An Omaha, Nebraska, woman reports that a customer emailed her after a sales presentation to correct her pronunciation of the word via, meaning “through” or “by means of.” In this case, the customer wasn’t right: via can...
A Greencastle, Indiana, caller is bothered when his colleagues talk about servicing a customer–and with good reason. Servicing a client has long been associated with prostitution. Serving a client is a better phrase. This is part of a complete...
A customer-service representative from Seattle, Washington, is curious about the phrases people use as a part of leave-taking when they’re finishing a telephone conversation. Linguists who conduct discourse analysis on such conversations say...
It’s the business of business jargon. Say you’re in line at the drugstore. Does it bother you if the cashier says, “Next guest”? In department stores and coffeeshops, does the term “guest” suggest real...
A former waiter in Underhill, Vermont, is annoyed by restaurant patrons who respond to a server’s query with I’m good rather than No, thank you when asked if they’ve had enough. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Jerry from New York City is annoyed that clerks in his local drug store and coffee shop baristas refer to him not as a customer, or a patron, but as a guest. He thinks guest sounds contrived, and should be reserved for hoteliers and the like. Well...