LETTER: Glacier Bank gets rave review from ex-worker

What comes to your mind when you think friendliness, smiles, customer service, downtown Kalispell sky-bridge, branch offices “everywhere,” free checking and free gifts? Most people think of Glacier Bank. What you may not know are other facts that this former “insider” wants to reveal.

Glacier Bank is well known for extraordinary customer service being their No. 1 priority. What you may not know is that customer service from the bank to their employees is the No. 2 priority. Yes, profit is a necessary goal for any business to survive, but Glacier Bank does not sacrifice integrity or compassion for people to reach the bottom line.

I found Glacier Bank to be one huge “family” where people cared for each other, pitched in to take up the slack when a co-worker was struggling with life events, and believed in old-fashioned teamwork to get the job done. I rarely heard anyone state that a task was “not my job.”

For example, one very hot summer day, years ago, when Glacier Bank was privileged to serve lunch for the Climb Big Mountain event — I watched Glacier Bancorp’s CEO, Mick Blodnick, and his daughter graciously and cheerfully volunteer to flip burgers and hot dogs for the hundreds of Climb participants. There were certainly more prestigious and comfortable avenues to represent Glacier Bank to our community. That is just one example that spoke volumes to me about community service and humility.

Yes, there have been Glacier Bank employees who did not represent the company well with their personal values or ethics, but the overall umbrella of the bank supports an atmosphere of personal growth and education and encouragement to “find the right seat on the bus.” My starting a career, with no banking background, was never used against me; to the contrary, Glacier Bank made sure I was given the training, tools, and guidance that I needed to ensure I could perform my duties.

Glacier Bank management always had an open-door policy allowing opportunities to voice concerns and to ask questions. Awards and incentives abound for the creative and ambitious. I saw several employees not only move between departments and branches, but there were a few who left the bank to pursue other careers and then came back to open arms and a positive atmosphere — as though they had never left Glacier Bank.

Glacier Bank should win the “No. 1 Employer Award” in every one of their communities! I thank God and Glacier Bank for giving me my “dream job” with a company I felt honored to work for and was very proud of for over 18 years.

—Rhonda Gorton, Kalispell