Harvey recognized that existing restaurants weren’t concerned with the consumer and saw that travelers were desperate for basic human needs, such as eatable food, and descent lodging. Harvey also noted that edible food wasn’t enough; it also had to be served …show more content…
The company adapted again and this changed the company’s target consumer from solely train travelers to include motorist and explorers of the southwest. The Harvey Company offered “packaged motor trips of the southwest, including tours of Native American villages (Indian Detours) and such natural wonders. The company not only civilized the west, they also marketed the indigenous peoples and their arts and crafts”. Then In WWII train travel picked up again and the consumers changes to soldiers who had obviously different needs from prior customers. To cater to this new group the restaurants were changed from dining rooms to resemble mess halls in order to fit and feed as many soldiers as possible.
While the Fred Harvey Company was constantly reassessing the needs of their ever changing customer, it was not always easy to keep up. With every new option in transportation, the Fred Harvey Company saw a decline of customers. Until this point, Harvey had been able to adapt. When the popularization of air travel came into play, Harvey invested in it and tried to anticipate the need of air travelers with the flying Harvey Girls
1960’s Consumer