Just a few days ago, I was chatting with one of my colleagues at myCUmortgage, someone I work rather closely with. He just moved into a newly built house and was telling me about the process he and his family went through to create their Dream Home.
I found this particularly intriguing because on my home planet of Amicitia, there is no “process” to build a home; rather, we live in pre-fabricated pods that, believe it or not, are very similar to those represented in your science fiction entertainment here on Earth.
What was even more intriguing was the service component of the building process. Since service is a cornerstone for credit unions across your United States—and home building and credit union mortgages are in the same field of interest—I asked him to divulge more detail.
His experience, as you will read below, was very insightful as well as powerful, so much so that I thought it would make for a good blog post. Within a two-year span, my colleague built TWO new homes using two very different builders—one was a part of a large national corporation and the other, a small local business. Here are some of the differences between the two:
- First Impressions: Both representatives from the building companies greeted my colleague and his family with big smiles and handshakes (or in the case of the small builder, an elbow bump in respect to the COVID environment). Immediately, my colleague realized they were just another “sale” in the eyes of the large builder, whereas the small builder was more informative, laying out the details and answering questions. Very low (if any) pressure.
- The Models: I initially got excited because I thought my friend was going to talk about model spaceships, on which I’m an expert! Nevertheless, the discussion was about home models, as I’m sure you guessed. The large builder only showed them existing model homes, built specifically for wooing potential buyers; however, the smaller builder encouraged them to go a step further and offered to show them homes in every stage of the building process. That builder wanted them to see the bones of the projects and how they arrived at the end product.
- Flexibility: The large builder offered limited options and couldn’t make changes to the original plans. In fact, my colleague soon learned that all the builder’s homes are basically delivered as “kits” and assembled on site. In my mind, I’m thinking what if the pieces don’t all fit together? Yikes! On the other hand, the small builder never said, “We can’t do that.” They always listened to my colleague’s questions and ideas and worked on a solution for their unique needs (and not necessarily at a higher price, which was not the case with any add-ons, if even possible, with the large builder).
- The Building Process: My colleague indicated that they were allowed inside the home of the large builder three times prior to close, and it was under the close supervision of the project manager. They said they were specifically told NOT to go in the home unless they scheduled an appointment. The small builder strongly encouraged frequent visits—accompanied or alone—to catch any potential issues early on. Sure, the family needed to sign a waiver stating they’d be smart and careful during their visits, but that was it. They had a set of construction keys and kept a close eye on the entire process. No corners were cut.
- The Closing: While the large builder didn’t bother to show up for the closing, the small builder insisted on being there. And it wasn’t because they wanted to get their check—it was because they wanted to be the one to hand the keys over to my colleague. They were proud of their work and stood behind it, and they were genuinely thrilled to get my colleague and his family into their new home!
- Home Sweet Home: After move-in was complete, my colleague expected there would be things on which he had questions or needed remedied. The large builder told them to put in a ticket, and they’d be dealt with in the order in which the ticket was received. The small builder gave them his cell phone number and encouraged them to call with anything they needed. I actually had the opportunity to speak with another customer of the small builder, and she indicated that even after living in their home for 20+ years, she knows that if she called them, they would be out there to assist. Now THAT’S lifelong service!
After hearing all these details about the two processes, it reminded me of another common industry comparison: Big Banks versus Credit Unions. Let’s look at the comparisons again and break them down a little differently:
- The Beginning: Big banks are for-profit businesses. Credit unions use the stakeholder model where each defined group benefits from the credit union’s performance. myCUmortgage has four stakeholders where each is as equally important as the other—our partner credit unions; the credit unions’ members; the myCUmortgage team; and our parent organization, Wright-Patt Credit Union.
- Transparency: I think of this as the fine print. Big banks provide you with that fine print but leave it up to you to decipher. Credit unions care about their members and take the time to go through that fine print to make sure the member is aware of everything they need to know.
- Products and Services: Big banks have a “menu” of products and services to share, kind of like a menu you find at a business dinner or event—you can see everything available, but you can’t add or change anything. Credit unions have a similar menu as a starting point—from there, they can work with the member and customize many of the products and services to the member’s unique needs, much like a nice restaurant can do.
- Communication: Big banks look at their customers as numbers—remember, they’re for-profit. Credit unions have MEMBERS and communicate with them as if they are part of the family, because after all, they are.
- Relationship: Big banks don’t want relationships; they want customers and profits. On the other hand, credit unions are very concerned about establishing solid, lifelong relationships with their members. If you were to visit any credit union branch or listen in on a phone call, it wouldn’t take long for you to see staff and members interacting on a first-name familial basis.
- Beyond the Products: Once they have you at a big bank, you’re just a number (a recurring theme, if you hadn’t noticed). At a credit union, you’re a customer for life or, rather, a permanent part of the family and an equal stakeholder.
While this analogy could be applied to just about any industry or business, it is particularly relevant and true in the credit union world. To all my credit union friends and family, keep driving that service—it is what makes you and your credit union special in the minds and hearts of your members, as well as what makes your credit union feel like home.