noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a business customer/client
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We’re providing our business customers with reliable, proven Internet technology.
a customer survey
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They have begun to listen carefully to their customers, through customer surveys, focus groups, etc.
a customer/consumer complaint
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As a result of the improvements, customer complaints went down by 70%.
a potential customer/buyer/client
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Advertisers want to reach as many potential customers as possible.
a prospective customer/client
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We are conducting market research among existing and prospective customers.
awkward customer (= person who is difficult and unhelpful )
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an awkward customer
cool customer (= someone who always behaves calmly )
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a cool customer
corporate clients/customers (= clients that are companies )
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It's a big investment bank that serves mainly corporate clients.
customer service
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At our bank, we insist on high standards of customer service .
customer services
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You should call customer services and complain.
customer/brand loyalty (= when someone shops in the same shops or buys the same goods regularly )
▪
The company's marketing department is trying to build customer loyalty.
customer/patient/voter etc satisfaction (= among customers/patients/voters etc )
▪
Staff work as a team to achieve customer satisfaction.
regular customer/visitor
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He’s one of the bar’s regular customers.
satisfied customers
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They have plenty of satisfied customers .
serving customers
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There was only one girl serving customers .
slippery customer (= someone you should not trust )
▪
Martin is a slippery customer so be careful what you say to him.
tough cookie/customer informal (= someone who is very determined to do what they want and not what other people want )
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
big
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Schools and hobbyists - the kind of people who own home computers - are among the biggest customers .
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For it is not only with big customers that you will need a good accountant.
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That they all do so with big doses of customer appeal is an added bonus.
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CyberCash has racked up a few big customers recently, however.
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University libraries are one big customer .
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The maker of publishing software also said it is losing one of its biggest Postscript customers .
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Big Slow Payers Dealing with big firms who are also big customers is often a mixed blessing for small businesses.
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A big , potential customer called with a major assignment.
existing
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Again, 3i differs here in that 35% of all the money it invests goes to its existing customer base.
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For existing customers the offer is worth up to £500.
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They can sell this package to their existing customers .
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It means offering existing customers the new model two weeks before they seek a replacement from your competitors.
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Upgrades are available for existing customers .
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Production units will be delivered this month. Existing 4680 customers can upgrade.
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Under the deal, S &038; N will continue to sell and distribute Nivea to existing customers for the next 10 years.
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Organizations have developed several different ways of regarding their existing and potential customers .
large
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The usual justification is goodwill and the hope that one day a small customer could become a large customer.
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One day King told him to find prices on four bonds for a very large customer , Morgan Guaranty.
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Apple liked the idea so much that they invested a 20% stake in Adobe making themselves the largest customer .
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With leading brokerage firms possessing large customer bases such as Goldman, Sachs&038;.
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Simultaneously they were Adobe's largest customer contributing over 40% of the revenues at one point.
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Many U.K. companies maintain large customer databases.
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He had promises from several large customers to use his services.
new
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In the old days, signing up and connecting a new customer in a medium-sized city would be a costly exercise.
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The object is to keep them happy while looking for new customers , he said.
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Also a conservatory can improve the overall image and give an extra incentive to attract new customers .
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All claims are being met and the company has Government blessing to accept new customers .
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Find out where their new customers come from.
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But the company believes, he added, that fees based primarily on actual costs will attract new customers .
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Competition in the private sector works the same way: successful new ideas draw customers , and unsuccessful ones die out.
potential
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Their potential customers have holidays on their minds - not house moves.
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A big, potential customer called with a major assignment.
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This provided them with a highly qualified list of potential customers matching their target demographic groups.
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Because of the deadline, your manager made changes and sent the copy to your potential customer .
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It believes sponsoring 32-year-old Branagh's Hamlet will be a way of chasing potential upmarket customers .
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Gates promised this huge potential customer that he could have a software package that was ideal for his computer.
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The debate about privacy is lost on such potential customers as James Miller.
private
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A large number of private care agency customers are elderly or disabled people who are not social services clients.
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However, it seems unlikely that it was intended that less disclosure should be made to private customers than to professionals.
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With effect from 1 January 1993 this rule only applies to private customers .
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Non-private customers: the different categories Anyone who is not a private customer is a non-private customer.
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Hence they are rather like the overdraft limit placed on a private sector customer by its bank.
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Leasing has never, however, been an option for the private customer .
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Most of the major manufacturers now have leasing-type schemes specially designed for their private customers .
regular
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Other initiatives include regular meetings between customers and management and more frequent and focused sales and technical visits to customers.
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Jim was a regular customer and got a warm greeting from the owners.
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Mrs Jackie Bowshell organised the event and cars were brought in by regular customers to a strict timetable.
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The people who drink at these places are more than regular customers they are members.
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Intelmet says that to make the service pay it will require just 10 regular customers every month.
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I did have one fairly regular customer though, and it was amazing how we started off.
■ NOUN
base
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Again, 3i differs here in that 35% of all the money it invests goes to its existing customer base .
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Are there other untapped demographics you can identify to build an additional customer base ?
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The customer base was considerably strengthened and a variety of new products launched.
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Independent grocery stores have used Nordstrom-style personal service for years to maintain loyal customer bases .
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The customer base has to be broadened and internationalised in a profitable manner.
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This information is supplemented by a wealth of subscriber-supplied data from a wide-ranging customer base .
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A former Metrologie employee, Sayles says eXplain was restricted from attacking the Metrologie X terminal customer base .
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Personal computer software looks to be a good money spinner too having grown 200% though from an admittedly small customer base .
business
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District Service Centres will dramatically reduce processing costs and the price paid by business customers .
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Fox Valley also surveys its business customers , which contract for training courses and economic development services.
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While tapping the same market, the chains approach the business customer in different ways.
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PacketWorks has provided Internet access and related services to business customers in Central Florida since its founding in 1994.
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At that time, the company was one of the few Internet providers able to link business customers to high-speed Internet service.
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Most of the growth came from business customers , and the company credited the improving California economy.
care
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Training implies that they do not, yet nobody seems to be able to point to any deterioration in customer care .
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Nothing about environmental impact, customer care , or good business practices.
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The delegation looked at a range of hotel operations including food preparation, customer care programmes, sales and marketing and budgeting.
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John had high standards of customer care and quality service.
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He still had a lot of contacts who valued his priorities of customer care and quality.
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Hotels have high standards of customer care and lift maintenance organisations have to understand these requirements.
complaint
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They may be content to put up with a certain proportion of customer complaints for a given volume of business.
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It was pulled off the air after two weeks because of customer complaints , but the shoes sold out.
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If customer complaints don't come your way, go down to the Customer Relations Department and chat to the people there.
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As a result of such improvements, customer complaints went down by more than 70 per-cent.
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Do you genuinely and sincerely investigate customer complaints and try to eradicate the causes?
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Accordingly, they hired more telephone representatives to relieve the pressure on employees charged with handling customer complaints and inquiries.
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Customers' satisfaction - fewer customer complaints and loss of business. 3.
satisfaction
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You can't move an inch without being given a customer satisfaction survey to complete.
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Consequently customer satisfaction had actually declined.
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Your job satisfaction ensures your customer satisfaction; - and it shows.
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They have recognized that their business depends on world of mouth, and that world of mouth is based on customer satisfaction .
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This will lead to greater customer satisfaction and be to everyone's benefit.
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The money is earmarked for engineering, marketing and sales of the start-up's customer satisfaction software.
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As with any complex electronic information system or service, a strong support structure can make an enormous difference in customer satisfaction .
service
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Competitive rates are only one factor in good customer service .
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In addition, Verio affiliates' customer service representatives will benefit from easy access to account information.
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Issues such as product knowledge, lead generation and customer service are tackled.
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They are very data conscious now and more wired into productivity, quality, the importance of training, and customer service .
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In this way we can build on what we believe we do well - providing excellent customer service and quality beer brands.
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In the opinion of most, however customer service and quality remained hostage to the lack of cooperation from the functional heads.
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It's very reassuring that some companies can be relied upon to give good customer service and satisfaction.
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How could we upgrade customer service ?
■ VERB
allow
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Strength in numbers will allow us to give customers a better deal.
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The promotion, which it discontinued in April, allows a full-fare paying customer to take a companion along for free.
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An important feature of current accounts is that banks often allow customers to be overdrawn.
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Some airlines even allow customers to book seats.
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Car salespeople will allow customers to test drive cars.
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Places to Stay allows customers to make reservations directly at about 100 Northern California hotels and bed and breakfasts.
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Read in studio A pub landlord in Oxford has been charged with allowing his customers to smoke cannabis on his premises.
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The rise of computer networks like the Internet will allow customers to download programs directly from the manufacturer.
attract
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Hay now attracts customers from all over the world.
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Managed-care companies that had kept prices low to attract new customers are under heavy pressure to increase earnings.
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It is hoped this will attract customers wanting to avoid the costs and anxiety of development.
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Television manufacturers are getting desperate to attract customers .
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And the outlets had to be revamped to attract more customers .
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Last year, it launched the Deluxe sandwiches, a higher-priced line meant to attract customers looking for better quality.
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The marketing strategies of banks have been aimed in some cases at attracting young customers , especially the student market.
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These latter departments are not only profitable but they also attract customers .
buy
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Once the customer decides to buy the software, Hewlett provides a password over the phone granting a permanent licence.
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My job is to persuade the customer to buy a product.
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If all banks sell securities, they will all lose deposits and balances as their own customers buy securities.
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When he made one for himself, a customer would buy it.
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Because the process is extremely flexible, customers no longer need to buy a minimum of one tonne of alloy.
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Many more of our customers now buy a piano for themselves.
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According to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, customers are expected to buy 100m of these chips at most.
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All three knew well that customers buying computers needed some way to make them work together.
help
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And the added bulk helped deter customers from walking off with the product without paying.
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For crisis loans, helping customers meet expenses in an emergency, 3,315 people were helped out of the 3,508 applications made.
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Noble bookstore in Georgetown, where Llanos helped customers find works on theology, philosophy and other subjects.
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Our aim is to provide products and services that help our customers work towards achievement of the Quality Standard for Electronic Business.
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As a young boy, he visited the shop most Fridays and helped serve customers .
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It was in the publican's interest to keep the constable sweet, to help with rowdy customers .
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And we will do everything in our power to help that customer get through her difficult financial times.
keep
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By keeping close to customers , we are better able to service their needs and we can keep ahead of industry trends.
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I was dazzled by the friendly clerks, who kept bowing at customers , and the quantity and quality of consumer goods.
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Initially they only need to keep track of customers , write letters and run a spreadsheet.
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Because their friends frequent the park, they get enough word-of-mouth advertising to keep the customers coming.
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You are the frontline in our battle to win and keep customers .
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What is the right shopping environment that keeps customers happy and wanting to return?
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They keep upsetting customers by pushing them for money. 4.
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A multi-service approach keeps customers loyal, executives and analysts said.
meet
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In order to meet customer needs we must be able to respond more quickly and flexibly to changing conditions.
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I suggested to him that I wanted to meet his customer one-on-one.
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He saw meeting customer requirements punctually and precisely as his primary job.
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She says they want the people who meet customers to look good.
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I get to meet the customers , to listen to what they want.
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Innovative product lines continue to be introduced to meet growing customer demand.
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Instead sympathetic competitors allowed them to manufacture on their premises to meet customer orders.
offer
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It intends to offer customers strategic business planning as well as interoperability strategies for the future.
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The biggest barrier to entry into the video shopping arena has been the lack of available channels offering variety to customers .
▪
A further hidden cost hinges on the share price the broker is able to offer customers .
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The goal is to offer its customers hundreds of new cable channels and video services.
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Another way in which retail outlets vary is in the type of service they offer to customers .
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Many companies offer special trips to customers who respond to a pitch within 48 or 72 hours.
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Indeed, PageMart and PageNet last week offered incentives for EconoPage customers to switch to their paging networks.
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Under the agreement, Verio will offer NetObjects Fusion 4.0 customers 30 days of free Web hosting and domain-name registration.
pay
▪
If you'd invented a string of lovelorn swains you'd have had to pay customer prices.
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If you had any talent, you worked your way up to the counter and tables where the paying customers were.
▪
District Service Centres will dramatically reduce processing costs and the price paid by business customers .
▪
The promotion, which it discontinued in April, allows a full-fare paying customer to take a companion along for free.
▪
Interest is paid gross to all customers investing £50,000 or more for a fixed term of at least seven days.
▪
The amount also includes another $ 127. 5 million the firm already paid or agreed to pay to customers .
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In penance, Nynex has this month been forced to pay customers a rebate.
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These costs are paid by the customer . 8.
provide
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Adequate instructions, manuals and training should be provided for customers .
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They provide customers with both the e-commerce applications as well as the ramps to access the I-way.
▪
Computer suppliers frequently provide customer training as an integral part of their total product package.
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However, each also needs a strong measure of motivation to provide friendly and responsive customer service.
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Banks, through modern communications and worldwide correspondents, provide assistance to customers engaged in international trade.
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Several types of services can be provided to the customer .
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It is being provided free to customers .
satisfy
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Each individual uses the product of another supplier and his/her output has to satisfy a customer .
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Hence they tend to satisfy their customers while wasting far less.
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Purists might call it chiming rather than genuine ringing but Saint Mary's has some very satisfied customers .
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A happy and satisfied customer would tell five other people about the company.
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Fifteen separate routes have been made the responsibility of managers whose chief aim is to satisfy their customers .
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The desired outcome of most services, after all, is a satisfied customer .
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Employees at Yahoo! constantly experiment to improve their site and so satisfy more customers .
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The stories rarely heard are those of satisfied customers like Patricia Lopez of El Cajon.
serve
▪
Doyle chuckled then left her to serve a customer .
▪
E.. Modesto already serves a few customers in one of those cities, Riverbank.
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What matters is to serve customers better and more profitably.
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Randalls has 67 stores, which serve about a million customers each week.
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Serving the customer involves more members of the company than just those who serve at the customer interface.
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A milkman who serves the same customers every day and who is usually known to them personally will clearly have sufficient contact.
▪
In each case, the winners serve their customers better.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
user-friendly/customer-friendly etc
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
British Airways was Boeing's largest customer for jet airplanes.
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Ford has launched a big sales campaign in an effort to bring in new customers.
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The barman was serving the last customer of the evening.
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The Defense Department is one of Lockheed's biggest regular customers.
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Their typical customer earns more than $70,000.
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We don't get many customers on Mondays - Saturday is our busiest day.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
After monitoring the performance of the engine on the rig, it is prepared for despatch to the customer .
▪
All are given clear-cut linkage to their internal customer .
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But don't starve your customers in the process - there's no profit in that either.
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But in the long run, observers see the potential for new products and concerns about customer service.
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It was a well-kept secret that the old system was biased in favor of residential customers.
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Just when she had been on the brink of despair, one of her rich customers had given her a handsome order.
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Second, customers decide their preferences with a large pinch of subjectivity.