clientele
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clientele
The entirety of all customers of a store, company, or service. It is a collective term for the people who shop there or make use of services.
Der Bäcker kennt seine Stammkundschaft mit Namen.
The baker knows his regular clientele by name.
The word is derived from 'der Kunde' (the customer). The ending '-schaft' forms a collective term and groups all customers together, similar to 'Mannschaft' (team) or 'Belegschaft' (staff/workforce).
Die gesamte Kundschaft war mit dem neuen Service sehr zufrieden.
The entire clientele was very satisfied with the new service.
Although 'die Kundschaft' refers to many people, the word is grammatically singular. Therefore, the verb in the sentence is also in the singular.
Die Kundschaft wartet geduldig, bis das Geschäft öffnet.
The clientele waits patiently until the store opens.
A distinction is often made between 'Stammkundschaft' (regular customers) and 'Laufkundschaft' (walk-in customers, casual customers). Adjectives such as 'zufriedene' (satisfied) or 'treue' (loyal) with 'Kundschaft' are also common.
Ein kleines Café lebt oft von seiner treuen Stammkundschaft.
A small café often lives off its loyal regular clientele.
customer
'der Kunde' and 'die Kundschaft' both belong to the area of shopping and services. 'der Kunde' means an individual person or also an individual company that buys something or uses a service. 'die Kundschaft', on the other hand, means all customers together or a group of customers. Learners may confuse the words because both occur in business or service contexts. If you are talking about a specific person, 'Kunde' fits. If you are talking about customers as a whole, 'Kundschaft' is more natural.
Am Samstag ist die Kundschaft im Supermarkt besonders ungeduldig.
On Saturdays, the clientele in the supermarket is especially impatient.
Der Kunde wartet schon seit zehn Minuten auf seinen Termin.
The customer has already been waiting ten minutes for his appointment.