1
general::
noun ADJ. big, favoured, good, important, key, large, major They are one of our biggest customers. They organized an evening's entertainment for favoured customers. | long-standing, long-time, loyal | regular | current, existing | potential, prospective, would-be There are a large number of potential customers for the new product. | dissatisfied, unhappy | satisfied We like to think that we have satisfied customers. | domestic | external, outside | international, overseas | personal, private | business, commercial, corporate, industrial VERB + CUSTOMER have | deal with, serve | attract, entice, get It's a special offer to attract new customers. | lose We can't afford to lose any more customers. CUSTOMER + NOUN care, relations, service, support If you have a complaint, contact the customer care unit. Part of good customer relations is knowing how to deal with complaints. | account, order | agreement The terms of the guarantee will be set out in the customer agreement. | demand/demands, needs, requirements, specifications This cheaper model was produced in response to customer demand. | reaction The questionnaire is to test customer reaction to the new store design. | dissatisfaction, satisfaction They carried out a customer satisfaction survey. | loyalty | complaints, enquiries | survey | profile, records | base They are hoping that TV advertising will increase their customer base.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
2
general::
customer
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.
transnet.ir
5
general::
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
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
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.
Longman-Thesaurus