Gold Coast Bank to make some house calls
Gold Coast Bank President Joseph Perri. (Sept. 8, 2010) Credit: Danielle Finkelstein
In Japan, they are called foot soldiers - bank employees who go out and make house calls on customers, even if the customer just wants to open an account.
The practice has been pretty much unheard of in the United States, until now.
Gold Coast Bank, which opens its second branch in Huntington next week, will be employing the Japanese tactic, said Gold Coast president Joseph Perri, for things involving just paperwork.
Banks often send over a representative if someone wants to apply for a mortgage, Perri said, but this will take customer service a step further, he said.
The practice will apply to all of Gold Coast's branches; one opened in Islandia two years ago and a third is to open in Setauket at the end of October.
Perri said he knows of no other bank on Long Island that offers such service for routine matters.
"We're doing a lot of things outside of the box," Perri said
Some things include setting up an art gallery inside the Huntington branch that will feature the works of local artists.
