--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to realize that the customer…" description: "\"You have to realize that the customer really is king. People who go into more established businesses probably have to be careful not to be casual about..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fred-deluca-10899_business_you-have-to-realize-that-the-customer-re_1259280.jpg" --- # You have to realize that the customer really is king… ![“You have to realize that the customer really is king. People who go into more established businesses probably have to be careful not to be casual about that. When you have a brand-new business, and nobody knows who you are, you know you have to work really hard for your customers.” quote by Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fred-deluca-10899_business_you-have-to-realize-that-the-customer-re_1259280.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fred-deluca-10899_business_you-have-to-realize-that-the-customer-re_1259280.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fred-deluca-10899_business_you-have-to-realize-that-the-customer-re_1259280.jpg) > “You have to realize that the customer really is king. People who go into more established businesses probably have to be careful not to be casual about that. When you have a brand-new business, and nobody knows who you are, you know you have to work really hard for your customers.” [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. New businesses must work harder to earn customer loyalty than established ones, where brand trust already exists. **In simple terms:** Start‑ups need extra effort for customers. Key Takeaway Prioritize exceptional service early. Themes entrepreneurship customer focus brand building Mood optimistic pragmatic Type advisory motivational When to use this quote - retail - tech startups - hospitality - service industry - online platforms Key Concepts customer experience market entry reputation management Questions to Reflect On - How will you measure customer satisfaction? - What strategies keep service quality high as you scale? A Different Perspective Established firms may become complacent, neglecting evolving customer needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Customer Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer-really-3264051/) [Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-customers-698035/) [King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king/) [New business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-business/) [Nobody knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobody-knows/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Realize Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-customer-1974870/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [When the alarm bell rings, you'd better wake up and realize that the customer expects more from you today than he did the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-tooker/when-the-alarm-bell-rings-you-d-better-wake-up-and-realize-that-the/) [Gary L. 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We must continually reinvent ourselves, responding to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-mori/in-my-experience-in-the-real-estate-business-past-success-stories-are/) [Akira Mori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-mori/) > [What we are trying to do is to create a new business paradigm, simply showing that business can have a human face and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/what-we-are-trying-to-do-is-to-create-a-new-business-paradigm-simply/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [Napster has pointed the way for a new direction for music distribution, and we believe it will form the basis of important and exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-diller/napster-has-pointed-the-way-for-a-new-direction-for-music/) [Barry Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-diller/) ## More by Fred DeLuca > [I know a lot of people at some point in their business careers decide they'll just cash in and do something else, but for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/i-know-a-lot-of-people-at-some-point-in-their-business-careers-decide/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [The people who come to work deserve to be paid properly, and there's no excuse. I could understand someone making a small error, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/the-people-who-come-to-work-deserve-to-be-paid-properly-and-there-s/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [The franchisees are uniquely in touch at the local level. They see what's going on in their communities in a way we couldn't ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/the-franchisees-are-uniquely-in-touch-at-the-local-level-they-see/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [By and large, we're a bread-eating culture. People like sandwiches. We don't really over-think that one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/by-and-large-we-re-a-bread-eating-culture-people-like-sandwiches-we/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [When we first started the company, I didn't have any thoughts of franchising. 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I did pre-med because my mum thought it was a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/i-went-to-school-because-i-was-supposed-to-i-did-pre-med-because-my/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [We have always had many more franchisee candidates than available locations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/we-have-always-had-many-more-franchisee-candidates-than-available/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [The United States is a huge market, and once you get rolling, you can replicate that model over and over pretty easily. Your supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/the-united-states-is-a-huge-market-and-once-you-get-rolling-you-can/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [I was 17 years old when I built the first store... A very simple, basic store with a basic counter - not very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/i-was-17-years-old-when-i-built-the-first-store-a-very-simple-basic/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [From my point of view, my job is just to work hard for our franchisees, so they can maintain the position they're in, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/from-my-point-of-view-my-job-is-just-to-work-hard-for-our-franchisees/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [We give great value for our franchisees: They can build a store for well under $200,000. And we have extremely simple operating systems. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/we-give-great-value-for-our-franchisees-they-can-build-a-store-for/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [If I were in charge of the government, I would index the minimum wage to inflation, so that way, everybody knows what they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-deluca/if-i-were-in-charge-of-the-government-i-would-index-the-minimum-wage/) [Fred DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-deluca/) > [Six months after we started, in 1964, there was a day when we sold only seven sandwiches. 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