Ordinary People, Extraordinary Decisions: Credit Union Will Pay Despite Government Shut Down

This is the 9th edition of the “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Decisions” series where we highlight another person/organization who embodies the statement: “Change the way you think, and you can change the world.” View the entire series here.

________________________________________________________________

Many Americans are feeling frustrated, angry, and helpless as they watch their leaders battle out the budget and face the possibility of a government shut down within a few hours.

Many government workers could be out of a job, and astonishingly military workers will not receive pay despite still being required to work.  Some people are wondering if this is even legal.

However, instead of focusing on the negative issues today, we want to highlight one organization that is doing the right thing.  A good friend of mine is living on a military base in Germany right now while her husband serves our country.  She has been stressed thinking about how she will feed her two daughters if her husband’s paycheck doesn’t arrive due to the shutdown.  Thankfully, this morning she received the following email from her bank- Service Credit Union.

Service Credit Union to provide extensive assistance
to members during government shutdown

Service Credit Union will credit direct deposit and allotments for military and government service members affected by the pending government shutdown. It will also provide a 0% loan rate with up to a 30-day payback and a line of credit up to their direct deposit for all other government paid Service Credit Union members.

For all branches of the military and government service, Service Credit Union will honor their direct deposit or allotment based on the amount received last mid-month in March. For all other government paid workers, the 0% line of credit loan will also be based on the last direct deposit received during mid-March. These lines of credit would be zeroed out by the end of 30 days, automatically repaid in full from the member’s checking or saving account, so not to harm the member’s financial well being. For those qualifying and wishing to continue their line of credit will be able to do so at the credit union’s usual loan policy.

“We at Service Credit Union feel that our military – active duty, Guard, Reserve and retirees and government service members are most important to us and we wish to ensure that they do not encounter any financial hardship, inconvenience and/or financial harm due to the looming government shutdown” says Gordon Simmons, President/CEO of Service Credit Union. “If our government has still not passed a budget by month’s end and remains shutdown, Service Credit Union will address that issue at that time in a similar fashion.”

Members affected by the government shutdown are urged to call Service Credit Union’s 24/7 Live Person Service Contact Center at 1.800.936.7730 (U.S.) or 00800.4728.2000 (International) for more information or visit any of its 35 branches.

Kudos to Service Credit Union for thinking differently about how business should be done.  They didn’t have to issue pay to these members at their own expense, but they are doing it anyway.  They value their customers so much that they don’t believe they deserve financial harm and are willing to cover the costs themselves.

Have you experienced phenomenal customer service like this lately?

Want to read another story like this? “Now You’re Thinking” is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com.  This book shares the story of how a few military service members thought differently about helping a young girl living in Afghanistan who would die without their help.   It will inspire you to think differently about how you approach making a difference.  In addition, the book will help you learn to be a better thinker and make better decisions in your daily life.  Learn more here.

Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens.  She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training.  Prior to joining Pearson, her experience included recruiting, training, and HR consulting.  She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at AssessmentBuzz and ThinkWatson.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.