The transition from Woodstone Credit Union to Qualstar, like any merger, can be fraught with alignment issues.

Systems, processes, cultures, people, etc…I’ve experienced some of these issues from a customer perspective coming from Woodstone as well.

However, I had a very pleasant customer experience on 8/3/2018 with Falana Clark, the Branch Manager in Kent.

She helped with a deposit, then listened to my concerns such as is there a member CU closer to my home they take deposits, does Qualstar have a Certified Financial Planner or equivalent for financial services? Falana handled each of these requests delightfully, with a desire to help.

She even helped me with testing the Kent ATM with my account number to ensure deposit capabilities. In addition, she personally contacted Qualstar’s Investment Advisor at the Federal Way branch to determine his financial accreditation’s and experience while I was at the branch. She is now the primary reason I plan on staying with Qualstar.

Please pass along my compliments to her. She did a wonderful job and is a credit to your organization.

A member came in to our Redmond branch for assistance on filing card dispute paperwork, so I helped him with that and noticed he received an auto pre-approval offer from us. I asked if he saw the offer, and he didn’t think he had. When I told him he was pre-approved, he mentioned he needed an upgrade since his current car’s odometer reading is at 250k miles! I gave him my business card and told him to give me a call when he’s ready to get started…

When this member walked in, my co-workers were helping other members so I told him I could help at the desk if his transaction did not involve cash. He had a check to deposit, so I invited him to sit. As I was processing the transaction, I noticed his Visa Gold was pretty close to its limit and wondered if an equity loan at a lower rate might work better for him. I asked if he had a mortgage, and after he told me his balance and current rate I explained we have two equity loans with no fees and no closing costs.

A member I worked with previously called and wanted to work with me again to eliminate more of her credit card debt. We were able to assist her with a personal loan and an auto loan last year, and she loved how committed we were to helping with her financial situation.

At the Kent branch we recently helped a husband and wife who are hearing impaired, but can communicate easily by writing and of course sign language. They came in expressing their interest in applying for an equity loan, so we sat down and started the application. Due to their specific communication needs, we hadn’t discussed any loan options that might help their financial situation in any of their previous visits to a branch so I figured it was about time!

I was working with a member who was pre-approved for a Visa Credit Card – when I told him about it, he said he already had enough cards so I made sure he knew about our 1% Balance Transfer Rebate. He became very interested and agreed to proceed with the application. During our conversation, I found out he had an auto loan, so I told him we could also look into refinancing it at a lower rate and maybe even a lower payment…

In December this member came in to see about getting a credit card due to some unexpected medical expenses in his family that were starting to add up. We processed an application for a Visa Gold and he was approved for a $500 limit – while this helped, it was not quite what he was looking for…

Telling this story made me realize how much we can change a member’s life simply by taking a few moments to ask some questions and see what we can do to help. This member originally called to apply for a higher amount on his personal loan because he needed funds to pay a bill. I submitted the application and it was approved – while I was reviewing his overall financial situation I noticed a loan with a lender that I knew would have a high interest rate…

Back in August, I helped these members with an auto loan refinance and found out they had over $70,000 in combined credit card debt so I immediately wanted to help improve their financial situation.

Back in July I had a great conversation with this member about refinancing his auto loan with us; the payments were pretty high and I was hoping we could help him save some money. A couple weeks passed, so I sent a follow-up card and shortly after that the Mr. and Mrs. walked into the Kent branch with my card in hand and we started the application.