First Community Credit Union

I have dealt with First Community for over 5 years. They started off as a phenomenal banking institution. I loved them, but I moved a couple of years ago and they have completely dropped off.
I noticed when they began to add additional branches inside of Wal-​Mart their customer service was really becoming crappy. I even called in twice to the Customer Service number only to not get the problem rectified. When I explained to the Manager, who couldn’t careless, she gave me this bogus excuse that their after hours call center is a 3^rd party. Seriously??? Then I called the Manager at FCC and all she did was apologize for my inconvenience. Don’t need your sympathy, need the problem fixed.
Pardon me, I will just take my money elsewhere.
Side note: they had a great bill pay system, decent iPhone app, and good website. I’m not knocking the applications, but their customer service could use some major overhaul.

Applied for a home mortgage loan (well, prequalification) and after looking at all my assets, debt, employment, etc., they had a lot of questions about my assets. They were delayed several days, first of all, saying that it would take 2 days… then 3, then 4, and finally after I had answered all their questions about my assets, they told me they couldn’t loan me any $ because my closing date was prior to my start date in a new job (I was moving to town for a new job). They made an exception for me thank goodness. So far so good.

I’ve been with these guys for years and I stay because they have great overdraft protection and they’re relatively close. The folks working at the Gravois location are friendly and helpful for the most part. Other than that, these guys have some serious issues.
First, the bank performs some sort of maintenance each night at odd hours. When this happens, your online account is inaccessible and more importantly YOUR CARD WILL NOT WORK anywhere other than an ATM. You cannot use it otherwise. This seems to be between the hours of 10:30pm-2am. I can think of at least a half dozen times this has screwed me over. I then have to go to an ATM and pay a fee to pull out the cash and then use my money.
Second, if you ever need any type of phone customer service, forget about it. We’re talking a MINIMUM of 20 – 30 minute wait time and usually much, much more. Time to hire more people in the call center, folks. It’s too bad because I have enjoyed my time with STLCCU, but I’m now looking for a new CR/​bank due to these frankly unacceptable issues.

In my life I’ve belonged to three credit unions and this one is at the bottom of that list.
Customer service is mediocre, no one goes above and beyond or is exceptional in my mind.
Having said that, I would say that I prefer one branch (Gravois Bluff) over the Arnold branch. They are not comparable in size, the Arnold branch is much smaller. The Gravois Bluff members just seem happier. I’m looking to transfer my money to another credit union fairly soon.
Just to be clear, I’ve never been to the Watson address listed here. Different branches different people. Though my phone conversations with the main number customer service have been average at best.

You know you are in for life (or a really, really long time) with someone if you open a checking/​savings account together. It took quite a bit of convincing, but after some deep breaths and logical arguments, Mike T got me to First Community Credit Union on a recent Saturday morning.
Our Customer Service Rep was, from what we could tell, the most knowledgeable gal in this branch. Every few minutes, someone would interrupt us and and ask her a question. Totally fine, it just took us twice as long to open the account. And her last name was «Knuckles», which is almost uncanny, considering the fact that she works in a bank. I suggest that she gets transferred to the Collections department :)
Mike T is a fan of First Community because he earns quite a bit of interest on his checking account. I’m all for earning interest, but we probably spend that 4% on the gas getting there. The closest branch is on Watson, almost in Shrewsbury. We have the ability to do a lot of our banking online, but making deposits is kind of a pain. The other locations are even further out, like Ballwin. Unless I’m making a trip to Garden Ridge, there’s no need for me to drive all the way out there.
But in terms of service and quality, First Community seems to be alright. I still have like $ 5 in a savings account at St. Louis Community Credit Union, which has more convenient locations. Maybe I’ll start building up my own secret account there… Hmmm…

I have been a member of First Community Credit Union for roughly 20 years. My account started as a «Youth Savers Account» and has gone through many permutations since then.
Nowadays I have a First Rate Checking Account, which is absolutely awesome. The premise is that you earn a high rate of interest (4.01%) as long as you complete a small list of monthly requirements (12 swipes of your debit card, 1 ACH payment, paperless statements). For me, this means that I make roughly enough money to fill my gas tank every month just in interest alone AND they also refund all of my ATM fees, should I incur any.
Aside from their great selection of high yield accounts, I also very much enjoy the family atmosphere of their branches, especially the Watson & Chippewa location. The staff is friendly and it is the kind of place where you get the same teller every time that you go in. This was really nice when I used to manage two personal accounts and a business account with them. Not having to re-​explain my setup to a different teller every time was fantastic.
The only real con that I have experienced with First Community is that they have a limited number of branches and none downtown, but at the end of the day I’d rather drive a little farther to make the most of my money and deal with nice people. They also have been adding a couple of new branches every year like wildfire, so it is only a matter of time before they are everywhere.
Oh, and for you Commerce Bank folks who still have to have a minimum balance of like $ 200, all First Community accounts carry only a $ 1 minimum balance!