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
お客様、ご注文は以上でよろしいですか。
Customer, is that all for your order?
お客様の声を大切にしています。
We value our customers' feedback.
お客様は神様です。
The customer is god. (Customer is always right.)
HONORIFIC TERM:
お客様 is the standard honorific term for customers in business contexts. It combines the honorific prefix お~ with 客 (guest/customer) and the honorific suffix ~様.
FORMALITY LEVELS:
- お客様 - most polite (business standard)
- お客さん - polite (casual business)
- 客 - neutral/plain
COMMON PHRASES:
- お客様各位 - dear customers (written)
- お客様サービス - customer service
- お客様の声 - customer feedback/voice
- お客様センター - customer center
CULTURAL NOTE:
「お客様は神様です」(The customer is god) is a famous Japanese saying reflecting the emphasis on customer service.