Yuma's Best 2012: Foothills Bank

It’s no problem for the Foothills Bank to give newly hired employees the training they need to be tellers.

But if new employees don’t come to the job already having a genuine desire to give excellent customer service, then they can’t do the job – at least not as far as Foothills Bank is concerned.

The desire to serve others, says Wayne Gale, the bank’s president and chief executive officer, "has got to come naturally."

And, he adds, that commitment to customer service doesn’t just apply to the tellers who meet with customers coming through front door. It applies to all employees, under all circumstances, whether they are tellers, loan officers or bank officers, whether they are talking with the public in person or by phone.

"There’s not a member of the staff who is exempt (from providing great) customer service."

The bank, with four branches in the Yuma area, has earned first place honors in the category of Best Customer Service for 2012 in Yuma’s Best, the Yuma Sun’s annual reader poll.

The bank’s motto, "Banking With a Personal Touch," is exercised from the top down, says Gale.

"It comes down from the board (of directors). The board very clearly makes that a high priority."

When hiring for job openings at its branches, the bank looks for applicants who demonstrate a genuine desire to serve people and their needs, he said.

Having been hired, the new employee takes part in orientation meetings with human resources personnel who stress the importance of meeting the customers’ needs, said Gale. And the new hires get the opportunity to observe good customer skills being practiced by others who do the same jobs.

"We train our employees from Day 1 to provide the very best customer service and we re-emphasize that" as long as the employees are with the bank, he said.

Foothills Bank offers traditional banking services to customers, including checking, savings and money market accounts, and investing products. It offers all types of loans, Gale said, and its main focus is serving small and mid-size businesses, including professionals.

"We’re locally owned, locally operated and locally focused," said Gale. "It just makes for common sense decisions and allows us to better serve customers."

The bank, which marked its 15th anniversary in November, has branches in Prescott, Chino Valley and Casa Grande, in addition to the four in Yuma County.

In the Yuma area, the bank has 47 employees divided up among the four branches. The branches’s locations and phone numbers are as follows:

• 6024 E. 32nd St., 314-3111

• 2201 S. Avenue A, 343-1000

• 11689 S. Foothills Blvd., 305-5000

• 2285 S. 4th Ave., (928) 782-7000

For more information, visit www.thefoothillsbank.com.