As the metastasizing coronavirus crisis grew and grew last week, executives at Cape Cod Five realized their initial plans to keep some locations open to the public weren’t going to work.

The bank started with a two-phase approach for servicing branch customers.

The first phase, what Chief Banking Services Officer Chris Richards called a hub-and-spoke model, would keep some branch lobbies open, leaving other branches with services only through the drive-up windows.

By the end of the week, management realized it would have to skip right to phase two: On March 16, Cape Cod Five became one of the first Massachusetts banks to close all branch lobbies.

“Thankfully – overwhelmingly – the customer response has been, ‘Thank you,’” Richards said. “The staff was very appreciative that we’re a leader in this, and they understand and recognize the fact that we were watching out for them when we made the decision.”

Like businesses and communities everywhere, the banking and lending industries have had to rethink their operations and address needs their customers never imagined they’d have to confront.

After making the decision to close branch lobbies, Cape Cod Five’s management team worked over the weekend to determine who would staff the drive-up windows at each branch. Some employees had to remain at home to care for children, and others could not come in because of health issues.

Management had to figure out call center staffing as well. About half that team took calls from home on Monday, and the rest went to the office. Call volumes were high, Richards said, and the bank took about 10 staff members from other departments to create a satellite call center in one of its offices.

By the second day, volumes were “more like a normal Tuesday, which is obviously good,” Richards said, adding that the bank would continue to watch staffing levels as employees could get sick or need to address other issues.

Customers have generally handled the lobby closures well, Richards said, adding that while some customers withdrew cash, demand was not widespread.

“It will be interesting to see if consumers view banks as a safe haven given what’s going on in the larger world, given [volatility in] the stock market,” Richards said.

Bank executives have been watching federal and state government moves and plan to respond proactively to customers who have lost their jobs and small business owners calling with concerns.

“We’re in an evolving mode here,” Cape Cod Five Co-President Bert Talerman said in a joint interview with Richards on March 17. “We’re working hard to get a feel for what’s going on and expect to plan to work with our business customers – whether it’s a combination of providing credit as appropriate, or maybe being able to slow payment requirements, interest-only and things like that for a short period of time. Those are all possibilities here.”