Individual
Reflection 1
The purpose of this
Individual Reflection is to provide a summary that will address the following:
a) What did you learn from reading the posts of
your classmates regarding factors that are important to them when eating a
light meal in a restaurant, and the description of their lunches? Did you find
many similarities, or very diverse preferences?
b) Did you view similarities in the survey
questions? What questions would result in better information?
c) Provide a very brief recommendation to the BC
Ferries Food Services Manager regarding what information you believe should be
the goal of a survey of passengers.
a) Food Factors and Lunch.
Everyone’s first and most important food factor was
different. My first food factor was health. Others were taste, ingredients, price,
appetite, and value. This difference in food factor priority can be influenced
by one’s personality, lifestyle, health-consciousness, personal budget, and
sensation of flavor just to name a few. Also, everyone’s second, third, fourth
and fifth factors were very diverse. However, I did find some similarities. I
found that health-conscious individuals were very similar in their choice of
main food groups which were primarily vegetables and fruits. Another similarity
I found was on price, size, and value. These three factors, in my opinion are
interrelated in that everyone likes a decent size of valuable meal at a
reasonable price.
Individual lunches were from medium to heavy in size and
with great deal of variety in composition. Some had meat, fish, sandwich, and
burrito as their main dish. Most had fruits in their dessert. I noticed also
some people make food choices for lunch based on the planned activities for the
day or the events that took place the night before.
b) Survey Questions.
I found many similarities in the survey questions. There
were three questions that appeared the most. These were:
1) What is the most important food factor that influences
your choice of a light meal?
2) What price do you consider affordable for a light
meal?
3) Question on the availability and pricing of healthy
meals.
I believe that the three questions mentioned above would
result in better information because they bring about people’s innermost
emotion or intellect that is responsible for influencing decisions in choosing
meals. Furthermore, the questions provide an effective way to listen to
customers and gather relevant information. The restaurants in turn can use the
information to serve the needs of customers while gaining profit in the process
of fulfilling those needs.
c) Recommendations to the BC Ferries Food Services
Manager.
I recommend three things which I believe should be the top
goals of a BC Ferries food survey: influence, health, and price.
To determine what influences a customer to make a
decision on choice of food is what I believe to be the first goal of a food
survey. For example, if the taste of the food is what matters most to the
customers, then the management can focus on improving food preparation,
ingredients, way of cooking, and other contributing factors that would create a
flavorful and delicious taste that would appeal to customers.
Health is wealth, as the wise saying goes. Eating healthy
means preventing diseases, thereby saving money that would be spent on treating
those diseases. If BC Ferries really care for their passengers’ health, then
great emphasis should be on the availability of healthier food choices in their
restaurants.
Price affordability is important because customers are
looking for a fair value for their money and ensuring that what they are paying
for will fit reasonably in their budget. Healthier organic food is more
expensive but if BC Ferries can make it more affordable, then it will be an
excellent way of expressing gratitude to their passengers and helping out in
the campaign for environmentally friendly means of growing food.
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