Banking with a Green & Local Touch – ING’s Friends of Savers Party
After reconnecting with my favorite yogagurl Alex, she was kind enough to extend an invitation to attend a Friends of Savers party with ING Canada. I had no idea what to expect, but still approached the event with excitement and an open mind.
Upon arrival and throughout the evening, I was greeted by the loveliest, most customer-centric folks that I’ve ever met at this type of customer appreciation type event. What stood out the most for me is that you can tell these folks really enjoy what they do, and that feeling spread to their clients. Here is a picture of some of those people:
Again, their personalities show, but it is only an iota of what you could expect as their personal clients.
What was great about this party is that their focus was on promoting local small businesses, as well as those with a green and environmental focus. Here are a few of the businesses represented:
BIXI – A public bike service located in Montreal, that is hoping to extend its services to Toronto.
Small Wonders Pets – A local pet store providing eco-friendly pet supplies, and information on pet nutrition, education and wellness. Voted Toronto’s #1 Pet Store by the readers of NOW magazine.
Vapur – Maker of BPA free, foldable and washable reusable water bottles. Their packaging is also printed with soy ink, made from recycled paperboard, and printed using wind powered presses!
ING will also be opening up a café-style location, which will specialize in helping small businesses to learn more about how to make their hard-earned money work for them. What I like about this program is that it provides both the information that business owners need AND shows how to apply it effectively to work for the business. This location (and hopefully others to follow) will provide that gap between resource and execution that is desperately needed for small businesses to become sustainable.
… Did I also mention that ING has some of the best clients ever? I met amazing people at this event, many of which I’m sure will develop into long and lasting relationships, and who I’ll be around to watch their own businesses flourish and grow.
I’ll continue supporting ING in the future – any business that supports local and green entrepreneurs will always be a friend of mine.
Follow Technorati