I really think that is going to come back to haunt him later!

Lying again to get the tartan, makes me cringe.

It's rather underhanded with the sob stories, and I don't think Lord Sugar will take too kindly to it. He wants a person who can do business based on them, not made up sympathy inducing stories!!

It's like Yasmina with the cr@ppy food, a win's a win.

I thought he did really well, it was about off the cuff negotiating not professionalism.

those who say they don't agree with Chris' tactics have clearly never been in sales fgs. You don't go into that field if you don't want the ultimate prize - a sale. So long as you don't sell your granny, does it matter that you say you're buying tartan for her - what's the problem!!!!!

It is obvious both Karen and Lord sugar saw the perceptiveness of Chris's negotiation skills.

The criticism of Stella was that she was to corporate and could not adapt to the negotiations sphere. Chris, well outside of his comfort zone, adapted like an absolute natural.

The stories were key to the win and the reason Jamie is still in the competition(the luckiest man alive).

Not sure why you are so aggressive on this response, but you are correct, I have never and never will work in sales. Not my cup of tea. I am a specialist in the NHS.

I loved Chris's tactics !

Chris was brilliant tonight. Really threw himself into it and if I'd have been one of the people selling to him, I would have given him a discount for the sheer entertainment value of his performance.

Is your name Shibby by any chance?

I suggest then that those who think it's underhanded of Chris, take a look at the 'Celebrity' Apprentice when Brady was in it. She was PM and was in charge of negotiation. I have to say she was awful and BADLY lost out to Alistair Campbell. She also used the oldest and most cringeworthy trick in the book which could be tantamount to lying. So funny how Alan has given her a job. Chris showed initiative and cut throat reaction to something which was set for him. He's been accused of being monotone, weak, this week he came good.

I liked Chris negotiating style. It was hilarious to watch and it actually worked . I'm glad he's done well this week after being on the losing side so many times - hopefully he'll continue to kick on from here and give those girls a run for their money.

The problem is that he was lying through his teeth. He is not trustworthy. I would not want to work with him or buy anything from him, ever.

Oh come on it was for a task. He is not the first nor be the last to use that tactic to help ensure his team won. If it was such a major issue for Sir Alan he'd have made a big thing about it in the boardroom.

It was hilarious and not even plausible.

With such an attitude, no contestant would ever win the apprentice.

Chris was telling a story to secure a low price in a negotiation. It has nothing to do with how trustworthy he is. It was simply a negotiation tactic which was effective. At the end of the day, the people who sold to him could not give a toss whether he was buying a set of study aids for his brother or tartan for his Nana.

Your post reminds me abit of that female contestant in series 4 who had something against selling a certain item on ethics grounds and was fired for that reason. It's not what someone in business would want to here.

I do wonder how much the camera presence affects the sellers (ie not the candidates)? Certainly the stores have to give permission to be filmed?

It's impossible to say. They would have to consent to the filming.

It did not seem to affect the guy who creamed Laura and Stella £69 for the Tartan. He was completely unmoveable and would not be driven down at all

It was quite obvious that the vendors knew he was lying but gave him that price anyway. Sure, a camera crew with Karren Brady helped a lot but that's what LordShugga said, it's not a corporate environment, and you have to be at a level to them so they could relate to you. The stories no matter how outrageous helped break the ice. In the end, no one was hurt with those outrageous stories in fact, all of the vendors seem to be having a laugh with the situation.

What's he meant to do, tell the truth about why he's "buying" it?

What he did demonstrated immense creativity, a lot more than fluttering his eyelashes and pleading would have done

Surely the shopowners realise what is going on and what they are being filmed for when the contestants with Nick/Karen come thundering into their shops looking for discounts on specific items?

I really liked chris and stuart in this episode

I would have thought as they're going onto private property, they would need permission to film there; also, the staff etc shown.would likely have to sign a release to allow them to be shown on TV.

What struck me in this episode was the utter fakeness of these negotiations. Chris's ludicrous stories and pleading would in real life be dismissed out of hand, but the presence of the camera crew makes the thing completely artificial. Either the traders catch on it's The Apprentice and play along to get on TV, or they are briefed in advance to play along by the producer. The only way it could be genuine would be if negotiations happened off camera, then after a deal is done they are re-staged for filming. This was the kind of technique used in programmes like Airline and may explain the slightly stagey appearance.