# Help describe this business relationship **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2011, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672 "2011-10-05T12:02:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/1 "2011-10-05T12:02:32Z")
I’m blanking on a word to use (in a resume). If I sell a product to, say, a grocery store, I’m a vendor. What is the grocery store? A client? That doesn’t seem right. I’m trying to complete the sentence fragments: “print, package, and deliver product to [insert word here]” “maintain inventory at [insert word here] sites” . . . or something like that. Customer/client doesn’t seem right, as I want to get across the point that the customers are businesses and not individuals. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/2 "2011-10-05T12:06:12Z")
Client or customer, yes. Those terms are applicable to organization as well as to private individuals. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/3 "2011-10-05T12:22:46Z")
Purchaser? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/4 "2011-10-05T12:30:08Z")
That’s someone in charge of purchasing, usually; I’ve found it in companies/locations large enough to have a Purchasing Manager with several Purchaser underlings. And it may even be that the purchasing organization isn’t even the one to which goods or services are being delivered (third-party procurement) - one of the fun parts of setting up Purchasing systems is the whole list of “Send-to Clients”, “Bill-to Clients” and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/5 "2011-10-05T13:38:38Z")
Customer and client both describe businesses as well as individuals. Maybe you want to get the phrase B2B in there somewhere? If you’re not happy with customer/client, are they in a particular industry that you can describe? e.g. print, package, and deliver product to pharma companies ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/6 "2011-10-05T16:31:19Z")
“Retailer”, then? Or “reseller” if they’re not dealing with the general public… ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/7 "2011-10-05T16:44:24Z")
Service delivery consultant here, yes “customer” is the [industry-standard term](http://wiki.en.it-processmaps.com/index.php/Roles_within_ITIL_V3#Customer) in IT service roles. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/8 "2011-10-05T23:22:03Z")
Not a client. “Client” implies a professional service is being provided. Businesses try to satisfy all of their customers’ demands within the constraints of economics and the law, while there are certain legal and lucrative things you are not supposed to do for a client. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/9 "2011-10-06T15:37:11Z")
Distributor? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/10 "2011-10-07T00:38:32Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > … I’m trying to complete the sentence fragments: > > “print, package, and deliver product to [insert word here]” > “maintain inventory at [insert word here] sites” > . . . or something like that. Customer/client doesn’t seem right, as I want to get across the point that the customers are businesses and not individuals. > > Thanks! As an ad agency, we design, print and deliver product to clients. Which are _all_ businesses. Oscar Mayer is our client, Target is our client, [Large Insurance Company] is our client, [Small Software Company] is our client. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-describe-this-business-relationship/598672/11 "2011-10-07T00:47:16Z")
you can call them “corporate customers” or “business partner”. Whatever word you use, you aren’t going to get or not get a job because of it. Unless maybe you use a word like “jerkfaces”.