AUBURN – Rick Vail believes bankers should take customer service personally.

It’s a philosophy that helped woo three top commercial loan executives from mega bank TD Banknorth (soon-to-be TD Commerce) to his much smaller Mechanics Savings Bank. The threesome – all locals with more than 60 years of banking experience among them – gave their notice on Friday, April 25, and started work at Mechanics the following Monday. The buzz within Lewiston-Auburn’s business community has barely dimmed.

“Community banking is all about hiring good people,” said Vail, who’s been president and CEO of Mechanics since January 2006. “All of these people have strong community ties and vast experience.”

The trio – Dick Roy, JoAnne Campbell and Jeff Gosselin – also had a hankering to return to smaller-scale banking where they could personally handle their customers’ needs.

“This gives us a lot more authority than large-bank lending affords us,” said Roy, who had been with TD dating back to when the bank was Peoples Heritage. “The frustration with us was, with large banks you hear from a customer that they’re not happy with this or that and you have no authority or control over it.”

That won’t be a problem at Mechanics. The bank has adopted a concierge or private-banking model for its business customers, essentially conveying all its services through a personal commercial officer. If a landscaper needs a new tractor, he could apply for a loan through his commercial loan officer at Mechanics, who is also the point person if he’s considering refinancing his mortgage or checking out student loans.

“Everybody has ownership,” said Vail of the commercial staff. “If you like participating, you’ll like community banking.”

Under Vail’s direction, the bank hopes to increase its percentage of commercial business from 15 percent of its portfolio to 50 percent within five years. The three new hires more than double the existing commercial loan staff.

“If we were going to grow, the most obvious place was in our commercial presence,” said Vail. He approached Roy – a longtime associate – in February, extending an invitation for the No. 2 man in TD’s central Maine commercial division to come back to community banking.

Roy said he’d consider it if he could bring Gosselin and Campbell – both vice presidents at TD – with him. The answer was yes.

“We realized this was perfect for us,” said Roy, as Campbell and Gosselin nodded in agreement. “The commitment from Rick and the board was really important.”

Did Vail have to rethink the offer when it tripled?

“No, I was just trying to do the math,” he said with a laugh. “But this is the best investment I’ve made thus far for the bank.”

Roy, Gosselin and Campbell hit the ground running at Mechanics. They’ve already closed several loans, despite a temporary absence of business cards and permanent work space.

“The phones have been ringing day in and day out,” Gosselin said.

Many of those calls are from customers who’ve dealt with the trio previously. That’s to be expected, said Roy, who noted people generally form relationships with other people, not institutions. As they move, the clientele often moves with them.

“That’s the whole concept of personal banking,” said Roy of the one-on-one model. “Mechanics is committed to making that a reality.”

Vail said he expects the growth of Mechanics’ commercial operation will keep it busy for some time. The mutual savings bank is not considering acquiring insurance companies or investment firms to diversify its revenue stream, as many other banks have done.

Nor is it considering building new branches, secure in its three existing locations and the expansion of its online services.

Today, the bank’s assets stand at $260 million (by comparison, TD’s is $107 billion). Vail sees $350 million as a good goal, reflecting steady growth, but staying true to community banking roots.

Ironically, it’s a return to the old-fashioned notion of banking that will be guiding the 133-year-old bank.

“People want a good banker,” Vail said. “Someone they can trust and pick up the phone and talk them through things … anything” – a situation historically reserved for only well-heeled clientele.

“We’re taking that concept from the wealthy and applying it for the average business person in L-A.”