Commercial Services Books

I was surprised to find such a wonderful book covering the information I always want when traveling: unique places to stay, a little about the unusualness of a town or city. I especially like the review about a little place in Davie, Fla, gave the history as well as a overview of what they did.The book made me think about actually visiting some of these wonderful locations! But, as usual with these writers, they have found places that the most jaded traveler would want to go. If you're tired of the usual Holiday Inn at the airport type of trip, check out what these folks have found. You won't be sorry! I LOVED the book!!

This short book is an examination of three companies that Jan Carlzon worked for and how he turned them around. The first is unremarkable and is not relevant to his later insights. He was responsible for a company which was a subsidiary of a airline which sold holidays. He reduced costs to get it through an economic downturn.

The next job he had was working for a Swedish domestic airline. The airline was losing money but the ability to cut costs was limited. The reason for this was that the airline schedules and routes had been determined politically. There was limited ability to cut costs. The strategy he used to overcome the problem was to try to increase revenue by fare discounting. The problem was that previous fair discounting attempts had not been that effective. He developed a advertising strategy which aimed at expressing the cost by referring it to notes of currency. This was successful and traffic increased not by an anticipated 20,000 but by 120,000.

Following that he was put in charge of SAS an international airline company that was owned by Norway Sweden and Denmark. His strategy to make the airline profitable was to sell full fare seats. Up to this time Carlzon had made a habit of firing internal marketing units in his airlines and depending on the knowledge of his staff at the front line. He was able to use this knowledge to make his airline attractive to business class passengers.

He removed first class and created a business class.(In his view the only people who used first class with any regularity were airline executives) The business class had a distinct section of the plane which was curtained off. They got on the plane last and left first. They had a distinct waiting area. He worked out that the most significant thing of importance to business class travellers was prompt departure. He asked one of his employees to come up with a strategy of moving to 100% success of leaving at the right time. They came up with a strategy which identified the reasons for airplanes leaving late. They were:

* Waiting for passengers on connecting flights
* Waiting as a result of meals not turning up for the passengers
* Waiting for late staff
* Compressing flights

A strategy was worked out that would cost an estimated $1.8 million dollars to make flights go on time. From now on no one would wait for connecting flights. Passengers would be put on other carriers. If meals did no turn up it was thought that in most cases there would be a surplus and if there was not customers could be given vouchers for restaurant meals at the next embarkation point. If cabin (as opposed to flight) staff did not turn up the aircraft would take off. The compression of flights means that if a plane was half full it would be cancelled with the aim of trying to fill up the next plane to a full load. Flights simply were to be flown regardless of whether the flight was full. This in fact was going to be the major part of the $1.8 million cost.

What happened was that the strategy of flying on time was so successful flight compression was not a problem. All flights were now full and the strategy only cost $200,000 with the pay off the increased revenue from the full flights.
Another strategy was Carlzon's moth balling of newly purchased airbuses. One of the things which characterizes the airline industry is the use of new technology. To this extent the industry is production driven. The advantage of the new airbuses was that they had a lower cost per-passenger mile. The problem with them was that they were a bigger aircraft and for them to run cost effectively the airline would have to have less scheduled flights and have more people flying on each scheduled flight. This however had the potential downside that the airline would lose attraction to the customer as there was less flexibility in the schedule. For that reason Carlzon kept his older DC 9 aircraft in service as he was customer focused.

The conclusions that Carlzon draws about how to run a company is that marketing and sales are the key. The reality of a company and how it is seen is based on the individual moments of contact that a customer has with the representatives of the company. As these contacts are so important it is his view that the representatives of the company at the client interface be highly motivated and skilled. Further that they have the ability to make decisions about what they do. Lastly that they be in a position to feedback to the management what the realities are. In his view a flatter empowered structure is the key to the success of the modern corporation.

The sorts of things that he did were counter intuitive. It would be thought that aircraft which flew cheaper would be good for the bottom line. It makes good sense to compress flights so that aircraft fly full. Yet it was these things which potentially had the cost of reducing market share. Managers who were isolated from the customers might think it was attractive to cut costs in this way but front line staff are better able to sense the market dynamics of the industry.

Book Reading Style
This book is an easy read.

Opinion about Content
I believe it is informative and has great value to pass on. Recommend read.
Information is dated. Born out of the `Total Quality Management' concept of the sixties. Methodology concepts are based on authors personal business approach presented in a self-help format based on how he ran three businesses. The author talks about some of the shortcomings of this business strategy and hints that it does not meet a business plan on all levels. It seems to be a short-term fix and once achieved needs to be revisited, redefined, redirected, and reinitiated. It is one mans approach to running a business that worked. It could have worked because he is right on, or he applied a new approach at the right time, or his personal enthusiasm, or his dedication. It is one part of an overall business strategy and if implemented needs to be understood and not half employed.
Key Concept
Business strategy orientated around customer service accomplished by delegating responsibility and empowering employees.

How Achieved
The authors premises are define your customer, identify the customer needs, focus your business to meet those needs, and implement the services to meet those needs. In a service oriented business plan the author stresses decentralizing the company structure, delegating responsibilities to the frontline employee, trusting and empowering the frontline employees to handle those responsibilities. He believes this approach better meets the customer needs vs. the more bureaucratic process of company policies, procedures, forms, and chain of command.

How to Apply
Delegate responsibility, this is a concept we hear repeatedly. To delegate responsibility we have to empower the employee to perform the task and resolve issues. Empowering the employee is key; it is a principle that allows the employee to handle the delegated responsibility.
Two main ingredients to making this work; one providing the employee with the proper tools and; two having confident in the employee's ability to handle the responsibility independently. This second point is an unspoken truth that can be scary because it releases control.
The author talks about how empowering the employee flattens the hierarchical pyramid and changes the role of middle mangers from managing procedures to leaders.

I had heard about this book 5-6 years ago, and have used the concept of Moments of Truth without having read the book. The book is small very readable and has fleshed out the Moment very well. Anybody in business should read this book, and should have it in their library. It would change your thinking about who and what is important in dealing with customers.

Really good book, worth every cent of money. In good and simple language described all complicated problems and solutions: company strategy, decentralization and control, motivation and targeting.
Not suprised, that the author was quoted so often in business books, especially concerning service.
Of course, too many things changed since date of issue. But as far as I see, all responded problems are still the same.
Enjoy your reading!

An outstanding book. I buy it for all my staff, a quick read but important - life applicable lessons

It's curious that this book is touted as "the bible of portfolio design." Although it passes as an intro, it's value drops off the face of the Earth afterwards.

What "Portfolio Design" is, is a reproduction of outdated portfolios and examples of templates you can find in any page making tool. It lacks any meaty, substantial analysis you'd expect to find in a "bible" of portfolio design:

-nothing on the theories behind print design.
-no explanation on the "whys" and "hows" of presenting your work.
-little analysis on proper organization of a portfolio.
-insufficient info on photography, cropping, margins, etc.

If you've never put a portfolio together, you might get some use out of it in the initial stages of your portfolio. Once you iterate to a certain level, however, "Portfolio Design" makes a better coaster than a guide. Advice: buy it used, if you buy it.

lo recomiendo ...es el mejor libro de portfolios a la venta y esta muy bien dirigido al campo d ela arquitectura,,..sus fotos e ilustracion son magnificas..claras y explicitas...comprenlo....vale la pena increiblemente

First off, this is a great reference for people/architecture students who are starting up or refining their portfolios. It is packed with some excellent, helpful written guidelines and decent imagery of a wide variety of portfolios. The professional commentary/critiques of the case-study portfolios are worth the price of the book alone. I received the 2nd edition of the book 5 years ago as a gift as I was applying to architecture school (after I'd submitted my portfolio however!) and, after leafing through the book in detail at Borders, I picked up this 3rd edition today as I am preparing to graduate and enter the work force.

Now, with that out of the way...

Several of the negative complaints I've read on here have focused on the "poor presentation" of the portfolios and the quality of the images of them, etc. While those comments are not without merit or completely off-base, they are in fact quite silly with regard to the subject matter of this book. Linton is providing samples of portfolios that were created by various students who volunteered to have their work featured and the fact is that many of the portfolios are quite elaborate fold-outs, spiral bound books, or printed plates...there is really no way for the author to present the images of the portfolios themselves (not their content!) other than photographing them.

You can easily understand the IDEAS that are on display and how they are being graphically represented. That is the essence of what you need for composing your OWN portfolio featuring your OWN work. If you're looking for step-by-step instructions on how to create a slick portfolio, look elsewhere. I will say that the book would strongly benefit from more color imagery, but as for the reviewer who said they simply gave the book away because it was so disappointing and worthless, well, we don't see eye-to-eye on this one.

"Whether you work in architecture, urban planning, landscape design/architecture, or interior design, a finely tailored portfolio is the most important element to include in your application for graduate school, a design grant or competition, or bring to a job interview. In addition to showing you how to assemble a portfolio that will display your talents and qualifications to the best advantage, the third edition of Portfolio Design adds a chapter on digital strategies, discussing all the elements necessary to bring your work together in a digital format. Also new in this edition is commentary and analysis of selected student portfolios by three experienced professionals who offers unique insights to help you develop your own portfolio.

From formats, bindings, and cases to reproduction techniques, content, style, sequencing, multimedia, and the latest in promoting yourself on the internet, Portfolio Design addresses every aspect of portfolio plannin gand production."

~Excerpt from inside cover of Portfolio Design, Third Edition

This book is so often mentioned and recommended that I bought it. I have produced some hand-built portfolios of my own, and was looking for more inspiration and practical advice. Instead, I found poor images, much of it in black and white, and the work in the portfolios is more interesting than the portfolios themselves.

This is heavily geared to architects and also to those with the means to have professional printing and a huge cash outlay for materials, cases, etc. I think some of the advice is good, but really for the un-initiated student, not professionals. A professional already knows that if the portfolio is sloppy, that it will not speak well of the designer and that a well-designed portfolio is an extra endorsement for the designer above and beyod the contents. There is little better advice/information in this book than that.

The portfolios showcased are very similar to each other, and there is little that can be produced by someone at home with a computer and a printer. I can tell you from my own experience that there is a lot you can do with a little elbow grease and less reliance on professionally assembled pieces.

A little advice of my own: A portfolio must showcase the work, must not detract from the quality of the work, and must be either changeable or expendable. Your portfolio should not be stagnant, but evolving with the new wonderful things you're doing and adding! Too few of the examples in this book provide for leave-behnids, inclusion of resumes, and the evolution of the contents.

We were getting something to eat on our honeymoon and my husband picked up this book. He cracked up! I made a mental note that it would make a great git for him later on. After a little hunting, I found it. It is a perfect book for the sarcastic person. He still pulls it out every once in a while for a chuckle.

As the corporate customer service writer featured on the book's 49th page, I was surprised when David Paulson contacted me a second time to say that his November 6 letter was actually a "test," so to speak. To those working in the airline industry during the dark days and months that followed 9/11, some of the questions that passengers asked--and the scenarios about which they (and he) wrote--were especially mind-boggling. But, when now re-reading Mr. Paulson's letter (on Page 48 of Consumer Joe), his concerns about tweezers are honestly no more outlandish than some seriously written letters that passengers send to airlines on an average day--which only goes to show the mindset of the traveling public!

Consumer Joe is good, lighthearted reading that makes me chuckle whenever I open it. Thanks, David!

I keep this in my guest bathroom. You can hear people giggling in there as they read the stories. I thought it was fantastic, because someone finally asked the questions I wanted to.

This is the funniest, wittiest and original book I've read in ages. With so much mundane humor out there it's refreshing to see some fresh and original humor. I read this book in one sitting, laughing out loud. Paul Davidson has a rare gift. I look forward to his next endeavor.

Sure the letters are funny, but the best thing about Consumer Joe is the guy who ostensibly wrote them, David Paulson. In him, Paul Davidson has created a vivid comedic character who writes with a hilarious combination of outrage and naivete as he huddles in his Beverly Hills apartment with (if his letters are to be believed) several cats (one of them injured), a thrill-seeking dog, and stacks of coupons sent to appease his urgent need for justice. Letter-by-letter, we learn more about this person and his equally eccentric extended family, until he becomes a fully-realized creation reminscent of Rob Long's brilliantly funny agent character in "Conversations with my Agent." Though the letters in the book gave me more than a few hearty laughs, discovering the character of David Paulson was an unexpected pleasure of reading this book.

I was very disappointed with this book. I found the writing style dry and the photographs/layout just not up to par. It almost seemed like somebody's thesis with som photos thrown in. Somebody needs to do a large format picture book on this subject with more about Jackie!

The writing is dry. The pictures are not the best and it fails to show whnat the White House looked like before the restoration. Everyone says that it looked horrible so why not give the reader a taste of what was so wrong with it? If you can find the White House guidebook that was produced to pay for the restoration read that instead. It has much betters photos.

James Abbot and Elaine Rice are right on the money! This book entails the Kennedy restoration of the White House during 1961 - 1963. Much research has gone in to producing an excellent history that otherwise would be lost. Great photographs of the Kennedy White House as well. I can say this book is a treasure for both Kennedy and White House enthusiasts alike. I have had this book for several years and still find myself picking it up.

A superb survey of the White House decor of President & Mrs. Kennedy. The book documents the ideas, process, decisions and choices behind the stunning interiors of the Kennedy White House-both the public and private rooms. What comes through the text is Mrs. Kennedy's leadership and vision - combining taste, history, beauty and great cunning - just to create and then manage this melange of egos, talent and intelligence was an accomplishment, and the results live on today (albeit not as beautifully or artistically). We all gained a greater knowledge and appreciation of our nation's historic and artistic past because of Mrs. Kennedy's work.

I've corresponded with Mr. Abbott and he's been most kind and interesting. He assisted in the current show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years," and there's a number of items on display relating to the White House decorations.

Read the book, catch the exhibit (it moves to the JFK Library in Boston in the fall).

James Abbott and Elaine Rice have documented the blueprinting and designing of much more than rooms in the White House. The title says it all. Camelot was about all things Kennedy Administration. Navy suits and Limousines were younger and more progressive. Presentations on the lawn for visiting heads of states by far surpassed the ho-hum receptions at the train station. No detail of Camelot, the White House public rooms and the family quarters escaped scrutiny of Jackie, Sister Parrish and Boudin. Jackie even designed the ash stands with Boudin's help.

I don't understand the criticism of this book as dry or wordy. It's a book. It's a narrative, not a coffee table book. Tomes have been printed and documented of the restored rooms, before and after. The photos are what they were. In this world of colorized movies, Photoshopped magazine covers and remastered music, Abbott and Rice have given us the plain unvarnished way it was, warts and all. I found the background very interesting. It was a collaborative effort between the committee, Jackie, Sister Parrish and Boudin, with a giant does of Henry duPont thrown in. Any one person could have completely changed the way the great house looked, but Jackie rescued the building from it's Gimbell's basement look. It remains generally true to her vision, even though eight First Ladies have imprinted on it. This country would not exist if not for the help of France during the Revolution. It influenced this country greatly and I see nothing wrong with the influence. No one criticized Mamie Eisenhower for the his and hers tvs in the wall or the Mamie Pink.

I enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to anyone.

book not what I anticipated, not much on refrigerated systems, good if you want to learn the overall operation on normal hvac systems. expected much on refrigeration systems, got disapointed, not worth the cost of book.

this book i a very comprehensive and well rounded in the real work workings of referation. I would recomend this book to anyone that is interested in furthing there knowledge in refrigeration field.

the book is well put together and provides well thought out information, as well as being in depth enough to help anyone serious about the HVAC/R trade. I hate spending money for bad books and am happy to recommend this book for purchase. Buy it.

If you are looking to move from air-conditioning to refrigeration service,all the information you need is inside this book!!

If you've done some HVAC work but find yourself stumped the first time you work on a freezer or frig, then you need this book!. This is a world of oil losses, hard to know line pressures, strange refrigerant valves and controls and head masters, etc. And this book will explain them all to you with lots of plain talk, plain examples, great drawings, and even a cd-rom of animation. And best of all, it has a page of "Rules of Thumb", such as; High Efficieny (seer) condenser splits = 20 degrees and below. And since refrigerant recovery of freezers and frig's are far more common place than HVAC work, it covers several methods of evacuation and recovery. This book has lots of troubleshooting notes and lots of pictures and all the basics of refrigeration from motors, capillarys, TEV'S and defrosters through superheat and critical charging and so much more. I own many hvac books and this one absolutely stands out as a 'must have' book ! Another good book to have when you want to "master" the trade, is Technician's Guide to Refrigeration Systems'by Corinchock. And of course, Troubleshooting and Servicing Modern Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems by Tomczyk. Warning that Tomczyk's book is sold as several books, each with a few chapters, so only buy the complete book I mentioned above, else you will have duplicate text.

to me titanic and her sister ships were just flawly made.this book show how they were book and the inside story shipping business of early 20th century.

One of the nice consequences of Cameron's blockbuster ( I didn't like it much) is the number of books that have come out about the tragedy , the ship and her sisters.

This is one of the biggest. And a must for anybody interested in the subject.

This is a very very good book. aside from some spelling errors and as stated before errors in comparisons, The book covers the idea before the construction, the way the ships were constructed,the seatrials and how the mechanicals work and the history about each Olympic class ship starting with the launch of the Olympic and the life of the Olympic and then moves on to the Titanic and the life of the titanic and then finaly the Britannic life with a portion of the aftermath hearing that J.Bruce Ismay responded to. very good book. tells more about how the engines works and how the engines were running at different rpm and how each rpm =`s a different speed.

It is a good book, well worth the price, but I have one complaint-it has a few errors in captions.

(For example, Titanic's aft Grand Staircase [not as grand as the forward one] was mistaken for Olympic's forward Grand Staircase. Yes, there are differences-Olympic's forward Grand Staircase was just as grand as Titanic's forward staircase.)

Aside from a few captioning errors, it is a wonderful book, a must have for an Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic enthusiast. Pictures are wonderful, saw so many things that couldn't be seen otherwise.

If one is seeking a comprehensive book on the Olympic-class liner, this volume is vital to one's collection. Many rarely-printed images are offered alongside the popular pictures of Olympic, the lesser-photographed Titanic, as well as the even less-imaged Britannic. Many of the pictures are of Olympic, from her keel-laying through her fitting out, being the first of the three sisters launched. For those interested in the Titanic's building, launch and outfitting, where images of ship #401 are not in existence, Olympic, hull #400 helps bring a better visualization of Harland & Wolff's work to put these vessels on the sea.

A word of caution to those looking for a flawless historical reference guide - the book's captions are woven with mid-identifications; all three sisters are mis-labeled throughout the book, and a photograph of a Cunard hospital ship is wrongly referred to as Britannic. Despite the snafus in editing, the pictures alone puts this book on my shelf right next to "Titanic, An Illustrated History", "The Last Days of Titanic", and "Ghosts of the Abyss".

Particularly useful if you are thinking of or are in the process of opening an ice cream business. Useful dealing with production, display equipment etc.

This is BY FAR the best book on the subject of ice cream. It's not the sort of book you would want to use a little machine that lives in your freezer at home - this is geared towards mass production in a professional kitchen or bakery environment. I've used twenty of these recipes and turned ice cream desserts into the top-selling items. Even the sorbet is superior to what I was doing before. This week alone, I've sold over five hundred portions - Ice cream is now my #1 seller and the most profitable dessert on the menu, not to mention the lowest labor to produce. If you produce your own ice cream in any sort of volume setting, this book is a must-have for your library.

This book is a nostagic look at ice cream manufacturing and store operation. We have opened 30 plus ice cream stores over the last 25 years and would not recommend anyone using this book as a reference. This guy enjoys making ice cream and spinning a good yarn but in the real world of ice cream store operation his ideas are outdated and seriously flawed. Ice cream shops work in only a few areas of this country and require hard work and long hours. They fail at an alarming rate and rarely gross enough to make a decent living. If you are planning on an ice cream store operation make sure you do a decent demographical study before attempting it.

This book was an interesting guide to ice cream. It has helped me gain an insight in how to make and distribute ice cream. It answered most of my questions and helped me decide my next course of action.

Working as a dairy technician in a medium sized ice-cream-factory, I needed something to expand my knowledge on the subject. That's why I bought this book. And I was amazed: Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: A Commercial Guide to Production and Marketing really met my expectations and did a lot more. It's well written, easily accessible and thorough. A must buy for both ice-cream-professionals and enthusiasts.

This book will keep you up-to-date in the fast-changing field of online marketinger long after the latest magazines on the subject are passe.

Duncan Maxwell Anderson, Success Magazine

In several years online, this is the first time I have written email for the sole purpose of commending a product wholeheartedly and without reservation. I borrowed your Online Marketing Handbook from my local public library out of curiosity, and became progressively more impressed as the pages turned.

I am a 33 year old student of Travel and Tourism, and will open a travel agency in a couple of years.

My weaknesses however, are in sales and marketing, (which I am studying) and your book has provided me with many answers to questions; some of which I had not yet thought of asking. Your examples and case studies are great resources, and you present currently practised techniques in a thoughtful, non-judgemental manner; discussing their pros and cons objectively. Moreover, the number of online resources relevant to your subject that you reveal would almost justify the cost of your book alone.

To summarise; thanks for a terrific resource, you can count on at least one sale to me, and I hope you make as much money from the Online Marketing Handbook as I intend to from its use.

I have been reading your Online Marketing Handbook to help me reposition my career from broadcast sales to internet sales and have found it extremely helpful.

Updated for 1988, this is one of those books that is organized for easy scanning - a fact I really appreciate. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Interactive Media Relations and Building Relationships with Reporters. The large number of case studies, online resources and specific strategies found within this book make for an easy recommendation.

Dan Janal is a direct competitor of mine. He writes books, articles, speaks, and consults on Internet marketing and so do I. We both started marketing on the Net long before Cyberspace was an overused word. His Online Marketing Handbook (OMH) competes in many ways w/ my "Essential Business Tactics for the Net." Perhaps that's why the two books are often seen on each others Amazon pages under "People who bought this book also bought..." Well, I'm here to say publicly I've learned one heck of a lot from Dan and OMH over the years. I still refer back to it from time to time.

I recommend you buy his book. I use many of the practices in it. Many of those practices were first documented in the first edition of OMH. Anyway, **after** you buy his book, see how it compares w/ mine. Dan and I would tell you they complement each other quite neatly.

Respectfully Submitted by Larry Chase, Author, Speaker, Net Consultant

contains all you need to know about aviation communication easy to understand and retain.

This is a great book for learning communications protocol for the various conditions a private pilot will encounter, and for helping to organize the cockpit relative to radio communications management. I believe it's a "must-read" for every private pilot.

The book is useful, and it was badly needed when it was first published, but it was not written very well. For every paragraph of substantial or useful information, there is a page of repetition and imprecise fluff-- the book would have been twice as good had it been half as long. Again, the book is good and will not be a waste of money, but there are other pilot communication books out now that deserve a closer look. Don't assume that this book is better simply because it is longer.

Absolutely essential, first rate information, and the guy can even write. It's an interesting, informative book that stresses clarity and concise communication with the tower and other planes. I can't recommend it enough.

This is an excellent book to familiarize yourself with air traffic control and tower talk. I'm a private pilot and I learned in a relatively low trafficked area in Maine. The Portland tower was nearby but I didn't take advantage of it too much. I read the book one summer while I was still a student pilot . . . when I went up with an instructor and we headed to a towered airport he was very impressed on how I knew how to call them up and respond to them, I understood the flow of frequency changes well, and understood all the instructions I received from ATC before he ever taught me any of that stuff. Even if you are already a pilot, but still avoid going to towered airports because you're afraid of getting embarassed you should most definitely get this book.
The actual examples he gives are right on the money. The good part is that he give you variations on how to say the same thing so in case you hear it differently from someone you'll be ready. I don't really have any complaints with this book that I can think of at the moment. It's helpful to VFR student, and actual pilots, it has realistic examples, good explanation of why things are the way they are with ATC, explains the ATC environment well. Get it!