Maryland Bank Experiments with Free Lunch...and Breakfast.

• Author: ALBRO, WALT

Here's one way to persuade your clientele to stick around a while: feed them.

The Columbia Bank, a subsidiary of Maryland-based Columbia Bancorp, has been experimenting with serving hot breakfasts to the local folks.

Del Karfonta, senior vice president for retail banking, admits to trying "anything I can think of' in order to attract members of the local community into the bank to meet and schmooze with the staff. At the bank's downtown Towson (suburban Baltimore) location, branch manager Carolyn Norwood and assistant manager Vanessa Nadolny served waffles, omelets and hotcakes to consumers every Friday for a month The branch is located at Heaver Plaza, a high-rise office complex.

Elsewhere, in the bank's 23 branches in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas, other experiments included hiring a professional to appraise the valuables of community members and bringing in a hot dog vendor on Saturday mornings during the summer.

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