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Jun 29, 2008

Karen rated it:

Despite Frankel's affection for UPS, this book doesn't quite deliver (heh) on the promise of its concept. It's not quite funny, not quite illuminating, not quite an expose of a seamy underbelly. Being a customer service face for a big company is pretty much as I'd expect it would be: monotonous, dehumanizing, alienating. The best parts of the book were the specific day-in-the-life descriptions of the specific individuals working at these places, and the various ways these companies attempt to in More...

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Dec 26, 2009

Barky rated it:

Alex Frankel took some time off from student life to get a real-life job and see what the attraction might be of working at some major American companies. He managed to get jobs at UPS, Enterprise, Starbucks, The Gap, and at an Apple store. He also filled out applications and interviewed at several other locations, such as the Container Store, and Home Depot. He went “undercover” to ferret out some information on life on the front-lines.

Part of corporate culture is finding peopl More...

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Jul 31, 2011

Jen rated it:

I'm a little envious that Alex Frankel wrote this book, because it's a great idea. I wish I'd written it. Having once worked for one of the retailers he profiles in this book (plus a few others he didn't), I liked how he captured the front-line perspective of what it means to represent a brand and interact with customers all day long for near-minimum wage. It's not about worker experiences so much as it's about what it means to define your brand through your employees.

Everyone shoul More...

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Jul 30, 2008

Desiree rated it:

Interesting read about a journalist who goes undercover to work on the "front lines" (working directly with customers)at major corporations, like UPS, Starbucks, Gap. etc. What is it like to work at these places today?

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 17, 2009

Megan rated it:

Nothing seemed very groundbreaking in this book. The author spent some time (how much, he never really explains) working on the front lines of retail jobs like Starbucks, the Gap, and UPS to see what it's like. And it's pretty much exactly as you would expect. The people who work at the Gap on the salesfloor spend a lot of time folding. The drinks at Starbucks are complicated to make. UPS is a complex network of integrated systems ensuring your packages get to where they need to go, with an emph More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 25, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

In this book, the author recounts his experiences as an "undercover" front-line employee. Basically, he decided to work in some of America's most well-known and loved corporations to see what life is like for the front-line employee and how that varies from the corporate message. The companies he is able to get jobs for include UPS, the Gap, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the Container Store, amongst others. Because these are all companies I am familiar with, it was doubly interesting to me More...

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May 20, 2009

William rated it:

You will never look at a UPS delivery driver, Gap salesperson, or Starbucks barista again after reading this insightful book about various service jobs. The author is able to penetrate and observe several corporate cultures in a short amount of time. A nice study of employee/corporation relationships. The book ends oddly because the author has very little to say about his last job (Apple Store), unlike the others, and the narrative just seems to run out quickly. Frankel is likable, however, and More...

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Dec 19, 2009

Turi rated it:

For some reason, I was expecting a little more humor from this book. There wasn't much there, but what WAS there was a well-thought look into some of the biggest "branded" companies in the country. Alex Frankel spent time working for companies such as UPS, Starbucks, Apple and Gap, and looks at their hiring practices, corporate culture, and other facets of their business. Fascinating, and will affect the way I look at front-line employees of these companies. More...

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Dec 18, 2010

Lori rated it:

As a former (and probably future) member of the service sector, I was intrigued by the premise of this book. What types of people are drawn to what types of companies? What types of people are hired by what sort of company? Who succeeds and who burns out? Is each corporation really its own little fiefdom with unique methods of motivation, training, communication and presentation? Or, is there much difference?

The use of the word 'unauthorized' connoted some seamy back room allegati More...

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Aug 19, 2008

ateedub rated it:

Great opening, but the book kind of petered out. Frankel's immersive experiences at UPS and Enterprise were very interesting and certainly instructive. But I wanted more of them, and less of the 'trying to get a job with one of these companies analysis'. And definitely less reflection on the experience outside of the direct narrative. I definitely prefer to draw the (very obvious) conclusions on my own, and not listen to Frankel restate them.

Though presumably not the intention of the More...

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Jan 02, 2011

Emily rated it:

I really enjoyed this book! I had my doubts when 1) I found it at the dollar store and 2) the only book that I really wanted to read was the second Hunger Games book, but this was the only one I had at the moment. And somewhere I had read or heard, or maybe I made it up, that this was written in an effort to refute what Barbara Ehrenreich wrote in 'Nickel and Dimed.' Her book was about how it was absolutely impossible to live on a lot of the wages that are paid in this country (yep, Wal-mart, More...

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Feb 03, 2008

Shinichi rated it:

What kind of people work at UPS, Starbucks, Gap, or the Apple Store? Alex Frankel finds out for sure as he joins these brand name retail environments in a one year period and chronicles his experiences in Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee. Barbara Ehrenreich did this kind of undercover writing in Nickel and Dimed. While Ehrenreich’s aim was to expose the hardships of low wage jobs that fail to provide living wages, Frankel examines corporate culture and how it sha More...

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Apr 09, 2008

Patrick rated it:

Punching-In is a confused book. Not confusing, mind you, merely confused. Author Alex Frankel means well, and presents a number of interesting stories about working the front lines at a number of interesting corporate jobs, but he just doesn't really make the greater points his conclusions would lead you to believe he did.

To start, Frankel seems to consider this book almost an expose about what makes some of the bigger retail corporations in the world tick, but his anecdotal observat More...

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May 04, 2011

Anne rated it:

Started out strong, finishes weak. The conclusion is particularly weak, and the later chapters seem perfunctory, like he was already onto something else. Still it was a brilliant project and offers a lot of insights -- just draw your own conclusions.

He does stints at UPS (his favorite), tries but fails (explores online applications in the process) to get into Home Depot, the Container Store, Whole Foods. Goes on to Enterprise (car rental), Gap (hates that too), Starbucks (hates), and A More...

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Dec 01, 2007

Helen rated it:

I got an advance reading copy (ARC or ARE to booksellers) of this book through HarperCollin's First Look program, and this is the review I submitted:

In a thoroughly researched adventure through various service-industry front lines, Frankel manages to present the good and bad experiences with a little humor and just enough extra insider tidbits to keep a general audience interested. Supplementing his vivid descriptions of experiences with material from fields such as economics, indus More...

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Jun 04, 2010

Joanna rated it:

Alex Frankel is at his strongest when he develops personal anecdotes and stories. His descriptions of his interviews at the jobs where he worked and his efforts to defeat online screening provided the brightest moments in this book. It would have been a perfect book if Frankel could have taken this analysis to the next level and speculated more about the future of business or the deeper question of what drives employees to buy into the corporate culture being promoted by these companies. Instead More...

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Jul 26, 2008

Darshan Elena rated it:

I learned lots from this book, including creepy weird corporate tricks such as Gap's use of scent to lure or lull customers into consumerism or Enterprise's manipulation of drivers into purchasing insurance that is neither required nor comprehensive. I loved Frankel's discussion of The Container Store's approach to their staff and corporate structure, which was all the more compelling since I purchased a canvas suit/gown contraption for my closet last week after a fanatical wardrobe downsizing. More...

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Jan 06, 2011

Anthony rated it:

An easy, interesting read. The author worked at a number of jobs - UPS driver, Gap salesperson, Apple salesperson, Starbucks barista, Enterprise rent a car trainee - and gives his experiences, along with some talk about culture. Sometimes it's hard to separate his like (Apple) or dislike (gap, Starbucks) from his commentary on it's culture, but it's worth a read just to understand the internals of how companies work.

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Feb 09, 2009

Steve rated it:

This was a very informative book from my prespective. I had applied for jobs at several of the companies Alex worked for. I was offered a Drivers Helper position back in 2004 when I was between jobs, but turned it down. I also applied to Enterprise Rent A Car right out of college, but didn't get an offer. From what I've read, I'm glad I didn't! I'm no salesman!

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Feb 23, 2008

Christine rated it:

This book had many fascinating aspects to it. I found the various ways that companies process applications and perform interviews to be really interesting. There is quite a bit of brainwashing (or attempted brainwashing) going on. Although that's not really a surprise, seeing it documented in such a way made me pause to analyze various job experiences in my own life.

Although I did enjoy this book, I also felt it to be lacking in analysis. I wanted something more. Perhaps part of More...

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Apr 06, 2009

John rated it:

Another author taking a variety of jobs on a short-term basis (intending to quit after a few weeks) specifically to write about the experience later. Unlike Selling Ben Cheever and others, Frankel concentrates on opportunities for advancement within the organization. Tone varies from cozy to wonky, but overall interesting enough to recommend.

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Sep 12, 2008

Pam rated it:

Frankel goes "undercover" as an employee at several large, customer service oriented firms, and describes what working on the front lines is like for the employees. He travels from UPS to Enterprise, Starbucky, Gap, and Apple. In working for these firms Frankel's goal is to find out how the culture of the company is extrended to the new employee, and specifically how the management of a company, at such a far remove from the front line worker is able to instill its values. The book s More...

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Feb 21, 2009

Bhall rated it:

Premise was great - learn about companies by working in their front-line roles. Worked at Gap, UPS, Apple Store, Enterprise, Starbucks.

Results were poor. Didn't think there was particular insight into the jobs and people, seemed to be more stories than insight. don't read.

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Jan 13, 2008

Kathy rated it:

Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee by Alex Frankel intrigued me when I read the synopsis so I checked it out from the library.

The author is a journalist and he decided to go "undercover" at various companies to see how they attempt to bring their employees into their corporate cultures. He worked for UPS, The Gap, Apple Store, Starbucks, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and applied for several other jobs.

I liked the way he described the test More...

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Sep 04, 2010

Jen rated it:

A really interesting look at front-line work at a range of companies (UPS, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the Apple Store, and several others.) Particularly interesting is the focus on how each of these companies approaches employee training.

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Aug 10, 2011

Glen added it

This provided excellent insight into the different types of corporate culture that UPS, Starbucks, Apple.. provide. Shows that money is not the only reward that can be offered.

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Feb 28, 2010

Kasia rated it:

This book was not as good as I expected, but I did enjoy reading about the Whole Foods interview process....just in case I finally get that interview! :)

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Jan 12, 2010

Hilary rated it:

A better idea than Frankel's actual execution, but an interesting read. I'm not sure he really succeeds in pulling the stories together.

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Aug 18, 2009

Michelle rated it:

Ugh, the only reason I finished this book was because the font was so big and I was done it in a day. It took the author 2 years of working in retail to realize that not everyone who works at Starbucks/UPS/Gap is a corporate zombie. They are real people! Um, yeah. He also somehow thinks that he is "undercover" and spends half the book worried that he might "blow his cover." He comes up with complicated fake backstories and secretly jots down notes while on break. If you ha More...

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Jan 09, 2009

Valerie rated it:

Everybody should have to do this. People would be nicer if everyone had to work a shitty retail job as an adult.

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