SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — When Robert Reed arrived at Arrowhead Credit Union in May as the new senior vice president of sales and service, he was more than impressed with the financial institution's impeccable service and transaction records.

The $1.1 billion Arrow-head has such an affinity with its more than 168,000 members, Reed saw an opportunity to focus on areas that needed a little bolstering–more active follow-ups with newly-signed members, for instance, and being proactive with those considering leaving the credit union.

To that end, Arrowhead put in place its 22261 Member Relationship Management program in September. The "22261″ represents the time frame in which new members are contacted: two days after the relationship starts, again at two weeks, at two months and six months, and then on their one-year anniversary. Since implementing the 22261 strategy this summer, Arrowhead said it has seen an increase in member service scores across its entire branch network. In January 2007, the service score, which measures the member's experience at the branch on a five-point scale, was 4.68. In October, the average score had increased to 4.76.