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The Franklin Report: Chicago, The Insider's Guide to Home Services
 
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The Franklin Report: Chicago, The Insider's Guide to Home Services [Paperback]

Elizabeth Franklin (Author), Staff (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 21, 2001
THE FRANKLIN REPORT, a Manhattan-based print and on-line publishing company offering readers the most complete, inside information on top-ranked home service providers, announces the launch of its second title, THE FRANKLIN REPORT: Chicago, The Insider's Guide to Home Service Providers ($22.50, paperback original).

The first of its kind, this comprehensive, 300-page survey based on client reviews of the top home service providers in Chicago provides ground-breaking imformation on home service companies and individuals who have acheived national recognition, as well as those who are considered well-kept secrets among industry "insiders". Also included are in-depth overviews on how to hire providers in 24 home service categories ranging from architects to interior decorators to plumbers, and everything in between.

"Our mission is to simplify the task of choosing a home service provider by codifying the "word of mouth" process consumers rely on, and to offer the community a chance to contribute to this on-going dialogue, both in print and on The Franklin Report website. Finding the right person for the job do work in your home can be a daunting experience; there are many choices, not all of them right for the job or client. The Franklin Report and its regularly updated website, has compiled reports on a select group of master artisans, technicians, interior designers, architects and craftspeople based on feedback from thousands of their clients," stated The Franklin Report founder and CEO, Elizabeth Franklin.

The profiles and evaluations which appear in the guide and on the Franklin Report website are based on in-depth interviews with clients, factual information culled from the providers, consultations with industry insiders and experts, and surveys submitted through the website, email, phone, fax and in person. All information is then compiled into accessible, easy-to-understand entries that provide complete provider contact information, a description of services and specialties, a summary, and specific, anonymous comments from clients and industry peers. Each provider is then given ratings on a scale of 1 to 5, based on the following parameters: QUALITY, COST,VALUE, RECOMMEND. "We went to exhaustive lengths to ensure that the information provided comes from verifiable and reliable sources, and conducted follow-up interviews when any questions arose. And as a company policy, we only publish the consensus view, and disregard unsubtantiated information," Franklin said.

"The result," Franklin continued, "is a guide to the most reliable, prominent, and professional home service providers that no home owner or home renter should be without."

The Franklin Report is committed to an aggressive publishing schedule, and plans to roll out several other city guides including Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, and Atlanta. "As additional city surveys are published, existing guides will be thoroughly updated and released," Franklin further stated. The website will also be updated regularly.


Editorial Reviews

Review

A new guide gives clients a chance to have the last word. A daunting amount of research. -- The New York Times, November 30, 2000

Franklin has developed a clever, valuable, influential, and deservedly popular format to present professional profiles. Take this woman to lunch. -- Interior Design, May 2001

Franklin publishes consumer guide that flies off shelves....Martha Stewart must be cursing herself for not having thought of first. -- Crains's New York Business, March 12-18, 2001

Rated excellent. Elizabeth Franklin, a New Yorker who wants to be the Zagat of interiors, published the Franklin Report. -- House & Garden, 50 Things to Love About Chicago, June 2001

The Zagat's of the home. -- The Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2001

About the Author

ELIZABETH FRANKLIN founded The Franklin Report in 1999. Prior to this corporation, Franklin was a partner at the investment bank, James D. Wolfensohn, Inc., where she specialized in mergers and aquisitions. While at Wolfensohn, she managed a significant renovation of her family's Manhattan residence, becoming an allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) in the process.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Allgood Pr (August 21, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0970578016
  • ISBN-13: 978-0970578013
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,789,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Home service cliff notes for uninformed, December 12, 2001
By 
Don A. (Chicago, Il) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Franklin Report: Chicago, The Insider's Guide to Home Services (Paperback)
First of all, I must admit that I had never heard of the Franklin Report
until a real-estate broker colleague of mine
was talking about giving copies to all of her clients. At the time, I needed
to find an architect for a large project, soinquired about the book. Since
then, it has taught me a lot about the home services buisiness. I've really
found theFranklin Report to be an amazing tool that saves me time,
aggravation and in the end -- money. The book givesme all the research and

information that I would otherwise have to go and spend hours digging for. I
once called anarchitect whose name I overheard at the office to renovate my
townhouse and I was so embarassed to find out hewas a modernist and
basically scoffed at the traditional design I wanted! Now, I've put together
a list of the book'shighest rated traditional architects and interviewed
them all. In the end, I got the best quality for the budget I
hadanticipated -- thanks to the Franklin Report. Now my friends want to know
how I know so much about the business -- so I quietly tell them my industry
knowledge came from The Franklin Report.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Contractors and decorators and plumbers, oh my!, December 11, 2001
By 
Otto H. (Evanston, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Franklin Report: Chicago, The Insider's Guide to Home Services (Paperback)
I bought the Franklin Report originally for the same reason I subscribe to Architectural Digest and House Beautiful. I like to keep current on the big names in interior design even though I'm not about to do a two million dollar apartment. What I've found, in addition to bringing me the most informed and comprehensive round up of decorators, is that this book includes much more functional business that I need to use all the time. Most important is that these companies, used by the best ID's in town, are totally accessible to you and me. It really is the first place I feel I've found a credible stable of usually suspect trades. Plumbers, air conditioning guys, painters -- I've found them all with eye-popping results. So while I may not be hiring the fanciest decorator in town to redo my home, I certainly can find some startlingly professional and nice people to improve it at rational prices. My only criticism is I wish they had more categories. I need a good roofer!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The last word, December 11, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Franklin Report: Chicago, The Insider's Guide to Home Services (Paperback)
For those of us who choose not to buzz around the social circles of Chicago's Gold Coast co-op's and North Shore newcomer's groups, it's nice to know there's a resource to get some juicy word of mouth recommendations without mind-numbing cocktail-speak. The Franklin Report is just that, a who's who power list of the city's decorators, contractors, electricians and other what the book deems "home service providers." It's not only a useful tool that blows the yellow pages out of the water and makes your dentist's sister's yoga instructor's on the side-furniture restoration business a non-call, but its an enormously entertaining read. Anytime an industry gets sized up and ranked, especially with the egos involved in design and the notoriously insulated, fragmented building industry, it's a hoot. The reviews are concise, on target and written with a certain restrained tongue in cheek, reminiscent of Zagat's, which this publication is surely trying to emulate. It's a more complicated subject, but I think they pull it off at The Franklin Report. If anything else, it's a must have for anyone doing a home remodel or who just wants to know the right names to drop at the next
cocktail party.

Elaine R.
Lake Forest, IL

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