Urban Questions: US, China & South Africa
60 mins, 2009 Three films look at cities in the developing and developed world and explore the problems facing their citizens. DETROIT, USA: The city of Detroit used to be a symbol of the industrial might of the USA. Now its factories have moved overseas in search of cheap labour. Former assembly workers freeze on… Read more »
Urban Questions II: Nairobi, Kenya
22 mins, 2011 Nairobi, capital of Kenya is also known as the capital of crime because of a dramatic increase in kidnappings. This is rooted in one of Africa’s largest slums – Mathare. MATHARE: More than 35% of Kenyans live below the poverty line. In Nairobi, it’s more than 60%. In the centre of town… Read more »
Keeping The Customer Satisfied
32 mins, 1996 A travel firm sets out to improve its approach to customer care. Secret filming captures where staff go wrong. Role play exercises demonstrate how to get it right. But what about the tour guide with his own eccentric approach to customer care? And can even the best techniques make up for a… Read more »
Inside A Travel Business
28 mins, 2000 In this case study in business change Avalon Travel, a tour company, faces a decline in its traditional holiday trade. It’s also threatened by the Internet. Staff debate two ways forward. Manager Peter thinks they should get into e-commerce by buying a travel company which already has major expertise in the Internet…. Read more »
Systems In A Hotel
27 mins, 2000 This demonstrates the systems in a large hotel. The hotel’s booking system shows the rooms available and helps maximise income from the rooms, discounting prices when things are quiet. For each guest the system records a guest history, with details of their likes and dislikes. When a guest feels a room is… Read more »
Marketing Holidays
25 mins, 2001 How do you market a holiday? The starting point is the holiday brochure, backed up by TV and newspaper advertising. Public relations is important but getting exposure on holiday programmes is unreliable. 54% of holidays are sold through travel agents – but that share is dropping under pressure from call centres and… Read more »
Systems In Travel
25 mins, 2002 The film charts the radical changes that IT has brought, through the experience of tour operator Sunvil Travel and Internet-based travel agency Expedia. While Sunvil uses computers to put its customers’ holidays together, Expedia does everything on the web. Its website allows you to book your hotel room or seat on a… Read more »
The A-Z Of Customer Service
29 mins, 2008 Without happy customers a business can’t survive. But how do you make them happy? How do you keep them happy? Staff of the Dickens World theme park and the upmarket MacDonald hotel chain give the view from the sharp end. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: A friendly smile and open body language are vital to… Read more »
Baked Alaska
27 mins, 2003 America’s coldest, richest state is warming ten times faster than the rest of the world. “That ice should be four feet thick”, confirms a hunter who catches walrus. “Now it’s only one foot thick”. Elsewhere houses and roads collapse as the ground beneath them melts. The US government now plans to drill… Read more »
Inside China: 5. China Rich And Poor
23 mins, 2014 A big principle of socialism is equality, but China’s new society has glaring inequalities. The communist party calls it “socialism with Chinese characteristics” but, in the rush for growth, have they created a society far harsher than western capitalism? COMMUNISM COMES TO IKEA The new China now has a growing middle class… Read more »
Inside China: 4. The New Entrepreneurs
23 mins, 2014 China’s “new billionaires” are well-known but what about the small businesses? Many were set up by migrants who have battled against hardship – and many are women. THE PR BUSINESS 24 year old Tian Qiuyu started her business while she was still at university and now employs 6 people – but she… Read more »
Inside China: 3. Politics And The People
25 mins, 2014 China is now a market economy, but holds on to the communist political system – pollution, corruption and ethnic divisions cause great tensions. POLITICS They call it “Socialism with Chinese characteristics” but the communist party has a monopoly on power and no opposition is tolerated. There are tensions in regions such as… Read more »