Since opening his Olympia violin shop in 1999, Robert Ray has had four different banks.  One never knew his name.  Two others turned him down for a line of credit despite praising his business plan, just because they didn’t know the violin business.

Then, Thurston First Bank opened.  “They wanted to know what I did and what they could do for me,” says Robert, a Master French Bowmaker whose business involves making, restoring and dealing violins.

Robert cites the ACH service alone for saving his company thousands of dollars per year in transaction fees as well as reducing the monthly credit card reconciliation process from three days to three hours. That kind of solution is valuable, he says, but it’s the way Thurston First Bank services his account that “you can’t put a price on.”

The personalized advice and assistance he receives from Thurston First Bank moves Robert to assert confidently, “My next business plan will include my bank.”

“This was clearly one of the best business decisions we’ve made,” he says, “I can see them being a lifetime bank.”