Customer

Definition: Customer

Customer

Noun

1. Someone who pays for goods or services.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "customer" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1602. (references)

Computing

Electrical Engineering

Finance

Literature

Post & Telecom

Tips from 1870

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonym: Customer

Bad Man

Rough, rowdy, hooligan, tough, ugly customer, mean mother, ruffian, bully, meanie; Jonathan Wild; hangman.

Evil doer

Savage, brute, ruffian, barbarian, semibarbarian, caitiff, desperado; Apache, hoodlum, hood, plug-ugly, pug-ugly, Red Skin, tough; Mohawk, Mo-hock, Mo-hawk; bludgeon man, bully, rough, hooligan, larrikin, dangerous classes, ugly customer; thief.

Pitfall

Ugly customer, dangerous person, le chat qui dort; firebrand, hornet's nest.

Purchase

Phrase: caveat emptor; the customer is always right.

Buyer, purchaser, emptor, vendee; patron, employer, client, customer, clientele.

Crosswords: Customer

I'm not that kind of customer. (Die Another Day; writing credit: Neal Purvis)

If you get a customer or an employee who thinks he's Charles Bronson, take the butt of your gun and smash their nose in. (Reservoir Dogs; writing credit: Quentin Tarantino)

Silly customer, you cannot hurt a Twinkie (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge)

If any customer finds a bone in their fish, I give them their money back plus a quarter (Caught; writing credit: Edward Pomerantz)

Boy, are you a tough customer. I bet you didn't even clap your hands to save Tinkerbell (Moonlighting; writing credit: Eric Blakeney)

The Barber's Queer Customer (1900)

A Customer Drops In (1900)

It's Only a Customer It's Alright (1975)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

References

• APAC Customer Services Incorporated: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)

• Customer Premise Equipment in Indonesia: A Strategic Entry Report, 1995 (reference)

• Knowledge Management and Customer Relationship in Australia: A Strategic Entry Report, 2000 (reference)

• Wireless Customer Premises Equipment in Taiwan: A Strategic Entry Report, 2000 (reference)

  (more reference examples)

Books

• Harvard Business Review on Customer Relationship Management (reference)

• The CRM Handbook: A Business Guide to Customer Relationship Management (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Customer Awareness Dates & Deadlines (reference)

• Customer Communicator (reference)

• Customer Contact Management Report (reference)

• Customer Fundamentals - Cd-rom (reference)

• Customer Interaction Solutions (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies

• 24 Quick & Easy Ways to Improve Customer Service (reference)

• Self Storage Customer Service Volume 1 (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Customer Service Crackpots (reference)

• Customer Service Disasters [EXPLICIT LYRICS] (reference)

• Lies Inc./Dear Valued Customer (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech

• FOR CUSTOMER LOCKHEED-MARTIN ONLY (reference)

• Netbay42 42u Std Exp Rackcabinet Customer Pays Freight (reference)

• Smartcell Xr Batery for Matrix Customer Pays Freight (reference)

• CUSTOMER VIEWS V1.0 CD-NT 100LTU (reference)

• VPN/FIREWALL-1 CUSTOMER LOG (reference)

  (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Customer inspecting a catch of snapper from the small boat fishing fleet. Credit: Fisheries.

An ugly customer! The head of a barracuda. Credit: Sanctuaries.

NRCS employee reviews plans with a customer. Credit: Bob Nichols.

Barbara Piel (l) and Rose Davis prepare fish for a customer in the seafood section of Giant Foods i Dumfries, VA. Credit: USDA.

Coming alongside USS Mispillion (AO-105) to refuel, while operating in the Gulf of Tonkin, October 1967. Note Mispillion's "customer service" sign in the foreground and signal lamp at left. Credit: NAVY.

Astronomer (to prospective customer): Laze an Gemlen, nows de time to see de planet o' Wenus luminated in all her glory ... Credit: Library of Congress.

Dottie and Lottie. No pork chops for me dearie ... I had a customer today that looked the image of a fat pig ... Credit: Library of Congress.

One can to a customer. Credit: Library of Congress.

A Slave-dealer and his customer in Africa. Credit: Library of Congress.

Merchant talking to prospective customer, Laurel, Mississippi. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

They bring the customer.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Some summaries also include customer reviews. (references)

Contact PWBA for customer service assistance if you are unable to obtain a response to your complaint. (references)

Business

Banks adapt these tenors to the commercial risk of the customer. (references)

Distance from the market is no excuse to a customer with a problem. (references)

Local developers buy packaged software and customize to customer needs. (references)

Economic History

France

Germany remains France's major supplier and customer. (references)

Brazil

Large manufacturers offer adequate customer support service. (references)

Costa Rica

The concept of customer service is very important in Costa Rica. (references)

Human Rights

Algeria

On October 2, a bomb planted by terrorists in a pizzeria in Laghouat, 240 miles south of Algiers, exploded, killing one customer and injuring eight others. (references)

Guatemala

In 1999 the Supreme Court extended the administrative model of the justice centers to include the criminal courts in the capital by creating a new Clerk of Court office, which has streamlined the processing of cases, increased transparency, and improved customer service. (references)

Minorities

Israel and the occupied territories

For example, a September 1999 survey revealed that 40 percent of employment ads in one weekend newspaper listed "army service necessary." Jobs included ice cream sales, typist, bus driver, and customer service. (references)

Political Economy

Canada

These factors complement the obvious geographic facts and have combined to make each the other's best customer. (references)

Bahamas

The Financial Transactions Reporting Act of 2000 details how customer identification is to be verified and outlines financial institutions' reporting obligations of suspicious transactions. (references)

PANAMA

The main culprit for the slow rebound of the Colon Free Zone is the continued political instability and accompanying economic downturn in its principal customer countries Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. (references)

Trade

France

Though desirable because they offer extra information to the customer, they are not mandatory. (references)

Syria

Under the applicable regulations the banks' customer base is restricted to free zone investors. (references)

Ukraine

Using this system, the customer collects ordered goods by presenting a sales receipt to warehouse operators. (references)

Travel

Austria

Make things easy for your customer. (references)

Bahamas

Some taxi drivers are willing, for a prearranged fee, to spend the entire day with a single customer. (references)

Korea

Your offer may include the best price, technology and profit potential but still be turned down because the Korean customer does not like your style. (references)

Worker Rights

Canada

In prostitution cases, often the prostitute instead of the customer is arrested. (references)

Dominican Republic

However, it is not unusual for these stores to retain 10 percent of the cash due a customer. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "customer": an ugly customer ♦ awkward customer ♦ balance of payment information from customer message ♦ be a steady customer ♦ customer access connection ♦ customer access line charge ♦ customer agent ♦ customer Information Control System ♦ customer Information Systems ♦ customer Interaction Software ♦ customer loyalty ♦ customer network interface ♦ customer owned and maintained ♦ customer premise equipment ♦ customer Relationship Management ♦ customer service ♦ customer ship ♦ customer switching system ♦ foreign customer ♦ IBM Customer Engineer ♦ mobile customer ♦ notorious customer ♦ ordering customer ♦ potential customer ♦ prospective customer ♦ queer customer ♦ regular customer ♦ return customer ♦ rough customer ♦ rum customer ♦ shady customer ♦ shady looking customer ♦ suspicious customer ♦ the customer is always right ♦ ugly customer ♦ uneconomic customer. Additional references.

Beginning with "customer": customer-address, customer-buyer, customer-care, customer-contract, customer-contractor, customer-controlled, customer-defined, customer-driven, customer-facing, customer-focus, customer-focused, customer-friendliness, customer-friendly, customer-led, customer-minded, customer-name, customer-nominated, customer-number, customer-orientated, customer-orientation, customer-oriented, customer-ready, customer-related, customer-responsive, customer-service, customer-services, customer-specified, customer-supplier, customer-support, customer-tailorable.

Ending with "customer": bank-customer, end-customer, five-customer, know-your-customer, manufacturer-meets-customer, non-customer, small-customer, supplier-customer.

Afrikaans

kliënt (client). (various references)

Albanian

myshteri (client, purchaser), klient (client), blerës (buyer, client, purchaser, shopper, vendee). (various references)

Arabic 

‏زبون (chap, client, custom), ‏عميل زبون (client), ‏شخص (baby, bloke, body, boy, cuss, diagnose, effigy, embody, guy, individual, joker, man, person, personate, scout, sort, specimen, spirit, stick). (various references)

Bulgarian 

купувач (buyer, purchaser, shopper, user, vendee), клиент (buyer, client). (various references)

Chinese 

買主 , 顾客 (Clientele, Constituencies, Constituency, shopper), 顧客 (client), 客 (guest, visitor). (various references)

Czech

zákazník (client, fare, purchaser, shopper, taker). (various references)

Danish

kunde (client). (various references)

Dutch

klant (buyer, client, purchaser), afnemer (buyer, client, purchaser), cliënt (client). (various references)

Esperanto

kliento (client). (various references)

Faeroese

viðskiftafólk (client). (various references)

Farsi 

مشتری (Chap, Client, Habitue, Patron). (various references)

Finnish

asiakas (client). (various references)

French

client. (various references)

Frisian

klant (buyer, client, purchaser), keaper (buyer, client, purchaser). (various references)

German

Kunde (character, client, lore, news, patron, purchaser, taker, tidings), abnehmer (accepter, acceptor, account debtor, buyer, outlet, purchaser, taker). (various references)

Greek 

πελάτης (client). (various references)

Hebrew 

לוקח (client), לקוח (buyer, client), זבון (client). (various references)

Hungarian

vásárló (buyer, client, procurer, purchaser, shopper, vendee). (various references)

Indonesian

langganan (client, regular, subscription). (various references)

Irish

custaiméirí, cliant (client). (various references)

Italian

cliente (buyer, client, diner, guest, punter, purchaser, resident, visitor), compratore (buyer, client, purchaser, vendee), avventore (bailor). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

需用家 (consumer), 顧客 (client, patron), お客さん (guest, visitor), 取引先 (client), 取り引き先 (client), 得意客 (client, one's customers), 得意 (client, one's forte, one's specialty, one's strong point, pride, prosperity, triumph), 御用の方 (guest), 御客さん (guest, visitor), 客 (guest), ご用の方 (guest). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

おきゃくさん (guest, visitor), きゃく (all the more, guest, instead, on the contrary, rather), ごようのかた (guest), こきゃく (client, patron), こかく (client, convention, lone traveller, old customs, old etiquette, patron, usage), じゅようか (consumer), とくいきゃく (client, one's customers), とくい (client, one's forte, one's specialty, one's strong point, pride, prosperity, singular, triumph, unique), とりひきさき (client). (various references)

Korean 

고객. (various references)

Malay

langganan (client). (various references)

Manx

kionneyder (buyer, purchaser, shopper), custymeyr. (various references)

Norwegian

kunde. (various references)

Papiamen

kliente (client). (various references)

Pig Latin

ustomercay.(various references)

Portuguese

freguês (buyer, charterer, client, guest, purchaser, shopper), cliente (account, patient). (various references)

Romanian

client (client, patron, prospect). (various references)

Russian 

покупатель (bidder, buyer, client, purchaser, shopper, vendee). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

potrošač (consumer, purchaser), mušterija (client, shopper, taker), kupac (bidder, buyer, purchaser, shopper). (various references)

Spanish

cliente (buyer, client, patron, purchaser, trick), parroquiano (client, habitue, Kirkman, parishioner, regular). (various references)

Swedish

kund (client, patron, shopper), gäst (guest, visitor). (various references)

Tagalog

tagabilí (client), sukì (client). (various references)

Turkish

tip (bakhshish, baksheesh, bugger, cast, codger, cuss, cut, guy, ilk, job, Johnny, norm, number, perk, perquisite, person, pourboire, sort, specimen, style, tip, type, vintage), müxterí (client), müvekkíl (client), müşteri (buyer, client, patron, patronizer, purchaser, shopper, taker), herif (blighter, bloke, bozo, bugger, Buster, cove, cuss, Dick, dog, fellow, guy, Johnny, josser, mug, sod, stooge, varlet), alici (buyer, client, purchaser), alıcı (accepter, acceptor, addressee, buyer, client, consignee, consumer, distributee, pickup, purchaser, receiver, receiving set, recipient, set, sounder, taker, vendee, wireless receiving set, wireless set). (various references)

Turkmen 

mьзderi.Turkmen/English Dictionary 83, alajy (purchaser). (various references)

Ukrainian

клієнт (brief, client, patron), замовник (charterer, client), покупець (bidder, buyer, purchaser, shopper). (various references)

Vietnamese 

anh chàng (blade, feller, johnny, person, scout). (various references)

Welsh

cwsmer (patron). (various references)

Zulu

ilikhasimende (client), ikhasimende (client). (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "customer": customers. (additional references)

Words ending with "customer": noncustomer. (additional references)

Words containing "customer": noncustomers. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Customer" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: castronery, costomer, cusromer, custemer, custome, customes, customr, custumal, Cutmore, Cuxtone, Lutomer. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: costumer.

-1 letter: costume, couters, oestrum, rectums, scouter, scrotum.

-2 letters: cerous, comers, comets, comtes, corset, coster, course, courts, couter, crouse, cruets, cruset, curets, custom, eructs, escort, estrum, metros, mouser, mucors, mucose, mucros, muster, ouster, outers, rectos, rectum, rectus, recuts, routes, scoter, sector, source, souter, stoure, truces, tumors.

-3 letters: ceros, comer, comes, comet, comte, cores, corms, corse.

+1 letter: castoreum, commuters, computers, costumers, costumery, costumier, customers.

+2 letters: castoreums, costumiers, customizer, ecotourism, outmarches, recomputes, sclerotium.

+3 letters: cafetoriums, champertous, commixtures, computerese, computerise, computerist, consumerist, costumeries, coterminous, coulometers, customizers, documenters, ecotourisms, emasculator, misconstrue, multicourse, multisource, neuroticism, noncustomer, precomputes, recoupments, scoutmaster, uricotelism.

+4 letters: anticonsumer, commensurate, computerdoms, computereses, computerised, computerises, computerists, computerizes, computerless, computerniks, consumerists, conterminous, coulometries, countermands, countermemos, countermines, countermoves, countermyths, crematoriums, discomfiture, emasculators, euchromatins, macropterous, mercurations, meretricious, microtubules, misconstrued, misconstrues, monocultures, mucoproteins, multicourses, neurochemist, neuroticisms, noncustomers, precomputers, proctodaeums, procurements, reductionism, scoutmasters, uricotelisms.