cus‧tom‧er S1 W1 / kʌstəmə $ -ər / 名词 [可数名词]
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 cool 1 ( 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.
动词
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 / peɪtrən / 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 / kliəntel $ klaɪəntel, kli- / 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.