This is great local bank. I'm very thankful that they are close to my home. More importantly, I appreciate that they offer truly free checking. I switched one of my small accounts to them after the bank I have for my larger loans decided to start charging unless you could keep a minimum average balance. They were also exceedingly helpful and efficient whenever I've had some trouble- PIN problems, card issues or when my account was compromised. Though I wasn't able to figure out who was to blame or how the compromise came about (it could have been clerical error and not malicious) the employees of Berkshire were very kind and quick about reversing the charges, giving me my money back and setting me up with a new account. They took a lot of the frustration out of a stressful situation.

Berkshire Bank is a sponsor of many community events and really participates in making the communities they serve better places. They provide scholarships to high schoolers and sponsorships to many charity events. The customer service is fantastic and I am always greeted with a smile and a friendly hello. It feels as though the bank wants to work with you instead of you just being a regular customer. The fees and interest rates are also reasonable, given that this is a smaller regional bank. I think that their web interface could be improved because it isn't as competitive as with the national banks and that is understandable given its size. However, I would be more inclined to bank somewhere larger only because the larger banks have easier access electronically.

Their online business solutions banking product is junk. Very difficult to get access online. No support after hours. LONG WAIT TIMES (10 minutes) for telephone support r=to even answer the phone during business hours. When asking for verification information, they ask about details of deposits only. Since I do not memorize those things, and our manager makes all the deposits, and that I am trying to log in to access that very information, and pay bills, I requested different verification info. Today, the "customer service" person told me (I'm not making this up), "I have nothing else I can ask you". And there you have, time for a new bank.