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    Users vs clients vs customers

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    • IRJI
      IRJ
      last edited by

      Do you call your fellow employees users, clients, or customers? I've always hated the PC terminology in IT. It turns users into whinier babies since they feel like their entitled.

      What do you think?

      https://www.google.com/amp/www.forbes.com/sites/katelee/2012/10/18/user-vs-customer-does-it-matter/

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • dafyreD
        dafyre
        last edited by

        They are my users if they are employed tat the same place that I am, otherwise, they are clients or customers.

        IRJI 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
        • IRJI
          IRJ @dafyre
          last edited by IRJ

          @dafyre said in Users vs clients vs customers:

          They are my users if they are employed tat the same place that I am, otherwise, they are clients or customers.

          I agree with that logic, but I have noticed bigger companies are now calling fellow non-IT employees customers or clients.

          dafyreD travisdh1T 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • IRJI
            IRJ
            last edited by

            It makes me want to remove PC and "Make IT great Again" lol

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
            • dafyreD
              dafyre @IRJ
              last edited by

              @IRJ said in Users vs clients vs customers:

              @dafyre said in Users vs clients vs customers:

              They are my users if they are employed tat the same place that I am, otherwise, they are clients or customers.

              I agree with that logic, but I have noticed bigger companies are now calling fellow non-IT employees customers or clients.

              Non-IT = User... Idiot-Non-IT = Luser.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
              • coliverC
                coliver
                last edited by

                Customers. But that just may be because of how abstracted I generally am from them.

                IRJI 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • IRJI
                  IRJ @coliver
                  last edited by

                  @coliver said in Users vs clients vs customers:

                  Customers. But that just may be because of how abstracted I generally am from them.

                  I don't get that term. They aren't buying anything from internal IT

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • DashrenderD
                    Dashrender
                    last edited by

                    I too call them users if they are employed at the same company as me.

                    But I do understand why some call them customers - because they are a customer of IT. Sure they are users - but everyone is a user, All of IT are users as well. One good reason to see those people outside of your department as customers is so you put on your customer service face.

                    I'll be among the first admit that a user at my company gets less leniency from me than someone outside my company. This is something I struggle with constantly. I don't know why their proximity to me should make any difference, why I think they should be more capable, more able to understand how/why their computer works, fix simple things, etc, but I do and I'm trying to change that within myself.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • travisdh1T
                      travisdh1 @IRJ
                      last edited by

                      @IRJ said in Users vs clients vs customers:

                      @dafyre said in Users vs clients vs customers:

                      They are my users if they are employed tat the same place that I am, otherwise, they are clients or customers.

                      I agree with that logic, but I have noticed bigger companies are now calling fellow non-IT employees customers or clients.

                      The most inept IT department I worked for insisted on calling them "customers". If I hear IT calling users customers, I know to stay far away.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • MattSpellerM
                        MattSpeller
                        last edited by

                        Within IT department
                        users

                        My mind set
                        customers

                        Talking with them
                        fellow employees

                        travisdh1T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                        • travisdh1T
                          travisdh1 @MattSpeller
                          last edited by

                          @MattSpeller said in Users vs clients vs customers:

                          Within IT department
                          users

                          My mind set
                          customers

                          Talking with them
                          fellow employees

                          One up vote is not enough.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                          • RojoLocoR
                            RojoLoco
                            last edited by

                            I have "users" (coworkers at this location or Hyderabad), and the company has "customers" (municipalities that buy our software). I'm super glad that I don't have to deal with "customers" directly (they're mostly idiots). My "users" are all pretty sharp and non-destructive, so I don't mind most of them.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                            • Deleted74295D
                              Deleted74295 Banned
                              last edited by

                              Staff, employees, co-workers for internal IT. You are not a customer, you are a team-mate, we're here to help the business succeed, I help you, you help me, you are not my customer.

                              Clients if you are the external IT. Very clear and black and white.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                              • scottalanmillerS
                                scottalanmiller
                                last edited by

                                I grew up with my father working as an internal consultant in engineering and they would call their clients customers, even when they were internal. Never users. It's not an IT thing, it's a standard "service department" thing. And was common by the 1970s for sure.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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