When A. J. Reeser signed papers to take ownership of the fitness center previously known as the Park Center Club, he realized that he had just taken the biggest financial step in his life. Every asset he could pull together had been pledged against the mortgage. If the new AJ’s Fitness Center didn’t succeed, he would be in really bad shape financially. But A. J. didn’t plan on failing. After all, he had never failed at anything.
As a high school football All-American, A. J. had been heavily recruited by major colleges around the country. Although he loved football, he and his family had always put academics ahead of sports. Thus, he surprised almost everyone other than those who knew him best when he chose to attend an Ivy League university not particularly noted for its football success. Although he excelled at football and was a member of two winning teams, he also succeeded in the classroom and graduated in four years. He spent six years working for McKinsey & Company, a major consulting firm, at which he gained significant experience in a broad range of business situations.
Column 1: Satisfaction with the club’s weight- and exercise-equipment facilities
Column 2: Satisfaction with the club’s staff
Column 3: Satisfaction with the club’s exercise programs (aerobics, etc.)
Column 4: Satisfaction with the club’s overall service

Column 5: Number of years that the respondent had been a member at this club
Column 6: Gender (1 = Male, 2 = Female)
Column 7: Typical number of visits to the club per week
Column 8: Age
The data, saved in the file AJFitness , were clearly too much for anyone to comprehend in raw form. At yesterday’s meeting, A. J. asked the intern to “make some sense of the data.” When the intern asked for some direction, A. J.’s response was, “That’s what I’m paying you the big bucks for. I just want you to develop a descriptive analysis of these data. Use whatever charts, graphs, and tables that will help us understand our customers. Also, use any pertinent numerical measures that will help in the analysis. For right now, give me a report that discusses the data. Why don’t we set a time to get together next week to review your report?”