Independent Banker - October 2018 - 71

Trailblazer
Fully engaged
Anderson Brothers Bank may have been
founded in 1933, but its approach to branch
design is pure 21st century. By Ed Avis
hen customers walk into the new Anderson
Brothers Bank branch in Myrtle
Beach, S.C., they enter an environment designed
to engage. From a warm greeting at the door to
a centrally located " technology bar, " the community
bank branch surrounds customers with
convenience and congeniality.
" When you walk into nearly every bank in the
country, you
approach a
solid-wall teller
line and do
your business
and leave, " says
Bryan Lenertz,
Horry County
executive of the
Name: Anderson
Brothers Bank
Assets: $740 million
Location: Mullins, S.C.
abbank.com
$740 million-asset community bank.
" That's not at all engaging. So we decided
to try something that gives a better feeling to
the customer and creates a better customer experience.
We're trying to build a relationship
and not just conduct a transaction. " The idea to
create a different banking experience emerged
about three years ago, Lenertz says. The community
bank wanted to expand in Myrtle Beach,
but competition is heavy in that community,
so leadership knew they needed something to
differentiate themselves.
The " open concept " -which eschews the typical
teller line for a more free-flowing, customer-centric
environment-seemed like a good idea. " No
other bank in the area was doing that, " Lenertz
says. " We wanted customers to say, 'I got a different
experience at Anderson Brothers Bank.' "
The new branch, called the Market Common
branch, opened in 2017. Another branch
W
in Myrtle Beach with the open concept is under
construction and will open next spring, and the
bank's older North Myrtle Beach location will be
renovated to accommodate the concept later.
Key to the concept are what the bank calls its
universal employees, who are cross-trained in
all of the traditional teller and customer service
skills. A universal employee greets each customer
as he or she enters the bank and asks what kind
of transaction the person is seeking to complete.
If it's something normally done in a teller line,
the employee handles the transaction while the
customer sips a coffee. Or if the customer wants
to apply for a loan, the universal employee walks
him or her to the appropriate desk.
A different kind of bar
Bank customers who prefer a more high-tech experience
can head straight to the bank's " technolQuick
stat
100%
Anderson
Brothers
Bank tellers
and customer
service reps
being trained
as universal
employees
ogy bar. "
" The technology bar is a very beautiful wooden
bar in the middle of the lobby that has a couple
of iPads on it, so if the customer has to get onto
our website or mobile app, they can do it there, "
explains Tamra Cannon, chief retail officer. " The
in-lobby automated teller is at the end of the technology
bar, and folks can use that if they want to.
And on the other end of the bar is a fancy-dancy
coffee machine, which makes everything from
regular coffee to cappuccino. "
Another feature of the open concept is the
bank's use of teller pods, which have replaced the
teller wall. Two universal employees work in each
pod, and a cash recycler sits between them. The
tellers can handle transactions from the lobby or
the drive-through.
" The pods face into the lobby, but four feet behind
them are the drive-through tubes, " Lenertz
says. " So the tellers can turn around and grab the
[capsules]. We eliminated the drive-through window.
Instead, there are video monitors that show
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Independent Banker - October 2018

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