The Importance of Food Quality and Service in the Tourism Industry - Essay Example

The Importance of Food Quality, Service and Accommodation in the Cruise Industry from a Relationship Marketing Perspective satisfaction is something which cannot be measured by a standard set of parameters. It has to be experienced always with different set of offerings that are made available. These offerings could be in the form of better quality products, higher and more efficient services or a bundle of both high class product and state of the art service, in which case it would not be categorized under either of them rather as a mixture of both. Customer satisfaction holds the key for the company to remain in business and thus compete with its competitors. Without the customers, there would be no product offering and hence no company as a result. Thus in order to make sure that the company deliver quality and value over time, it needs to draft its policies in the light of the customer satisfaction regimes with particular emphasis on breaking the clutter amongst the different competitors and coming out with the best possible message, one that clearly identifies itself with what the company can actually deliver without delving too much into the company’s goals, values and mission or vision statements, as these are the least concerned when seen from a consumer’s standpoint. For that reason, customer satisfaction is pretty inherent within a business. If a business cannot satisfy a customer, it need not remain in business as then starts a downfall for its different activities and processes, until and unless it realizes its shortcomings and comes up with something pretty drastic which will eventually make others to become the company’s loyal customers. Speaking strictly from a cruise industry perspective, food quality, service and accommodation are indeed the core ingredients or deliverables when one talks about the related industry. What this means is the fact that a cruise company needs to make sure that these services are provided without any compromise and that the added deliverables are in line with these very basic (core) needs of the cruise customers. If the food is not of the highest quality, then it makes all the more sense that the customers would prefer air travel over a cruise and they would give up sight seeing and adventure on their way in the sea for the reason that they are not receiving best quality food, which at the end of the day is a basic ingredient of their life. Moreover, there needs to be a guarantee that the food thus served to the customers is not stale but fresh and has a quality that is of the highest possible levels. Since a cruise is an expensive adventure to undertake, the customers of the cruise would obviously make up for the elites within a particular society and it makes for solid ground that food quality must indeed be fresh and perfect, matching with their taste buds. The reason for the same is that the elites within any society do not like to compromise on the quality of the food and they would rather not take a particular intake of food than eating second or third grade food items. Service, similarly, is an important facet of any cruise industry since customers usually expect a lot in terms of service within such an industry. Provision of highest quality service is an essential ingredient of the cruise industry since there is a lot of competition amongst the rival cruise companies in terms of service. They attempt to attract customers through different service deals and packages which excite the people endlessly. Services are usually broken down into different aspects – there are the basic (core) services and the preferred ones. The basic (core) services take a look at the most significant aspects which are needed within a cruise. This means that if the provision of these services are not guaranteed, the cruise would not go ahead. These include availability of food, water, electricity on board, etc. While the advanced and preferred services include the cleaning services, dance (ball) room facilities, on deck shark hunting activities and so on and so forth. If the advanced or preferred services are not there on a cruise, the cruise might still go ahead with the people getting on board but if the basic services are absent, then there is all the more reason that the cruise industry would be hit in a head on manner. Consequently, it will ruin the basis of the cruise companies as a result of the very same. From a relationship marketing perspective, accommodation on board is also very quintessential. If the accommodation services are not available, it is obvious that the cruise might not proceed ahead and it would be termed as a failure right from its onset. Thus accommodation stands out as one of the significant aspects when one speaks of the various features and services that need to be provided by the cruise industry in general and the different cruise companies in particular. Since the focus here is on building relationships, one should understand that word of mouth communication has a lot of say in the related scheme of things and what this means is the fact that people would generally take advice from the ones who already have had a cruise under their belt and it is up to their positive or negative experience which would make them suggest to others similar advices. Customer satisfaction within a relationship marketing regime must stand out at the end of the day within a cruise industry as well as within any such industry that aims to build its basis on trust, credibility and retention of customers whilst attracting new ones at the same time. In the end, it would be correct to state here that food quality, service and accommodation are some of the most basic ingredients when a customer thinks of going on a cruise with his family members and friends. This is pretty obvious that he wants to have a good time with his loved ones and would not dare take such a step if the basics of the cruise industry are missing from a cruise all said and done. BIBLIOGRAPHY Greco, Alan J. Lifestyle Marketing: Reaching the New American Consumer. Praeger, 2003 Mason, Bob. Understanding our Industry Future. Management Quarterly, Vol. 37, 1997 Kinnon, Joy Bennett. Fierce Competition Changes Color of Cruise World. Ebony, Vol. 58, 2003 Roberts, Chris. Sins at Sea. 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