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Most people don't expect to have a favorite person at their bank's call center. That is, until they meet Kameryn Latham's team.

"When I first started, I never thought we would have regular call-in customers," says Kameryn, Customer Service Center Manager at First Federal Bank. "But now we do. They know us by name. They like to talk to specific people on the team."

Here For Your Needs

The Customer Service Center is First Fed's primary point of contact for customers across its entire footprint. Every call starts here, whether someone has a question about their account, needs help with online banking, or is trying to reach a loan officer or personal banker.

Kameryn joined First Fed about four years ago, drawn in by something she'd heard and quickly found to be true. "They opened up with welcoming arms and genuinely follow the First Federal mission of benefiting the customer's financial well-being," she says. "They want you to succeed and they want you to grow. Nobody's just a number here."

That's a phrase worth exploring, coming from the manager of a call center. In most environments, a call center is exactly the opposite… and removed from the customer.  

"The importance of having our call center here local in Twin Falls is knowing that we're right here with you," Kameryn explains. "We know exactly what's going on. We're in the same community that you are, going to the same events, shopping at the same stores, and possibly complaining about the same weather."

Everyone Jumps In

The team Kameryn describes isn't one that clocks in, handles volume, and clocks out. It's one that still manages to laugh in between calls.

"Everyone works hard. Everyone is willing to jump in to help," she says. "It's a really positive environment, and I hope that comes through on the phones with our customers."

That culture, she says, starts with how she leads. "Fostering that culture is really just knowing that I'm there for them no matter the circumstance. That's the team environment we build, so that everybody who joins feels the same exact way."

It's a philosophy that extends to how the center connects customers to the broader bank. When someone calls needing a mortgage lender, a business banker, or a personal banking officer, the Customer Service Center is the bridge - not a dead end.

"We are the main contact for everybody who calls in," Kameryn explains. "We'll gladly get you over to them if you want to work with them directly. We assist with anything and everything – online banking, debit cards – and we're calling people in an office right next to us."

This proximity isn't just logistical, it's the point. A local call center, staffed by people who live in the same communities as First Fed's customers, creates something unique in banking: the sense that someone knows your name, and is genuinely glad you called.

"We're all here together," she says. "We know what's going on, and we want to be there for you."