Since 1983, Harney & Sons has stayed true to its simple promise to deliver customers the finest quality tea possible. As the third generation of Harneys continues to carry out that mission, including educating tea lovers about fascinating tea traditions and types of tea found around the world, Harney & Sons customers are discovering their own passion for tea through the products and experiences they offer.
Union Savings Bank has worked alongside Harney & Sons as it grew from a local to an international business, whose teas are consumed around the world. As the company grew larger, Union Saving Bank was there to help Harney & Sons move into a larger space while offering outstanding, personalized customer service.
Transcript
My father’s an old hotelier, so hospitality was very important to him. He taught us to see where we could help people out and we’ve done that ever since. My name is Mike Harney. We’re here at Harney & Sons Tea right in Millerton, New York just four, five miles out of Connecticut. The company Harney & Sons was started in 1983 by my father. In the beginning there were no “sons”, it was just John Harney but he somehow sweettalked me and my brother into joining him.
Harney & Sons is consumed on all seven continents, so we are an international operation, but you know, we have deep roots to this area. So, I think a community bank is important in this area because the bankers understand the business. Nowadays our balance sheet is great, it’s strong, but back in the day when we started with Union Savings Bank, it wasn’t that way. We were renting up the street from here and we’d outgrown the space, we didn’t have any assets and we didn’t know what to do. We were much more speculative business. So, Union Savings Bank has been great for us. We think that we get great service. The helped us to grow and to become an international business. So, the bank bet on us and I think they’re very happy with that decision. I’m sure there are big banks in New York City, I think there are some big banks in New York City. They may or may not do a good job, but we really never found out. Care has become really important to us. People love that they take care of them in the tea business. Not only do we give them a great product, but we try to give them great service and that’s something that I’ve seen in Union Savings Bank.