Trust – the core of every relationship

Trust. It’s a simple word. But the importance of trust often goes unmentioned…until trust breaks down. Then you have a crisis on your hands. Although you might have a tendency to link trust to interpersonal relationships, it’s important to business relationships, too.

Take this morning, for example. I needed to get my pants hemmed. Sure, I could do it myself, but, to be honest, I’m pretty lousy at it. So I took my pants to a place my sister recommended. It was in a high profile location, with high rents, so I figured they must be pretty busy and successful. I waited patiently while the tailor measured and pinned my cuff. I prepaid for the service, confirmed the pick up time, and went on my way. That’s a heck of a lot of trust for a few dollars.

I trusted in the referral my sister gave me. I trusted that it would be difficult to run a business in that location unless the tailor did a good job of meeting expectations. I trusted the tailor to measure the cuff properly — and I trusted her to take care with the pins, sparing me from becoming a human pin cushion. I trusted that the work would be done when I prepaid. And I trusted that my debit card information would be safeguarded. I trusted that the pants would be ready at 5 o’clock…and that my expensive pants would be safe in the hands of the tailor. And that’s without even considering the trust on the part of the tailor.

How does trust affect your business?

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