Poor customer relationship quality at company a

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Phan Thi Thanh Hieu POOR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP QUALITY AT COMPANY A MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2019 -1- UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Phan Thi Thanh Hieu POOR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP QUALITY AT COMPANY A MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Tran Ha Minh Quan Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2019 -2- TABLE OF CONTENTS Company background Symptom 2.1 A’s LTCs signed below the target in 2016, 2017 and 2018 2.2 The importance of the symptom 10 Problem identification 10 3.1 Potential problems 12 3.1.1 Customers diversify suppliers to reduce risks 12 3.1.2 Multiple strong competitors with good service 13 3.1.3 Customers feel not satisfied in business relationship with A 13 3.1.4 Constraint of state-owned company’s policy 14 3.1.5 Customers not trust in A, no commitment for future shipment 14 Problem validation 16 4.1 Main problem 19 4.2 Problem definition 19 4.3 Problem existence 20 4.4 Problem importance 20 Possible Causes 21 5.1 Poor service quality 21 5.2 Poor company’s reputation 21 5.3 Not long enough relationship 22 Cause Validation 22 6.1.1 Main cause 25 6.1.2 Main cause definition 25 6.1.3 Sub cause 27 SOLUTION 28 7.1 Alternative solutions 29 7.1.1 Train employees to strengthen customer-service perception and skills 29 7.1.2 Redesign A’s employee performance scale 30 7.1.3 Combine employees training and adjustment of the performance appraisal system 30 7.2 Solution selection 32 Action plan in organization 33 Supporting information 36 9.1 Methodology 36 9.2 Interview transcript 37 10 Appendix 51 Reference -3- LIST OF TABLES Table 1: A’s report about LTCs signed in 2016 Table 2: A’s report about LTCs signed in 2017 Table 3: A’s report about LTCs signed in 2018 Table 4: Participants in first interview in March 2019 11 Table 5: Participants in the second interview in March 2019 .17 Table 6: Participants in the third interview in April 2019 .22 Table 7: Participants in the fourth interview in March 2019 26 Table 8: Participants in the fifth interview in May 2019 .32 -4- LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: A’s total tons of LTCs over exploitation volume from 2016 to 2018 .9 Figure 2: COGS over revenue of A from 2016 to 2018 10 Figure 3: Initial cause-effect map 12 Figure 4: Topship following timeline 15 Figure 5: Namazie following timeline 15 Figure 6: Updated cause-effect map 16 -5- Executive Summary Nowadays, the business environment has become more competitive and dynamic that requires every firm needs to create their own competitive advantage to win over their rivals, otherwise they are losers in the market One of the indispensable factors that they need to pay attention is the product and services The product serves customers’ needs and the service presented during the exchange facilitates the product to be delivered promptly and conveniently While there have been companies having deep awareness of the very complex marketplace and take actions, the others are struggling with their performance due to some reasons Specifically, to Vietnam natural rubber market, Company A ’s performance has encountered some issues during three recent years A’s results at signing long-term contracts (LTC) below the target of the parent company with the consequences of the increasingly growing percentage between cost of goods sold (COGS) and revenue Realizing that this symptom existed is an urgent warning to A, the author decided to discover whether A has made mistakes towards its usual practice Through interviews as well as the guideline of scholar theories, A’s problem is identified as poor customer relationship quality with the main cause is due to A’s poor service quality to customers Although they have been loyal customers of A due to long working time, A has treated them without any support and enthusiasm when having troubles To be more specific, A’s employees are not good at customer-service skills to satisfy customers, especially when they are most difficult Moreover, the company’s performance scale is not realistic and imperfect enough for employees to become motivated and engaged in taking care of customers Therefore, it is suggested that the company should provide employees training sessions to perceive the important role of service quality and customers That’s also a good chance for employees to learn how to demonstrate professional customer-service skills to customers Moreover, the performance appraisal system is also recommended to be updated for employees to feel that they are highly recognized for supporting customers in any case The detail action plan finalizing the thesis contains what A should step by step to recover its performance and regain customers’ trusts -6- Company background Company A specializes in planting, tapping, processing and trading natural rubber A is located in Highlands region with the total area of natural rubber is over 9,000 The company is structured by shareholders assembly, board of directors, board of supervisors and functional departments/units, in which Import-Export department plays an important role to bring main source of revenue for the company The department is in charge of ensuring the annual stable consumption by maintaining existing customers and seeking for potentials to sell natural rubber Besides, there is also sub-divisions handling documents and logistics supports for shipments delivered Instead of producing all grades, Company A gains its competitive advantage over other rubber companies in Vietnam by concentrating on only specific grades including SVR 3L, SVR 10, SVR CV50/60 and SVR L with high quality to offer mostly international tire manufacturers and traders -7- Symptom 2.1 A’s LTCs signed below the target in 2016, 2017 and 2018 To stabilize annual consumption, the parent company set target that every subsidiary has to achieve the total consumption output from long-term contracts (LTCs) by at least 50% of exploitation volume To comply with the parent company’s regulation, company A.’s goal in three recent years is to reach 70% tapping volume for LTCs signed However, in the period of 2016-2018, Import-Export department did not fulfil their responsibility when A fell short of that target Specifically, in the period of 2016-2018, the total amount of natural rubber that customers signed with A in the three years did not reach half of tapping output as shown in below tables: Table 1: A’s report about LTCs signed in 2016 Source: A’s Business report 2016 Table 2: A’s report about LTCs signed in 2017 Source: A’s Business report 2017 -8- Table 3: A’s report about LTCs signed in 2018 Source: A’s Business report 2018 As the data given, it can be seen that the amount of natural rubber for LTCs below the target in 2016, 2017, 2018 which are 48.90%, 41.17% and 38.49% respectively and decreased when compared with the total tapping volume Figure 1: A’s total tons of LTCs over exploitation volume from 2016 to 2018 Source: A’s Business report in 2016, 2017, 2018 -9- 2.2 The importance of the symptom From company report, the ratio between COGS and revenue increase year by year as illustrated below: Figure 2: COGS over revenue of A from 2016 to 2018 Source: A’s Business report 2016, 2017, 2018 The COGS over revenue of A has increased in years from 81.25% in 2016 to 87.75% in 2018 When discovering deeply, the issue is that A’s inventory volume is high due to unable to sell all finished goods or did not meet the target of signing longterm contract with existing customers and developing new sales That the remaining inventory turns low quality in next year, is counted in COGS in that next year as well as decrease in sales price in that next year Therefore, the company’s ratio of COGS over revenue increase in the three recent years The existing symptom is an urgent warning to A that forces A take further steps to remedy its performance Otherwise, A may suffer from loss in the near future Problem identification From the symptom identified as above, I decided to take interviews with Import- Export department and customers to clarify whether there exist mistakes causing to the symptom Participants for the interview is illustrated as below: -10- especially during the last years We feel that we are not appreciated by A You know working long time already with A means that we have trusted in A for long So, why when troubles happened, they did not support us right when we need instead let us wait too long? Long-term relationship means nothing to them? Several first times we accept but nowadays the market is so competitive The supplier cannot treat long-term customers like A Therefore, our relationship is not better in recent years Our trust in A is losing gradually We currently still purchase the same volume from A, because we are in the process of inspecting other suppliers We may change to others when the inspection already done” A: Sintex complained that “Despite working with A quite long time and A products are reliable to our customers, we feel not satisfied with A While other suppliers are becoming stronger by enhancing their products, services and establishing strong relationship with us, we think our relationship with A is not good as other suppliers Therefore, three recent years, we have decreased our purchasing volume from A Besides, we think there are also some difficulties in state-owned company’s policy That of private company is more flexible, not strict as these subsidiaries For example, they offer us deferred L/C payment while subsidiaries apply L/C at sight Deferred L/C gives us a period of time to prepare money to pay for shipment, so more comfortable to us Therefore, we are not sure to sign LTC with A, no commitment in future” A: Tong Teik opined that “We think that due to A’s working style makes our relationship have been worse in recent years despite working together quite long To be honest, we are not satisfied with the way A business So, we decrease the purchasing volume from A” Interview potential customers Q: From the data given by A, it can be seen that A has followed Namazie and Topship long time already as well as sent sample products However, the company cannot sign LTCs Does it mean you have any reasons leading the decision? A: Namazie: We have not cooperated with A yet but sample shipments From the sample shipment, we can see that A product is quite good, exceeding required standards However, we think A service is not like that We think we can not trust in A for future shipment, so we are not able to commit to buy A’s products We think of other suppliers A: Topship: To every new supplier, we require to send us sample products for us to examine the quality That is also a chance for two sides to cooperate with each other -41- However, the sample unluckily had trouble and we did not see the mutual support from A So, we think that we cannot trust A if we cooperate with A in the future shipments with the way A support us like that Therefore, we decided not to sign LTCs with A Second round of interview Aim Check whether potential problems guided by theories are presented in reality Time Mar-19 Interviewer Phan Thi Thanh Hieu Mr A (Age:34) - Goodyear's Purchasing Representative Mr K (Age: 28) - Sintex's Purchasing Manager Interviewee Mr J (Age: 29) - TongTeik's Purchasing Representative Ms N (Age: 34) - Topship's Purchasing Manager Ms S (Age: 33) - Namazie's Purchasing Representative Q: You guys said that the working time with A is quite long So, how long it has been? A: Good year: We have worked with A since 2008 after several rounds of strict inspection A is a member of the parent company which is dominating in Vietnam natural rubber market about the total volume and quantity A: Sintex: We have worked with A since 2008, the same year with Good year A: Tong Teik: year later the two above companies We started working with A in 2009, 10 years already Q: During that working time, are you guys usually dissatisfied with A when having trouble or just recently? A: Goodyear: Actually, we had but at that time, looking at Vietnam market, A is a member of the parent company dominating Vietnam natural rubber market, so A is strong at quality products, large volume, can meet our requirements in which other outside suppliers cannot So, we seem acceptable However, A has not changed their working style specially the way of treating long-term customer like us –we think our relationship not sustainable in case the market is increasingly competitive Recently, other suppliers in Vietnam are demonstrating their good performance, making us feel appreciated, so when we work with A, we feel extremely not satisfied with A Therefore, we need to look back that whether A’s still suitable and acceptable or not That’s why our relationship is not good as it was: No satisfaction in working leads to no commitment in future -42- A: Sintex: Due to state-owned company’s policy, we feel not happy with some regulations that we think not competitive For example: They prefer L/C at sight than deferred L/C which make us more stressed about paying the money on time However, throughout the years, A’s quality and volume is good as the leader in Vietnam natural rubber market, so that difficulty seems nothing to us However, if you are in a relationship but you are not satisfied, so you want to continue? Of course, no Gradually we think we need to search for other suppliers because the market nowadays includes lots of good suppliers in terms of everything: service, product, quantity, etc We are not purchasing only from A so that decision does not cause us much difficulties Previously, A was one of suppliers that we chose to diversify our purchasing strategy in Vietnam market From we trust A to work in long time, now, A gain us no trust for future shipments A: Tong Teik: From my perspective, A need to improve the way it treats customers We feel that we are not empathized from A despite long time working As a customer, we want to work in the long-term with suppliers who offer quality product and especially great support because troubles are unavoidable Support makes the relationship strong and sustainable We really stress when working with A while the other suppliers try to ease any problems to keep the relationship grow well That cannot sustain in the long term if A does not change its perception Q: From your sharing, can you guys evaluate A’s performance level compared to other suppliers? A: Topship: To us, the first cooperation is very important A has chased us a long time already but why just a few troubles change our mind about A – making us decide not sign LTC with A? We feel that we are not comfortable if working with A in the long term Feel like A has no good impression in us because A let us know that A will consider the right and wrong rather than the relationship A: Namazie: There are lots of good suppliers in Vietnam nowadays including subsidiaries and outside suppliers A can offer us good quality products and they also can The important thing is that how to make customers feel satisfied for every shipment that A cannot achieve in the first shipment when trouble happens Long-term relationship is built -43- from first good impression of cooperation from two sides When not satisfied in the sample products, we may look at other suppliers Third round of interview Aim Check whether A makes mistakes by guided causes from theories Time Apr-19 Interviewer Phan Thi Thanh Hieu Mr A (Age:34) - Goodyear's Purchasing Representative Mr K (Age: 28) - Sintex's Purchasing Manager Mr J (Age: 29) - TongTeik's Purchasing Representative Ms N (Age: 34) - Topship's Purchasing Manager Interviewee Ms S (Age: 33) - Namazie's Purchasing Representative Mrs TNT (Age: 35) - Head of Import-Export Department Ms KN (Age:35) - Document Executive Ms LA (Age: 32) - Document Executive Interview existing customers Q: Good year, can you share more detailed about your experiences that make you not satisfied with A? A: The parent company which possesses A is well-known in Vietnam rubber market from large volume, its good quality, various grades, lots of subsidiaries from North to South Vietnam However, in November 2015 shipment, we had trouble originated from our fault that is about sending wrong information for company A to prepare documents When reaching destination, we could not release goods due to wrong information on documents so we ask for support from A However, A said that was not their responsibility and they were busy at that time so they would help after their works were done We had to wait nearly week for having help from A That caused us a lot of following difficulties All the things we need is the prompt support from the company A but we did not still receive it despite after quite long working time Previous years, we also struggled with some troubles like that But nowadays, the market is very competitive Not only the parent company’s members offer product but also private companies are doing quite well So of course we are thinking other partners You cannot work in the long-term with partner who is not willing to support you A service was very unprofessional Q: How about Tong Teik, so what you expect when working with A? -44- A: “You know, we already work with each other nearly 10 years If A think of us more than think of only A, we are more satisfied We sign long-term contracts every year with A, for nearly 10 years However, 2.5 years ago, we suggested spot contracts due to our customer needs We just need spot contracts sometimes However, at that time, A told that there are also other customers asking to buy rubber with better prices They let us wait week to sell us products – so long for us to meet our customers’ need Actually, in Vietnam specifically and Asian countries generally, there are many rubber suppliers They provide good quality products, very nice service and competitive So, we are not happy with A Despite reliable quality under large brand, we are not satisfied with the way A treat us like that From that time until now, we have decreased our purchasing volume and searching for other suppliers” Q: Sintex, can you share more detail about the reason why you are not satisfied in relationship with A? A: From 2016 until now, we had several troubles and we did not satisfy with A’s support A told that was not their fault You know, in such cases, even not A’s faults, A can support We are false to give wrong information for A to documents But to that issue, A just take hour to help us correct it instead of letting us wait for five days, costing us too much time and money The too late help causes us suffer from many complaints of our customers With such long-term relationship, we are very disappointed with A’s very bad support We are testing other suppliers’ products, so the purchasing volume from A has decreased If A still does not improve, we have to switch to others Interview potential customers Q: Namazie and Topship, can you guys please share me some experience in the first shipment with A? A: Namazie: Considering A as a subsidiary of a good reputation group in Vietnam, we decided to cooperate with A by trying the first sample shipment I can feel that when the shipment is delivered, A’s employees feel they already complete their works Due to first cooperation, two sides have no experience about the way of working from each side So, my employees send lack of information for A to prepare documents When the shipment reaches destination, we realize that the mistake appears and contact A for helping However, it’s really difficult for us because A said that that’s our fault Despite that’s our -45- fault, A can help and that may take only little time of A If some troubles continue to happen in the future, where we have help from? A is unsupportive so we not want to sign LTC with A A: Topship: In the first cooperation, I know our relationship is not so close So, as a supplier, A need to build trust in us A’s bad service that is due to A’s employees did not care about customers’ need makes us hesitate to sign LTC with A We know A’s reputation in Vietnam but we think that from our real experience with A in the first shipment that A is not happy when dealing things for us, A need time to persuade us more Interview A’s people Q: From the interview with customers, I can see that they are quite unhappy with A, especially when having troubles that mostly are caused by themselves That may be the reason why their purchasing volume from A has decreased So, as a Head of Import-Export department, how you feel about these comments? A: Mrs TNT: According to the contract signed, we think we already complete our responsibility, meaning delivering superior quality products and have their payment Each employee is assigned with their own tasks, and when they already completed their tasks assigned in whole selling process, they are done For example, document support employees are responsible for preparing documents for shipment Based on information sent from customers, they make Bill of lading and related documents for shipment When trouble happens due to wrong information, I can see that mostly from customers sent wrong information to us “It’s very regret that customers may leave us despite long time of working But as a subsidiary of a well-known group, we think we are reliable supplier with high quality products and we did not make mistakes in these cases” She continued to share her viewpoint that “With troubles happen, I advise employees to help them as soon as possible That’s not their faults so I cannot complain my employees In some cases, I can see that after completing their current tasks, they help customers to deal with already” Q: Do you usually guide employees how to deal with troubles? Or the company have any course for training them before working at the company? A: Mrs TNT: Actually, my employees already worked at other companies before working at A so I think they have their experience They are not young employees like who just graduated from schools so A not have to train them anymore -46- Q: How about you guys? Are the ones who play important role in helping troubles, how you feel these comments? A: Ms KN: Firstly, I need to say that these troubles are caused by themselves So, I have no responsibility to deal with I still help them in these cases, however, in the condition that when I finish my current tasks because if not, it will affect my performance A: Ms LA: In my opinion, due to not my faults, I prioritize doing current tasks to meet deadline Otherwise, it will affect my performance Then, I will help customers for their troubles Fourth round of interview Aim Check whether A's services are caused by factors on service quality measurement scale Time May-19 Interviewer Phan Thi Thanh Hieu Mr A (Age:34) - Goodyear's Purchasing Representative Mr K (Age: 28) - Sintex's Purchasing Manager Mr J (Age: 29) - TongTeik's Purchasing Representative Interviewee Ms N (Age: 34) - Topship's Purchasing Manager Ms S (Age: 33) - Namazie's Purchasing Representative Ms KN (Age: 35) - Document Executive Ms LA (Age: 32) - Document Executive Interview customers Q: With all your sharing, are you guys planning to sign LTC with A in later years? A: Sintex: We are considering You know nowadays many suppliers (both inside and outside the group) have provided good quality products and great services and tend to be very competitive Especially outside companies, their policy is more flexible, not strict as the subsidiaries of the group For example, they offer us deferred L/C payment while the parent company members are more preferable with L/C at sight Despite working with A -47- quite long time and A products are reliable to customers, we must say that if A service does not improve, we have to change the supplier soon A: Good year: As a global company, our procedure of choosing supplier is quite difficult and very strict We take long time to decide to choose A as our supplier However, we not satisfy with A’s support when having troubles or in other words, that’s A service A: Tong Teik: To be honest, we are quite bored when work with A because its no support If the service is not better, we must have switch to other suppliers Q: So, what you guys mean “service” – why A service is not outstanding? Could you please share me more details? A: Good year: We expect A’s employees are sympathetic with our case Trouble is the one that nobody likes We highly appreciate companies whose employees listen to our problems and eager to help as we suggest With the fact that the help does not take them long time, if they are happy to help, we are more satisfied and we think our relationship with compnay will sustain and more develop in the long run A: Sintex: We wish that the company changes themselves and willing to offer us prompt support when needed Moreover, the behaviour of employees is really important If they are happy to help, we feel less stressed and comfortable in this case to be conscious to deal with the trouble A: Tong Teik: We think that nowadays the market is more dynamic than in the past Therefore, customers like us have more choices So, A need to improve its service to smoothly offer when customers need so that we are more satisfied to work with A Q: How about your ideas, Namazie and Topship? A: Namazie: Quite same with three above opinions The emotion is really important when something goes wrong If A’s employees behave smoothly and responsibly, we feel satisfied and go sign LTC with A because actually A’s product is good, standardized, the company has large volume and brand name in the market A: Topship: To compete with others, A needs to change its employees perception of taking care of customers in necessary cases They are ones who on behalf of company to help us So they need to know what their roles If not, we cannot sign LTC with A -48- Interview employees Q: Do you feel regreted when customers share negative opinion about A’s service? From your perspective, you care about these comments? A: Ms KN: Well, as an employee, it’s not my responsibility to deal with what I did not Everyday, when going to workplace, I try my best to complete my tasks to achieve well performance The company evaluate based on what I peforms on tasks and not score on voluntary support for customers We want to help them but that’s not their faults so we cannot put my priority on their troubles to deal with A: Ms LA: Every employee here follow the performance scale and regulation to work for So, quite same with Ms LA that I really want to help them but unluckily at that time I was busy with my current tasks, so what can I but finishing and help customers? Fifth round of interview Aim Check whether suggested alternative solutions are suitable to A Time Jun-19 Interviewer Phan Thi Thanh Hieu Interviewee Mr LVT (Age: 42) - General Director of A Mrs TNT (Age: 35) - Head of Import-Export Department Q: After identifying the problems and causes of our company, I would like to suggest three solutions as below: Firstly, training for employees to improve customer-service skill and perception that helps them to well serve customers Secondly, adjust our performance scale for employees to feel motivated and resposible to help customers in any cases Thirdly, combine the above two solutions The detail of suggested solutions will be shown in this document So can you share your ideas which solution is the most suitable to our company? Alternative solution -49- A: Mr LVT: “The company obviously loses 99 million VND for employees to participate in training course However, this solution does not completely solve the problem because A cannot control whether their employees who participated in the training course take appropriate actions with customers If they still not behave responsibly with customers, the company may lose the chance to sign LTC with them” A: Mrs TNT: Actually, my employees are more realistic than theory-oriented They work by achievement and money rather than gaining knowledge Therefore, they have no motivation to participate in the training course If it is compulsory, they will take part in, however, A cannot measure the effectiveness of the training course Alternative solution A: Mr LVT: This solution has no costs incurred In my opinion, I prefer paying money rather than paying nothing and gain results because everything that is paid by money is more valuable than paid by nothing The solution will take risks when employees reluctantly offer voluntary support to customers in order to be recognized/not be punished Therefore, they may offer helps without care, kindness and enthusiasm In this case, A will recognize/not punish employees who may dissatisfy valued customers due to their dishonest behavior A: Mrs TNT: Yes, totally agreed with his idea When having no clear awareness, the employees may without care about quality Alternative solution A: Mr LVT: Although the solution covers some costs such as training costs and productivity loss, the ultimate goal which is to effectively solve the above causes can be achieved A’s employees are expected to be trained and applied customer-service skills in reality because their behavior is measured by performance appraisal system By this way, employees proactively attain soft-process quality that is required in competitive market nowadays to treat customers well and boost A’s service quality as well as create competitive advantage for A A: Mrs TNT: The solution combines two disadvantages of the two solutions and seems feasible most -50- 10 Appendix Company documents -51- -52- -53- References (1) Barac et al Fostering partner relationship management in B2B ecosystems of electronic media Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 2017; 32 (8):12031216 (2) Smith, JB “Buyer-seller relationships: bonds, relationship management, and sextype” Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences 1998; 15(1):76-92 (3) Levitt, T The Marketing Imagination The free press 1986 (4) Athanasopoulou, P Relationship quality: a critical literature review and research agenda European Journal of Marketing 2009; 43(5,6):583-610 (5) Giovanis, A The role of service fairness in the service quality – relationship quality – customer loyalty chain An empirical study Journal of Service Theory and Practices 2015; 25(6):744-776 (6) Mitrega M Network partner knowledge and internal relationships influencing customer relationship quality and company performance Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 2012; 27(6):486-496 (7) Gronroos, C “A service quality model and its marketing implications” European Journal of Marketing 1984; 18(4) 36-44 (8) Crosby et al Relationship quality in service selling : An interpersonal influence perspective Journal of Marketing 1990; 54(3):68-81 (9) Pepur M, Mihanovic Z, Pepur S Analysis of the effect of perceived service quality to the relationship quality on the business-to-business market Management 2013; 18(2):97-109 (10) Donney PM, Cannon JP An examination of the Nature of Trust in Buyer-Seller Relationships Journal of Marketing 1997; 61: 35-51 (11) Ho A, Sharma P, Hosie P Exploring customers’ zone of tolerance for B2B professional service quality Journal of Services Marketing 2015; 29(5) 380-392 (12) Gounaris S Measuring service quality in b2b services: an evaluation of the SERVQUAL scale vis-à-vis the INDSERV scale The Journal of Services Marketing 2005; 19(6) 421-435 (13) Iriadi DR, Susanty AI Management Commitment and Customer Service Recovery Performance: A Study of Customer Service in a Broadband Operation and -54- Maintenance Service Company in Indonesia International Journal of Business 2017; 23(3) 294-300 (14) Ibrahim R, Boerhannoeddin A, Bakare KK The effect of soft skills and training methodology on employee performance European Journal of Training and Development 2017; 41(4) 388-406 (15) Bulto L, Markos S Effect of performance appraisal system on employee motivation Prestige International Journal of Management & IT Sanchayan 2017; 6(2) 25-36 (16) Antonova R, Georgiev G ERP Security, Audit and Process Improvement Smart Technologies and Innovation for a Sustainable Future: Springer; 2019.p 103-110 -55- ... demonstrating great service quality with its partners Accordingly, if a company suffers from poor relationship quality, the cause may originate from its poor service quality that makes customers... demonstrated through customers’ trust, satisfaction and commitment to that company, in which the three above measurements “should be treated as interrelated rather than separate variables because... satisfied during working time, leading to not commit for future cooperation as the case of A 5.2 Poor company s reputation As researched by Barac et al (1), the relationship quality of a company