FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 13, 2017 • QUEENS BUSINESS • THE QUEENS COURIER 3 as “a coffee service bar and comfortable seating,” said Brown. What they don’t have, he added, is a “traditional cashiering operation. There’s no part of the branch where there’s plexiglass. We wanted to create an open environment in a space where interaction and perhaps more intimate conversations with customers could occur, rather than us being on one side of the desk or counter and them on the other.” This has neighborhood residents intrigued. During a warm spell in February, Brown said, bank personnel at the new Williamsburg branch opened the front doors. “The folks walking by stopped and looked in,” he recounted. “They didn’t recognize it as a bank. What they saw was a really visually entertaining space.” They also should expect and receive “old-fashioned service,” according to Mahon, who stressed, “Part of my job is making sure we get out and talk to our customers.” The size of the bank means that input “can get back up the food chain” quickly and easily, he noted. “If there’s something we should be doing, we can change pretty quickly.” Mahon is hoping that the level of comfort that customers feel at a Dime branch translates into loyalty. “It’s like the local coffee shop vs. Starbuck’s,” he explained. “That’s the kind of comfortable experience we want to provide.” For customers who would rather do their banking remotely, Dime has added a host of innovative features to its online and mobile banking operations, Brown mentioned. “While technology won’t replace employees at a branch, we are providing flexible options and capabilities for those customers who want to choose the time and place for interacting with the bank,” he added. “Dime now offers mobile and online platforms that are easy to use and empower them to do tasks remotely, from depositing a check to checking a balance, ultimately providing them with more time to do other things.” Brown remarked that offering smart solutions to customers is “an extension of the community part of Dime Community Bank.” People, Mahon added, “are now accustomed to an Amazon-like experience. When they financial institution, that’s expect.” For Dime, creating a convenient, online experience has been an investment that began in 2015, when the bank developed a robust digital platform to compete on a regional and national platform. With DimeDirect, Dime’s online bank, customers nationwide were now able to open a Dime money market account. Taking a cue from online-only banks, the bank began Ken Mahon, president and CEO of DIme Community Bank, in his office at Dime's new headquarters. Bill Brown, executive vice president and chief retail officer of Dime Community Bank, by the bank's timeline wall in its downtown Brooklyn headquarters. offering the option about a year and a half ago, and Mahon deemed the effort a great success. "The Dime brand is a nationally recognized brand." As a result, Dime has significantly grown its digital customer base. Dime’s mobile and online platforms, Brown said, are measurable not just against those offered by other financial institutions but against those offered by retail businesses which in recent years have reshaped expectations of what a website or mobile platform should offer. “That bar has been raised in the past couple of years,” remarked Brown. “It’s a misconception that community banks don’t have the technology that larger banks do,” agreed Rob Volino, Dime’s Senior Executive Vice President and COO. “You can bank with Dime whenever and however you like.” Volino emphasized that the technology available to Dime customers is, in the truest sense, “an extension of the brick and mortar banks” that have served the communities they are located with dedication and a personal touch. Those commitments continue, said Volino, who explained that the bank has made a conscious decision to maintain its close ties with the community. “I think as a community bank, we can lead with relationship and personal touch,” he noted. “So, as we begin working with those small businesses, it isn’t just about offering products. It’s really about developing relationships. It’s very personal. The branch managers know the customers. We’re here to help each other’s business.” With that in mind, said Brown, Dime “began last year encouraging and training branch managers on how to provide advice and counsel to small business owners. We’re not just in it for the transaction.”
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