wallets. One of them gave him $60 and the other gave him $40.” Now that’s thinking big and acting small!
“I think that’s above and beyond,” agrees Colombo. “That’s what we call ‘legendary service,’ and that’s why people want to bank with us—because we add a personal touch that isn’t there at other banks.”
