This paper examines New Zealand tertiary teachers' use of metaphor and their attitudes to the consumer metaphor in relation to teaching. Based on interviews with 16 tertiary teachers, this study shows that although teachers believe the consumer metaphor is accepted by students, tertiary institutions and policy makers, and that it has affected their approaches to students and teaching, they did not embrace it in their own practice. Participants produced preferred alternative metaphors which were embedded in situated accounts of teaching practice, and showed a flexible approach to the teacher--student relationship. The situated nature of metaphors as they were shaped in participant talk also leads us to suggest that further work on the constitution and application of metaphor in varying teaching contexts is important.