Concierge banking is usually for the rich and famous at thehigh-end banks. Alamo Federal Credit Union doesn't see it that way. They wanttheir members to feel pampered and taken care of. Alamo FCU isgoing the extra mile to take members beyond satisfaction toelation—literally.

The $44 million credit union in San Antonio started a personalconcierge banking program. This small credit union will send arepresentative out to a member's office or home or wherever it'sconvenient to open accounts or help complete a loan application.Wisely, the concierge will not carry cash, but he or she will beable to assist with switching over current accounts at otherfinancial institutions to Alamo FCU.

CEO Max Villaronga stated in the credit union's press release,“With Alamo FCU, you don't wait on us, we wait on you.” Thatstatement is exactly the point; it gets at the crux of credit unionphilosophy and running a solid business. It represents a truemembers-lead-the-business attitude and it demonstrates that size isnot an excuse for not generating creative solutions. In fact, itshould be easier without the bureaucracy a larger credit unionmight have.

Certainly it represents an investment on the credit union's partbut relative to what a financial institution would have to investon a fixed asset, such as a branch and security along witheverything else, the concierge concept could prove well worthit.

The proof will be in the results but this type of directinvestment in the members and growing potential members is thepoint from which to start.

For many small business owners trying to run their one-personshops or stay-at-home parents with a couple of toddlers, it can betoo much of a hassle to make the trek into the credit union. Inaddition, they may require consultation on various financialmatters that the online or mobile venues simply cannot fulfill.

Alamo FCU looked at a service typically reserved for thewell-to-do and applied it to its members' needs. They looked at onemodel and fit it to the credit union's vision to create somethingdifferent.

And that's exactly what contestants in MAX Credit Union's 2013Funky Junk art contest did as well.

The $960 million Alabama credit union partnered with theMontgomery Clean City Commission to bring creativity andrecycling to life. More than 75 pieces were entered into thecompetition from age 5 through adult. MAX CU's participationsupported three objectives by drawing attention to environmentalconcerns, providing artists a venue to highlight their creativityand, last but not least, bringing awareness of the credit union topotential members.

The lesson? Look at something as simple and chaotic as a pile ofgarbage and build something beautiful. I couldn't resist includinga picture of one of the winning pieces here. What could your creditunion come up with by borrowing from other similar—ornot—businesses? A concierge service perhaps.

The concierge service also calls to mind a comment from Mazuma CU CEO Brandon Michaels, a recent CU Times' Trailblazer 40 Below,which essentially said that happy members don't make happyemployees but happy employees can help make happy members. Focus onserving those who serve the members, as Ed Speed, retired CEO of Texas Dow Employees CU, has said.

The leadership at Securityplus FCU recently honored itsemployees for reaching certain goals, not with boring plaques, butwith lunch served to them. What made the recognition moremeaningful was that it was served by CEO Brett Noll dressed as aserver in a fine dining restaurant, tux and all, and Marketing AVPMark Ely in complete chef regalia.

Front-line employees who feel appreciated and recognized willhelp to make members feel appreciated and recognized. It's allabout perspective and taking someone else's to make the creditunion into something better than it was before.