British English has many phrases for trust that is earned slowly.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know: Connections matter more than skills.
To get a foot in the door: To get a first, small chance with a new customer or employer.
A known quantity: Someone whose reliability has been proved.
To prove oneself: To show over time that one can be trusted.
To earn one’s stripes: To gain respect through experience.
Early days: It is too soon to judge.
British English has several phrases for the credit and attention given to customers who are known.
Put it on the slate: I will pay later. In pubs and corner shops, the debts of trusted regulars were once chalked on a slate.
On tick: On credit.
The usual?: A greeting for a regular whose order is already known.
A regular: A customer who comes back often and is known by name.
The Prudential insurance company appointed its first agents in 1848. They collected premiums from customers’ homes. The company first used the phrase “Man from the Pru” in 1949. In the 1960s, the agent visited six million British homes.
According to the Insurance Museum, the agent became “not only their financial adviser but often a good friend and helpmate.” Many agents insured “three generations of the same family.”
C. Hoare & Co. is a private bank in London, founded in 1672. In 2005, Euromoney reported that it had been run by the Hoare family for eleven generations. It also reported the bank’s rule for new customers: “Would-be clients need recommendations from at least two existing ones before the bank will consider taking them on.”
In 1688, the London Gazette first mentioned Edward Lloyd’s coffee house in Tower Street. It was popular with ship owners and captains, and businessmen sold insurance there at its tables.
By 1734, according to Lloyd’s, the name “had built a reputation for reliable intelligence that the shipping community were prepared to pay a subscription for.” The insurance market that grew from the coffee house still carries Lloyd’s name.
In 2019, the trades app Paddle surveyed more than 1,500 consumers about hiring tradespeople. Forty-six percent said they contact only tradespeople “who have been recommended by someone they trust.” Thirty-nine percent check online reviews. Ten percent always choose the cheapest option.
British English has many words for reputation that passes from person to person.
Comes highly recommended: Many people have praised this person.
Well thought of: Respected and liked by others.
To put in a good word: To say something good about someone.
To vouch for: To say that a person will behave well.
A cowboy: A dishonest tradesperson who does bad work or charges too much.