Job Centre Staff Refer To Claimants Now As Customers???

[gordiescotland1]

I was a bit taken aback when dealing with my local job centre to be referred to as a customer. This is incorrect for so many reasons as claimants we don't have a choice as to where we go for our "business" and the way staff treat claimants with disdain if this was a real business and we were real customers they would be out of business in weeks. Why on earth are they changing terminology it is a lot of politically correct none sense. Any thoughts anyone

[bookbinder]

'Customers' certainly doesn't seem to fit here. 'Clients' might be a better choice, but what was wrong with 'claimants'? That word fitted everybody who sought benefits at the job centre.

[EcclesCake]

What a breath of fresh air! It is so nice to see you were only 'a bit taken aback' instead of your usual stance of outrage.

You are clearly mellowing.....

Client, customer, claimant I don't see anything to get het up about to be honest.

[SirOracle]

Definition of a customer.....A person who usually frequents a certain place of business.

Seems to be correct term to me.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Me thinks a more worrying situation is to describe State pension as a benefit.

[SirOracle]

Brightspark.... A quick look at a decent dictionary gives the definition of benefit as....A right in the form of money or services enjoyed under social security or insurance schemes.

Pretty obvious to me that "benefit" is the correct word.

[Jackdaw33]

Even worse than customer is the term 'service user'.

[Jackdaw33]

I was always taught that only lawyers and prostitutes had 'clients'.

[starone]

Tee hee, love that jackdaw.

[fiction-factory]

Brightspark- state pension is a benefit in the sense that the average person receives more than they pay in

[Pete65]

EcclesCake, I could not agree more!
Great to see Gordie not horrified or aghast!
Long may it continue!
Claimant sounds fine to me.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

FF....up to the time they become means tested of course!

[THECORBYLOON]

The terminology has varied over the years and folk have been called claimants then customers but for folk of working age, the term used now is claimant rather than customer so your Jobcentre is incorrect. The clue is in the fact that the document used as a basis for what Jobseekers will do to look for work used to be called a Jobseeker's Agreement but is now called a Claimant Commitment.