customer
customer
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for "customer" is /ˈkʌs.tə.mər/.
First Syllable (cus-):
/k/ - voiceless velar stop
/ʌ/ - near-open front unrounded vowel
/s/ - voiceless alveolar fricative
Second Syllable (-tom-):
/t/ - voiceless alveolar stop
/ə/ - schwa (mid-central vowel)
Third Syllable (-er):
/m/ - voiced bilabial nasal
/ər/ - r-colored vowel (or /ər/ as a rhotic vowel, or /ɚ/ as an r-colored schwa)
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: customer
Plural Noun: customers
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: An individual or entity that purchases goods or services from a business or seller.
Synonyms: client, patron, shopper, buyer, consumer, purchaser
Antonyms: seller, vendor, supplier, merchant, retailer
Definition 2: A person with whom one has to deal in a particular context, often implying a difficult or peculiar character (informal, sometimes derogatory).
Synonyms: character, type, individual, case
Antonyms: (Context-dependent, no direct antonyms for this informal usage)
Examples of Use
Books:
"The customer is always right, as the old saying goes, and in the retail world, this mantra often dictates policy." (From a business management textbook)
"She learned to anticipate the needs of each customer, from their preferred brand of tea to their daily newspaper." (From a contemporary novel)
Newspapers:
"Local businesses report a significant increase in customer traffic over the holiday weekend." (From The Daily Herald)
"A bank spokesperson assured customers that their data remained secure following a system upgrade." (The Financial Times)
Online Publications:
"How to Improve Your Customer Service: 5 Key Strategies" (From Forbes.com)
"The new app allows customers to track their orders in real-time." (From TechCrunch.com)
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Film: "We need to figure out what the customer wants, then give it to them." (Dialogue from a fictional marketing film)
Television Series: "This week on 'Kitchen Nightmares,' Gordon Ramsay confronts a restaurant owner whose poor attitude is driving away every potential customer." (Synopsis from a TV show guide)
Video Games: "Welcome, valued customer! How may I assist you today?" (Greeting from a shopkeeper NPC in a role-playing game)
Podcasts: "In today's episode, we discuss the evolving relationship between businesses and their customers in the digital age." (From a business podcast)
General Public Discourse:
"The electricity company sent out an alert to all its customers about planned power outages." (Heard in a radio news report)
"You wouldn't believe what a difficult customer I had at work today, demanding a refund for something he broke himself." (Casual conversation between friends)
"Our goal is to ensure every customer leaves happy with their purchase." (Statement by a small business owner at a local market)
10 Quotes Using Customer
"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." (Sam Walton)
"It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages." (Henry Ford)
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." (Bill Gates)
"We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better." (Jeff Bezos)
"The customer's perception is your reality." (Kate Zabriskie)
"Get closer than ever to your customers. So close, in fact, that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves." (Steve Jobs)
"A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all." (Michael LeBoeuf)
"Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement." (James Cash Penney)
"The best customer service is if the customer doesn't need to call you, doesn't need to talk to you. It just works." (Jeff Bezos)
"If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the internet, they can each tell 6000 friends." (Jeff Bezos)
Etymology
The word "customer" has a really interesting history that goes back to the Middle Ages!
It comes from the Old French word "coutumier," which basically meant someone who was "accustomed" to something or someone who was a "customs official" (someone who collected taxes or duties). This Old French word, in turn, came from a Latin word "custuma," meaning "custom" or "tax."
So, initially, the word "customer" (which first appeared in English around 1389) had two main meanings:
A tax or toll collector: Think of someone at a gate or port collecting "customs" (taxes) on goods. This was one of its very first uses.
Someone who habitually bought from a particular tradesman or guild: This is closer to how we understand it today. It referred to a regular patron, someone who had a "custom" of buying from the same place.
Over time, the meaning shifted more towards the idea of someone who buys goods or services, which is the common understanding we have now. So, from being associated with taxes and regular habits, it evolved to specifically mean someone who purchases from a business.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Customer
The customer is always right. (Common adage in business, emphasizing customer satisfaction.)
Customer service. (The assistance and advice provided by a company to those who buy or use its products or services.)
Customer experience. (The sum of all interactions a customer has with a company.)
Customer retention. (A company's ability to keep its customers over a period of time.)
Customer loyalty. (The likelihood of a customer to continue buying from a company.)
Customer-centric. (Focusing on the needs and desires of the customer.)
A tough customer. (An idiom referring to someone who is difficult to deal with, challenging, or hard to persuade. This is a common and established idiom.)
Regular customer. (A person who frequently buys from a particular shop or business.)
Lost a customer. (Meaning a business has lost someone who previously purchased from them.)
A happy customer. (Simply referring to a satisfied buyer.)
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of customer from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
