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| Citizens Bank |
Now, imagine having to carry all those quarters. And count them.
Those tasks are just part of the job at WSFS Bank, which recently nabbed the contract to provide a range of banking services for the city of Rehoboth Beach, a town that literally runs on quarters.
The quarters, of course, are the product of the resort city's notoriously voracious parking meters, which fill rapidly during the summer season and present quite a logistical challenge. Seeking to streamline its quarter-shuffling responsibilities, the town turned to WSFS, which had been maneuvering for years to win the contract away from Citizens Bank.
"The sheer volume is obviously a logistical issue," said Scott D. Swingle, southern group manager for business banking at WSFS. "I think the city was looking for ways that were operationally efficient."
In exchange for making WSFS its choice for banking services -- including deposits and lending -- Rehoboth gets the bank's coin-counting skills at no charge. WSFS now must beef up its Rehoboth branch to cope -- on a typical July weekend, the town's two meter retrievers will unload about $80,000 worth of quarters, which then must be toted to the bank and sent out to a vendor for counting.
"We have actually added a temp position for the coin carrying" and brought in new counting machines, said Lauren G. Kubler, who helped plan the procedures as WSFS' Rehoboth branch manager. Some of the bags, each weighing as much as 35 pounds, have to be emptied at the bank, rebagged and sent back to the city to feed its change machines, said Lauren K. Wilson, money room manager in retail operations.
Last season, Rehoboth took in about $2.1 million of its revenue through the meters, said Gregory Ferrese, town manager. The money is used to hire the many seasonal workers the city needs, keep the comfort stations up and running, and for capital improvement projects.
Citizens Bank did a fine job with the task, but Rehoboth saw the potential advantage of dealing with a truly local bank with a nearby presence, Ferrese said. The switch to WSFS seemed assured when the bank's president and CEO, Mark Turner, personally attended meetings about the deal.
"If something does not work out, you call me anytime," Turner said to Rehoboth officials, leaving them a bit stunned.
"That just didn't happen" in the city's previous banking relationship, Ferrese said.
WSFS has similar relationships with other town governments but doesn't disclose which ones. And the Wilmington-based bank isn't immune to losing a few deals itself -- last year, it lost an 11-year student-banking relationship with the University of Delaware to PNC Bank.
The deal with Rehoboth comes as WSFS pursues broader growth in Southern Delaware -- branch openings in Milford and Seaford are expected later this spring, bringing the number of offices below the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to 14.
Sources: http://www.delmarvanow.com
