So: your company runs a spiffy little promotion intended to grab you some brand-new customers.  Super — but how you treat existing customers who also happen to respond is a thorny and important question. (And, studies show: existing customers are, in fact, the ones who pay the most attention to everything new you do as a brand, including your promotions and advertisements.)

The way Rachel, who was womanning a booth for The New York Times yesterday, treated me as an existing customer is, in my experience, essentially unheard of.  Yet it should be considered the epitome of what we all want from the people who represent our businesses.

I was walking through a crafts fair in the Pennsylvania countryside as she trolled for fresh New York Times subscribers at her booth. She had brought along some nice New York Times gift items as incentives, and gave her pitch as people passed:

If your offer's good, prepare for existing customers wanting it too.

“Subscribe to New York Times home delivery, only $X a week, get great gifts!”

I said quietly, “Sorry–already subscribe.”

Rachel: “Are you getting all seven days delivered currently?  I can upgrade you if you aren’t.”

Me (chuckling at her persistence): “Unless you’re going to start a new evening edition, I don’t think there’s a way we can get more papers delivered.”

Rachel: “But these are nice gifts, aren’t they? I’m going to give you something anyway, for being a great customer. What would you like?”

Let’s look at this encounter. First, some overall observations. Note that I was just walking by at a crowded crafts fair. I hadn’t asked her for anything and hadn’t offered her anything in terms of making her numbers. I also hadn’t said anything about wanting the gifts. She could, however, sense the imbalance in the encounter, having nothing to offer one of the paper’s “full fare” passengers.

So she decided to extend exceptional, anticipatory service to someone who wasn’t even the target customer of the promotion.

—–

The encounter is both heartening and a little unsettling.  Unsettling because of the questions that were left in my mind.  As follows:

1.   Will Rachel get some bragging rights if her manager sees this post?  In other words, was she doing what The New York Times wisely wants her to do (support existing subscribers, who they recognize are even more valuable than a johnny-come-lately signing up temporarily on impulse)?

Or, did she get in trouble when she got back to the office?  In other words, was all she got for her good judgment a slap on the wrist for coming back one gift short?

More to the point, do you give your employees the discretion Rachel –I hope– had, to make sure your existing customers feel good while you’re out searching for new ones?