customer

customer
cus‧tom‧er S1 W1 /ˈkʌstəmə $ -ər/ noun [countable]1. someone who buys goods or services from a shop, company etc:
    We aim to offer good value and service to all our customers.
    We’ve had several letters from satisfied customers.
    customer service/care
    Many of the banks offer a poor level of customer service.
    He’s one of our regular customers.
    best/biggest/largest customer (=the person or company who uses a shop or company the most)
2. awkward/tricky/tough etc customer someone who is difficult to deal with because they behave in a deliberately unhelpful way ⇨ cool customer at cool¹(3)
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + customer
   ▪ a regular customer My business quickly built up a base of regular customers.
   ▪ a good customer (=who buys a lot from you, or uses your service a lot) Good products attract good customers.
   ▪ a major/big/large customer (=who is important and buys a lot) America is a big customer for Japanese goods.
   ▪ a loyal customer (=who has been a customer for a long time) Some of our loyal customers have been coming here since the store opened.
   ▪ a satisfied customer (=who is pleased with your goods or service) Satisfied customers will retun again and again.
   ▪ a potential/prospective customer (=who might become a customer in the future) It’s very important to establish contact with potential customers.
   ▪ a business customer (=customers that are businesses) the bank’s major business customers
   ▪ existing customers (=that you already have) We want to improve our service for both new and existing customers.
■ verbs
   ▪ deal with a customer (=do business with or talk to a customer) He has a lot of experience in dealing with customers.
   ▪ serve a customer Every day the shop serves around 800 customers.
   ▪ attract customers (=get more customers) The Internet is a great way to attract new customers.
   ▪ keep/retain customers Keeping prices low helps to retain customers.
   ▪ lose a customer The company has lost some big customers in the last two years.
■ customer + NOUN
   ▪ customer service/care (=serving and looking after customers) Our aim is always to raise the level of customer service.
   ▪ customer relations Staff are given training in customer relations.
   ▪ customer satisfaction (=how pleased customers are) The firm carried out a survey of customer satisfaction.
   ▪ customer demand (=the amount of something customers want to buy or use) It’s important to respond quickly to changing customer demand.
   ▪ customer complaints My job is to handle customer complaints and enquiries.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ customer someone who buys goods or services from a shop or company: Customers were waiting for the shop to open. | The bank is one of our biggest customers.
   ▪ client someone who pays for a service from a professional person or company: He has a meeting with one of his clients. | The company buys and sells shares on behalf of their clients
   ▪ shopper someone who goes to the shops looking for things to buy: The streets were full of Christmas shoppers.
   ▪ guest someone who pays to stay in a hotel: Guests must leave their rooms by 10 am.
   ▪ patron /ˈpeɪtrən/ formal a customer of a particular shop, restaurant or hotel – usually written on signs: The notice said ‘Parking for Patrons Only’.
   ▪ patient someone who is getting medical treatment from a doctor, or in a hospital: He is a patient of Dr Williams.
   ▪ consumer anyone who buys goods or uses services – used when considering these people as a group who have particular rights, needs, or behaviour: Consumers are demanding more environmentally-friendly products. | the rights of the consumer | The law is designed to protect consumers who buy goods on the Internet.
   ▪ market the number of people who want to buy a product, or the type of people who want to buy it: The market for organic food is growing all the time. | a magazine aimed at the youth market
   ▪ clientele /ˌkliːənˈtel $ ˌklaɪənˈtel, ˌkliː-/ formal the type of customers that a particular shop, restaurant etc gets: The hotel has a very upmarket clientele. | They have a wealthy international clientele.