When I’m Your Customer, Don’t Call Me “Guest”
Aug 4, 2010 by Lindsay Gower
I heard the clerk say “May I help the next guest?” as I stood in line at Joann’s last Sunday. I was fifth in line, so I had some time to ponder his word choice: Guest. Aren’t I a customer?
Today, in line for coffee, I heard the same question, “May I help the next guest?”
To that, I replied (silently), You can sell me a cup of coffee. But if you plan to have me pay for it, let’s not pretend I’m your guest.
If you are in business—especially if you have a retail establishment at which people purchase your product or service—I urge you to consider them your customers, not your guests.
Say What You Mean
As Mark Twain advised, “Use the right word, not its second cousin.” When I’m in a store, paying for a product, I’m a customer. The people who work in the store are sales people, clerks, store managers, wait staff and baristas.
(Yes, in some industries guest is common—hotel guest, for instance. Yet Merriam-Webster’s definition of client—”customer”— uses the example hotel client.)
“May I help the next customer?”
Customer is not an offensive word. There is nothing shameful about being a customer (at least, not at a shops such as Joann’s or Starbuck’s. It’s not as if I’m buying drugs.) By devaluing the word that describes “people who enter our stores and buy our products,” companies devalue the customers themselves. If companies think there is a hierarchy in which being a customer is not as good as being a guest, they need to explain the distinction.
To me, the distinction is obvious: As a customer, I get out my wallet. As a guest—be it at birthday parties, weddings or come-on-over-for-pot-luck—my host provides for me. My host also invites me to come on by; I don’t walk in unannounced, order coffee and a croissant, sit quietly jotting up thoughts for my next blog posting , and then leave.
My personal vocabulary
People hire me for my writing services. I call them customers or clients. With some, I am also their customer. With some, I also socialize. But mixing business with pleasure isn’t the same as confusing business with pleasure.
Sunday, at Joann’s, I purchased the ideal frame for my most recent embroidery project. I’ve now got a handsomely framed piece of art on my living room wall; they’ve got my $24.95. I found what I needed at Joann’s and will continue to offer them my custom.
Hi Lindsay. Your blog is insightful and brings up a concern of mine. I want to start a website that allows people and businesses to connect. There would be 2 types of accounts, one for people who want to search for businesses, and one for businesses who are available for people to connect with.
I’m concerned over whether to call someone who uses to my website a ‘Customer’, ‘Client’, ‘Patron’, ‘Visitor’ or ‘Guest’. My website wouldn’t be selling anything. Simply providing a place where people can go and search for businesses in their area. But it has to be a designation other than “Hello” or “Hey, you”, obviously.
My current thought is ‘Customer’ but I’m not selling anything. So I’m leaning more towards ‘Guest’ because regardless whether a person signs up for an account, they can still use the website to search for businesses.
I’m sure all this might sound trivial, but I don’t want to put some people off because of a word they might find offensive. And I was curious about your thoughts on this based on your blog. Thanks.
Hi Jamie,
Thanks for the nice words about my blog!
You bring up a twist I had not considered: Should “Guest” also be avoided on the Internet? I prefer “Visitor” to “Guest” on a Web site, and I’ve seen it used often.
If your site has a membership feature, you can use two terms, Visitor and Member, to differentiate your readers. In that context, “Visitor” could be a motivator for people to join, as it subtly implies that the person, while welcome to be there, isn’t truly an initiate to the full benefits of the site.
Don’t call your reader Client, Customer, Patron or anything like that as a label, capitalized. Either call her “you,” or them “readers,” or call them “customers.” Such as: “We have new links you can read on the Resources page…” or “Frequent readers of our site tell us that ….”or “We appreciate feedback from customers, so contact us…..”
That’s my two cents worth. Hope it’s helpful.
~*~ Lindsay