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Definition of customer noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

customer

noun
 
/ˈkʌstəmə(r)/
 
/ˈkʌstəmər/
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  1. a person or an organization that buys goods or services from a shop or business
    • marketing strategies to target potential customers
    • The company rewards loyal customers with discounts.
    • one of the shop’s best customers
    • They know me—I'm a regular customer.
    • Improving customer satisfaction is a core company strategy.
    • The firm has excellent customer relations.
    • How do you attract new online customers?
    • Our success is measured by how well we serve our customers.
    Collocations ShoppingShoppingShopping
    • go/​go out/​be out shopping
    • go to (especially British English) the shops/(especially North American English) a store/(especially North American English) the mall
    • do (British English) the shopping/(especially North American English) the grocery shopping/​a bit of window-shopping
    • (North American English, informal) hit/​hang out at the mall
    • try on clothes/​shoes
    • indulge in some retail therapy
    • go on a spending spree
    • cut/​cut back on/​reduce your spending
    • be/​get caught shoplifting
    • donate something to/​take something to/​find something in (British English) a charity shop/(North American English) a thrift store
    • buy/​sell/​find something at (British English) a car boot sale/(British English) a jumble sale/​a garage sale/(North American English) a yard sale
    • find/​get/​pick up a bargain
    At the shop/​store
    • load/​push/​wheel (British English) a trolley/(North American English) a cart
    • stand in/​wait in (British English) the checkout queue/(North American English) the checkout line
    • (North American English) stand in line/ (British English) queue at the checkout
    • bag (especially North American English) (your) groceries
    • pack (away) (especially British English) your shopping
    • stack/​stock/​restock the shelves at a store (with something)
    • be (found) on/​appear on supermarket/​shop shelves
    • be in/​have in/​be out of/​run out of stock
    • deal with/​help/​serve customers
    • run a special promotion
    • be on special offer
    Buying goods
    • make/​complete a purchase
    • buy/​purchase something online/​by mail order
    • make/​place/​take an order for something
    • buy/​order something in bulk/​in advance
    • accept/​take credit cards
    • pay (in) cash/​by (credit/​debit) card/(British English) with a gift voucher/(North American English) with a gift certificate
    • enter your PIN number
    • ask for/​get/​obtain a receipt
    • return/​exchange an item/​a product
    • be entitled to/​ask for/​demand a refund
    • compare prices
    • offer (somebody)/give (somebody)/get/​receive a 30% discount
    Extra Examples
    • If you have a complaint, contact the customer care unit.
    • It's a special offer to attract new customers.
    • Part of good customer relations is knowing how to deal with complaints.
    • The questionnaire is to test customer reaction to the new store design.
    • The terms of the guarantee will be set out in the customer agreement.
    • There are a large number of potential customers for the new product.
    • They are one of our biggest customers.
    • We carried out a customer satisfaction survey.
    • They organized an evening's entertainment for favoured customers.
    • This cheaper model was produced in response to customer demand.
    • We can't afford to lose any more customers.
    • I like to think that we have satisfied customers.
    • Draw up a customer profile and write a description of your typical customer.
    • He comes in twice a week and is one of our best customers.
    • I'd like to speak to someone in the customer service department, please.
    • Is there a set procedure for dealing with customer complaints?
    • Schools are among the biggest customers for this service.
    Topics Shoppinga1, Businessa1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • big
    • favoured/​favored
    • favourite/​favorite
    verb + customer
    • have
    • deal with
    • help
    customer + noun
    • care
    • relations
    • relationship
    See full entry
  2. (old-fashioned, informal) used after an adjective to describe a particular type of person
    • an awkward customer
    • a cool customer (= somebody who is always calm, even when in trouble)
    • an ugly customer (= somebody who may become violent)
See customer in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee customer in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
alloy
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Physics and chemistry
C2
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