EDIBLE EVIDENCE: Author details how we should assess the quality of on-train catering and offers some proof of how to get it right ...

摘要

ASSESSING THE quality of on-train catering sounds easy, but in fact is rather complex. To begin with, the word 'quality' can mean several things. It can, for example (as used in ISO 9000) mean simply 'consistency' Are our portion sizes always the same? Is the food consistently fresh on delivery tram-side? Do customers receive their food within a specified time from ordering? Most TOCs have robust systems already in place to ensure the answer to such questions is 'yes' But 'quality' can also mean Value for money', and here a yes' answer may well be more problematic. Whose idea of Value' is involved, and whose money - the TOC making the offer, the passenger at the buffet counter, or the passenger paying a meal-inclusive first-class fare? Each payer may well have a different notion of what constitutes Value' for what they've paid out. Maybe, therefore, we should subsume this question as part of the larger definition of quality as 'customer satisfaction' Again, many TOCs have robust market research techniques in place for finding this out from their own customers - but how do we compare one TOCs offer quality with another? How do we approach the fourth, perhaps most important, definition of 'quality' - as excellence?