(きゃくさま)

おきゃくさま
noun
customer; guest (polite)
1. customer; guest (polite/honorific)
polite term for customer, patron, or guest; the standard respectful term used by businesses and service providers to address or refer to customers
客様(きゃくさま)、ご注文(ちゅうもん)以上(いじょう)でよろしいですか。
Customer, is that all for your order?
客様(きゃくさま)(こえ)大切(たいせつ)にしています。
We value our customers' feedback.
客様(きゃくさま)神様(かみさま)です。
The customer is god. (Customer is always right.)

HONORIFIC TERM:
客様(きゃくさま) is the standard honorific term for customers in business contexts. It combines the honorific prefix お~ with (きゃく) (guest/customer) and the honorific suffix ~(さま).

FORMALITY LEVELS:

  • 客様(きゃくさま) - most polite (business standard)
  • (きゃく)さん - polite (casual business)
  • (きゃく) - neutral/plain

COMMON PHRASES:

  • 客様(きゃくさま)各位(かくい) - dear customers (written)
  • 客様(きゃくさま)サービス - customer service
  • 客様(きゃくさま)(こえ) - customer feedback/voice
  • 客様(きゃくさま)センター - customer center

CULTURAL NOTE:
「お客様(きゃくさま)神様(かみさま)です」(The customer is god) is a famous Japanese saying reflecting the emphasis on customer service.