I agree that Stuart was wrong to call her 'Margaret'; they had not been formally introduced and she is his superior in the interview situation so yes, she was defnitely right.

What I though was ruder was when Stuart extended his hand to Claude who just replied with 'take a seat, please.' I think that's just a bit obnoxious.

are we sure tho ? did we see each of them when they first met her ? I bet someone else made the mistake .

No, not a hanging offence. Just unprofessional.

Agreed. I'm going the interview process myself at the moment. Always take your cue from the person interviewing you. If they ask you to take a seat, then take a seat. If they extend their hand, then shake hands.

As the interviewee, ask questions but don't set the atmos !

I cannot bear all this mock formality some folk insist on. It's pure British pomposity at times. We're in 2010 for goodness sake - not the 19th century.

I always address folk by their first name unless they have a title (other than Mr/Mrs) which I am clearly expected to use. When I worked in the US in the 80s everyone addressed one another no matter who they were.

I thought Margaret's response to Stuart and her manner was quite obnoxious and even if she had felt he's been overly familiar her response and tone was of equal rudeness. And as for that awful man who refused to shake hands - if that happened in a real life interview I'd simply walk out. That was just the height of rudeness.

and the thing with women is that it's a minefiled when using their surname 'cos there are at least 3 options : Ms. Miss , Mrs. , you can never be sure which .

Ha. Ha. Ha.

How many posters on this forum speak about Miss Mountford?

It does rather assume that you know her surname.

Years of TV exposure with Margaret this, Margaret that ...

All of a sudden, and out of the blue, you meet someone off the telly.

"Oh! Hello Margaret. How nice to meet you"

Oops! A bit different when in an interview situation, but an understandable mistake which he corrected.



And just how many times has she been on the telly and been addressed as Liz?

I thought it was polite and courteous to use their surname. Besides using their name is informal and he doesn't know Margaret on a personal level like the other interviewers or Sir Alan.

I assume you mean he doesn't know Miss Mountford on a personal level, rather like the rest of us.

It's common courtesy in a formal interview to show a bit of respect. It's a vital skill to be able to "judge your audience" and peeing someone off by addressing them in a manner that they don't care for is best avoided.

It is simply good manners to use someone's full name unless invited by them to use their first name. In this situation, I can understand that Stuart was surprised to see Margaret, but he should have apologised and corrected himself immediately, without prompting.

In my job, I meet many people every day and would always use Mr, Mrs, Miss,etc., unless I was either invited to use their first name or was speaking to a child. It is a courtesy

That was my take on it, he seemed suprised to see her and it just blurted out - lets face it Stubaggs isn't exactly noted for engaging brain before mouth

Also, like others posting, I struggled for a few moments to recall Margrets' surname and couldn't recall if she was Ms, Miss or Mrs either. Good job I'm not on the show, eh?

I wonder if Stubaggs and Jo have actually ever had any real-life experiance of interviews? Its quite possible they haven't, and in my experiance,they do take practice.

Totally agree with this point - they must have known he was a bit of a fibber from the outset.

In a real-life interview you would never refer to the person giving the interview by their first name unless they said you could. You would use their full name or if it was a more formal setting, Mr or Ms and then surname.

I have never been to interview in my life with someone I have never met before and used their first name.

I didn't think it was that bad - I would have countered " yes if they are so familiar to millions from being on TV we do know them in a way".

Then you would have performed as badly as Stuart did.

God, as a stu bags hater I have now found myself defending him on two posts! Didn't see what the big deal was about this at all. I work in a pretty professional corporate enviroment and no one ever uses surnames in interview situations.

It looked to me like seeing her was a surprise and he was caught off guard a bit. He made a simple mistake and was just trying to be a bit friendly (her put down was good though)

Still good he is out.

One of the worst things about the entire Apprentice series has been the insistence of Suagr on being called Sir Alan or Lord Sugar at each and every turn, it's like his crutch.

It was a simple mistake, he was caught by surprise that's all. However, he should simply have said good morning and waited to be introduced. I don't think he comitted a crime, just did something that most of us would know is not the correct form at an interview

Its a very basic rule and I'm surprised people don't get it. You are suppose to address anyone by their title when it comes to business. Not just within companies, that also applies to customers in banks and so forth. It is only when the person you are addressing tells you, you have permission to call him/her otherwise may you do so. It stems from a old fashion of manners.

Therefore Stewart was wrong, Margaret did not give him permission to stop using her title in the course of business. It is irrelevant if he knows her from somewhere, those who have called her Margaret in the past were given permission to do so, more than likely to make it audience friendly.

However it was a silly mistake, one which was dealt with. Margaret simply reminded him it was an interview and Stewart followed suit and corrected himself. Hardily worth the mention to be honest

You forgot Dr. and Prof.

Thankyou.
Dr Webb

Apparently you didn't either!

The candidates address him as "Lord Sugar" out of respect, as he is their superior. The interviewers didn't do this because firstly they were working with him and secondly because they were longtime, close business associates of his.

I wonder how the candidates address Ms Brady and Mr Hewer?

Probably in exactly the same way Ms Mountford was addressed until she gave up the role she has been (in)famous for a number of years.

...Or even Lord Sugar

I found it endearing- he's clearly a fan of her appearances on the show- he was like a puppy-dog wagging its tail

It was a minor faux-pas, and I thought he dealt with it well.