Read the full interview with Dan Harrington, Area Manager:

Q: How has the pandemic changed the way you operate business at Mascoma Bank?

Dan Harrington: In most ways, it’s changed business to more of a online digital electronic communication style where we’re having to be more savvy with our approach with customers, much less face to face interactions, but still remaining open, operating, and having to service our customers through other platforms, you know, email and online account openings and just having to be more digital so we can tell our customers yes still for all our service options.

Q: What is Mascoma Bank doing to protect its customers and its staff from the virus?

Dan: Absolutely. So when we walk in in the morning, you know, we’re immediately greeted by signs on the doors. “If you have any COVID symptoms, please do not come in.” There’s another sign that talks about wearing masks. There’s another exterior sign that says please remain socially distanced. So just trying to be very open and public that we’re taking this seriously, and that there are steps you need to take to come inside. That’s the immediate. When you walk in the door, our staff is asked to take temperatures so we take temperatures of all of the employees that come into work physically in the branches each day just to make sure that no one runs the temperature. Along with the temperature, there’s a questionnaire that we get asked as well from our safety and health coordinator bout COVID symptoms. Then we ask that if any employee is going to be working in a branch that they wear a mask at all times. We’ve installed plexiglass at all of our windows on the teller line and plexiglass in all the offices. That way there’s a physical barrier between us and our customers. We have opened back up but to a limited capacity. And that varies based on branches, the size of the lobby and what have you. In Springfield, for example, the capacity is 10. That includes staff as well. So we have to be cognizant of how many staff we have in the branch at one time to justify how many customers we can add at one time. We are seeing those customers are still happy with using drive up or night drop or ATM to make deposits or mobile deposit. You know we’re having less traffic inside the branch with transaction levels still being limited based on that. Other things that we’re doing our IT department went through and was able to get the majority if not all of our operations staff to be working from home using digital platforms to be able to work at home so they could remain social distanced and not have to come into work. Off the top of my head are the biggest things that we’ve done to mitigate risk here for our co-workers and our customers.

Q: Are you requiring customers to wear masks or just the staff?

Dan: As of July 29th, it is mandatory for all customers to wear a face covering.