Addison Avenue's SuggestionBox: Company Improvement & Customer Interaction

The garage is often the birthplace of companies that drive innovation. Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union is focused on guiding people towards financial freedom so they can make their lives better. Named after the legendary location of the garage where HP started in Palo Alto, CA, Addison Avenue fosters a culture of innovation while managing the highest level of investment assets in the credit union industry. As the economy slumps and financial concerns rise, Addison Avenue has excelled and grown through customer-focused online initiatives that are fully committed to organizational improvement.

Addison Avenue serves more than 140,000 members (in 10 states and Puerto Rico) and the majority of them (70 percent) never visit a branch. With customers who rely on the Internet as the gatekeeper for a relationship with Addison Avenue, the credit union needs a customer feedback solution that exceeds standard surveys, forms or discussion tools. Addison Avenue discovered the easy-to-implement, yet powerful two-way communication capabilities at SuggestionBox.com and became an early participant in the site's beta version.

The Addison Avenue SuggestionBox gives customers direct access to decision-makers and the opportunity to track ideas for improving the Addison Avenue experience and/or its services. All suggestions may be viewed by anyone and people are encouraged to vote on the ideas (ratings are one to five bulbs, with five being the best and the brightest). Each suggestion may be followed and tracked through various stages of the review process — from idea to implementation. For the first time, customers submitting feedback to Addison Avenue have a solution that lets them know exactly where their idea stands at the credit union, how it's viewed among fellow members and most importantly, whether or not Addison Avenue will implement it.

As a result of Addison Avenue's approach and offerings, the company is ranked in the top 1 percent of all credit unions in the country for the value it provides to its members. The creation of an Addison Avenue SuggestionBox is supporting its organizational goal of providing value through innovation and meeting the needs of all customers — even if they never step foot into a branch.