Definition
A person who buys goods or services from another person or organisation.
The bigger picture
The term defines the person in terms of their relationship with an organisation, and as a ‘consumer’ of services – not as a citizen with agency and equal rights. It frames care and support as being about transactions and getting a service rather than living a good life.
Referring to ‘customers’ puts people into a group, further removing people’s individual identity. And ‘my’ or ‘our’ customers reinforces the unequal power dynamic and a paternalistic approach to care and support.
Saying it differently
Person
Person accessing care and support
Person who draws on care and support
Person I’m working with
Person I’m supporting
What people say
“Using customer.. I’m hearing it more and more in social care. Customer, in social care, can – for me – make relationships seem commercial, if that makes sense? And can strip away the empathy. It doesn’t really pick up that it’s about relationships and connections.” – Clenton Farquharson
“The word ‘customer’ implies that you’ve gone to a shop and you’ve done a transaction, when actually you quite often haven’t even had a say over who the persons are, so… you’re not a customer.” – Julie Sharp
“There’s all sorts of words that people use like customer, client and whatever you want to call me, but I’m not a customer. It makes me feel quite weird, because a customer goes to a shop like Sainsburys and you buy stuff in Sainsburys, but we can’t buy anything.” Paul