IFA:
Most professionals in franchising would agree that trust is a vital element in a successful relationship between a franchise system and its franchisees, whether on an individual level or between the franchisor and its franchisees as a whole. But past this general observation, so common that it’s almost a cliché, some more difficult questions lie waiting:
How is franchising different from any other form of doing business, so far as trust is concerned? How does trust provide direct business benefits or is it merely a ‘feel-good’ aspect of the business relationship that fails to deliver real economic benefits? If trust is important, how can it be established, nurtured and, if needed, repaired? What are the respective roles of the franchisor and the franchisees in building trust?
FranchiseBrief.com on September 7th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Building trust is obviously not easy but repairing it is even harder. We see what’s happening right now with Quiznos or UPS store franchisees. In my opinion, it will take them years to go back to the relationship they used to have with their franchisees.