At a time when the world banking system is still fragile and most global companies are cutting costs in customer service, one UK company is investing seriously in its customers.

In an article that appeared in the Times on Jan. 16, in London, Andrew Higgins, CEO of Tesco Personal Finance, sent a £500 shopping voucher to every one of the bank’s customers who lost their home in the Cumbrian floods in November 2009 and a £100 voucher to those whose homes were damaged. The action may have cost Tesco money, but Higgins hopes that it will boost the Tesco Bank brand and cement customer loyalty. Tesco plc is a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain that has been making a foray into the financial industry since 1997.

“I don’t think that receiving a letter like that constituted success in itself. We genuinely did it because they were loyal Tesco customers who had suffered hardship. But it is clear that it was a gesture of a magnitude that people could recognize,” says Higgins.

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