Fiscal fitness.

• Position: SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

BACKGROUND

The golden rule isn't just a theory, when you hire North Star Restoration, they treat you the way they would want to be treated as they guide their clientele through some of the most difficult times in life--when their homes or businesses have been struck by disaster. When Utah residents need a trusted partner to repair structures damaged by fire, flood, mold or sewage, they turn to North Star Restoration. In turn, North Star Restoration has turned to Mountain America Credit Union to provide the financial products and services it needs to grow.

"Customers appreciate our focus on quality repair work, as well as our attention to their emotional state," explains Jon Graf, owner of North Star Restoration. "While our first step is to assess the damage, we often play the dual role of grief counselor because, along with significant damage, our customers have also lost personal items."

North Star provides 24-hour emergency clean-up and repair services for residential and commercial customers--a majority of these new clients coming as referral business.

THE SITUATION

In recent years, Graf became tired of paying high fees to financial institutions that didn't appear to value him as a customer. "When we took a really close look at the fees we were charged, we immediately knew something had to change--not only the high fees--but also some of the hassles of depositing the insurance checks we received on behalf of customers," says Graf.

Several of Graf's employees and family members have personal accounts with Mountain America and encouraged him to give the credit union a try. "I could tell right away that we shared the same customer service philosophy--treat customers the same way we want to be treated," Graf notes. "Mountain America cares about my business as much as I do."

Graf has been...