The last series winner was a doctor!
Was this the episode The Apprentice became a farce?
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Originally Posted by Alrightmate:
“I don't think he would have overlooked that either.
Alan Sugar has a history of not being keen on certain career types in this show.
It's usually doctors, lawyers, and ex-army people who often get fired just because of their career choices. He often uses their previous career as a stick to beat them with, saying that he isn't sure that their skills as a doctor/lawyer/soldier will be useful to him.”
“I don't think he would have overlooked that either.
Alan Sugar has a history of not being keen on certain career types in this show.
It's usually doctors, lawyers, and ex-army people who often get fired just because of their career choices. He often uses their previous career as a stick to beat them with, saying that he isn't sure that their skills as a doctor/lawyer/soldier will be useful to him.”
However, if you're good enough you can overcome these prejudices. Leah was a doctor, thus disadvantaged from the start, but she still managed to impress him enough to secure the win.
Originally Posted by Shappy:
“The producers didn't like the fact they were caught being sloppy in their instructions and the Lord didn't like being out-thought by a man more intelligent than himself.”
“The producers didn't like the fact they were caught being sloppy in their instructions and the Lord didn't like being out-thought by a man more intelligent than himself.”
Absolute rubbish . Daniel looks and acts like a real shifty character and spouts a load of BS . Philipe may be a very nice bloke but a hopeless business man .
Originally Posted by Tourista:
“1...That was NOT what was asked for.
2..Again, this wasn't in their remit.
And stop being a snide twit with the "Felipe's" drivel....”
“1...That was NOT what was asked for.
2..Again, this wasn't in their remit.
And stop being a snide twit with the "Felipe's" drivel....”
What a rude reply, and with no worthwhile content at all.
Originally Posted by Shappy:
“Sugar claimed on Twitter that the specification did state assembled. Where these instructions and why were we not shown them?”
“Sugar claimed on Twitter that the specification did state assembled. Where these instructions and why were we not shown them?”
I didn't see the full specifications for any of the items. Where were they shown?
As far as I'm aware, the white pages with a few words were the full spacification but Sugar's tweet implied there were some additional specifications the audience weren't shown and not talked about.
Even by the specifications we saw, it didn't qualify. "Full sized anatomical skeleton, minimum 150 cm tall". Well there we are. The package they gave him was nothing like 150cm tall.
I still say that if they had put it beautifully together it would have been hard for him to refuse, as it would have looked not a million miles different from the resin one. But of course he was not going to accept a lot of bits and pieces in a box. I can't believe people are suggesting that he should have done. It would be like handing over an aquilaria branch and telling him to squeeze the oud oil out himself.
I still say that if they had put it beautifully together it would have been hard for him to refuse, as it would have looked not a million miles different from the resin one. But of course he was not going to accept a lot of bits and pieces in a box. I can't believe people are suggesting that he should have done. It would be like handing over an aquilaria branch and telling him to squeeze the oud oil out himself.
It's not the same at all. No one (or very very few people) squeeze oud oil out themselves whereas if you look online, many skeletons are sold in flatpacks. Like furniture, it is perfectly reasonable to deliver some items in unasssembled flatpacks but not others.
He clearly wanted an anatomically correct model skeleton. Real skeletons do not have paper-thin flat bones, or weird polygon-shaped skulls.
If LS had let this one go, it would've set a precedent and they'd be forever having to write tonnes of small print on all the future tasks, to avoid smart Alecs finding loophopes and shortcuts.
I agree with Lord Sugar in this case.
If LS had let this one go, it would've set a precedent and they'd be forever having to write tonnes of small print on all the future tasks, to avoid smart Alecs finding loophopes and shortcuts.
I agree with Lord Sugar in this case.
Originally Posted by Squatch:
“He clearly wanted an anatomically correct model skeleton. Real skeletons do not have paper-thin flat bones, or weird polygon-shaped skulls.
If LS had let this one go, it would've set a precedent and they'd be forever having to write tonnes of small print on all the future tasks, to avoid smart Alecs finding loophopes and shortcuts.
I agree with Lord Sugar in this case.”
“He clearly wanted an anatomically correct model skeleton. Real skeletons do not have paper-thin flat bones, or weird polygon-shaped skulls.
If LS had let this one go, it would've set a precedent and they'd be forever having to write tonnes of small print on all the future tasks, to avoid smart Alecs finding loophopes and shortcuts.
I agree with Lord Sugar in this case.”
He won't thank you for that! To him, you'll be a toady or a 'yes-man' and he'll let you know that the moment you annoy him, and you will, sooner or later!
Originally Posted by wonkeydonkey:
“What a rude reply, and with no worthwhile content at all.
”
“What a rude reply, and with no worthwhile content at all.
”
Far more "content" than your drivel.
And if you get snidey, then don't wet yourself when you get pulled up on it....
Originally Posted by Dennis C:
“He won't thank you for that! To him, you'll be a toady or a 'yes-man' and he'll let you know that the moment you annoy him, and you will, sooner or later!”
“He won't thank you for that! To him, you'll be a toady or a 'yes-man' and he'll let you know that the moment you annoy him, and you will, sooner or later!
”
Ha ha!
It was basically
"Tenacity won by £250"
"Erm, no. Screw the result. Fine them £310 for the skeleton"
"Tenacity won by £250"
"Erm, no. Screw the result. Fine them £310 for the skeleton"
Originally Posted by beekmanhill:
“I think the whole process has gone beyond farcical. What butcher negotiates a price on one chicken? Same for the scallops and the seeds and the diamond. That wholesale diamond dealer sits and negotiates with them for a long time over one single small diamond? It would never happen in real life. The vendors do it because the camera is on them. Look at the sink seller, he was smiling at the camera. So I think the price they negotiated on items was not a function of their negotiating skills but just of the vendors being conscious of being on a show. ”
“I think the whole process has gone beyond farcical. What butcher negotiates a price on one chicken? Same for the scallops and the seeds and the diamond. That wholesale diamond dealer sits and negotiates with them for a long time over one single small diamond? It would never happen in real life. The vendors do it because the camera is on them. Look at the sink seller, he was smiling at the camera. So I think the price they negotiated on items was not a function of their negotiating skills but just of the vendors being conscious of being on a show. ”
Absolutely. I think there's something of 'the Emperor's new clothes' about this. We don't really want to be aware of the prescence of the cameras and how it affects things. It spoils a little of the fun perhaps- we really want to believe we are seeing something 'real'.
Some people are saying that the diamond seller who dealt with Roisin was 'a perv'; that he was bowled over by her beauty, but the simple fact is, the more he negotiated, the more screen time he got. A canny businessman who sees it as a free advert for his services.
Do people think that no-one's ever tried to chisel a diamond merchant before?! I doubt it- but we want to believe in the illusion
Originally Posted by Tourista:
“Far more "content" than your drivel.
And if you get snidey, then don't wet yourself when you get pulled up on it....”
“Far more "content" than your drivel.
And if you get snidey, then don't wet yourself when you get pulled up on it....”
I really think if there is any pool of wee in the vicinity it must be coming from you.
Do you have any thoughts you would like to share on last night's Apprentice?
It's certainly a farce that the awful Daniel still didn't get fired. This series has been one of the worst. In any case the format no longer works, it hasn't done since series 7 onwards, therefore you could say the show became a farce after series 6. The format was fine when it was about a job, but now its about a ''business partner'' in the end it most probably comes down to whose business plans he likes the most so all these tasks are futile in the end, they have little bearing on who would make a good business partner or not or whose business plan he likes
why does he not grill the candidates on their business plans during the process? we only hear about them in weeks 11 and 12, its all a bit odd. the format could be changed whereby the candidates have to do a practice run based on their own business plans
why does he not grill the candidates on their business plans during the process? we only hear about them in weeks 11 and 12, its all a bit odd. the format could be changed whereby the candidates have to do a practice run based on their own business plans
Originally Posted by pjw1985:
“It's certainly a farce that the awful Daniel still didn't get fired. This series has been one of the worst. In any case the format no longer works, it hasn't done since series 7 onwards, therefore you could say the show became a farce after series 6. The format was fine when it was about a job, but now its about a ''business partner'' in the end it most probably comes down to whose business plans he likes the most so all these tasks are futile in the end, they have little bearing on who would make a good business partner or not or whose business plan he likes
why does he not grill the candidates on their business plans during the process? we only hear about them in weeks 11 and 12, its all a bit odd. the format could be changed whereby the candidates have to do a practice run based on their own business plans”
“It's certainly a farce that the awful Daniel still didn't get fired. This series has been one of the worst. In any case the format no longer works, it hasn't done since series 7 onwards, therefore you could say the show became a farce after series 6. The format was fine when it was about a job, but now its about a ''business partner'' in the end it most probably comes down to whose business plans he likes the most so all these tasks are futile in the end, they have little bearing on who would make a good business partner or not or whose business plan he likes
why does he not grill the candidates on their business plans during the process? we only hear about them in weeks 11 and 12, its all a bit odd. the format could be changed whereby the candidates have to do a practice run based on their own business plans”
It depends who the candidates are. If you look at most of them there's a task or two related to what they are offering and they can prove their specific skills. The tasks may also allow him to form a view of their general ability. For example Bianca is in branding (whatever that is ) - she's already had two tasks which allowed her to show she can do that successfully - she's just had howlers on her basic business sense side. if he wants to know how good Katie is as a fitness instructor, he can now look at her youtube task film, read her CV and note her national wards, and recall she has shown good business sense and some ability at sales, negotiation and organisation.
As you say, he problem is that in other cases like Tom's, he's ignored all of that and gone for the production ready nailfile on hand. With Leah, her technical ability was already certified , and, for once, her expertise was relevant. She just had to show very basic skills, nothing objectionable, and command of her proposal.
Other people, at the other extreme, have suffered - because the tasks have nothing at all to do with their ability to do what they say they will, and make money. Swimming instructors or bridal shop owners don't need to do what the tasks tested the weeks they left. . Some went because he wanted to keep hopeless cases with TV value, or to protect winning proposals, or he was taken in - or he just had no interest in their fields. ..
This series has gone further - with the multiple firings. Its sometimes depended on whether he wants to do a multiple firing that week whether people have stayed or gone. Its become more arbitary. You can now go on a task that has zero to do with your proposal, and go on a decent performance - just because its a week when two have to go.
Its either now arbitary who gets to thee finish line, or who gets there is determined by who he likes, or whose project interests him. It may not have much to do with who has the most entrepreneurial ability, best task performance or the best proposal.
Originally Posted by wonkeydonkey:
“ I challenge people to think of a single business situation where someone would ask for a skeleton - for display or teaching purposes, say - and be satisfied when a slim cardboard box full of bits of paper was thrust at them instead.”
“ I challenge people to think of a single business situation where someone would ask for a skeleton - for display or teaching purposes, say - and be satisfied when a slim cardboard box full of bits of paper was thrust at them instead.”
Can you name a single business situation where someone asks for a metre-long rope, then tells you to piss off and never darken their door again because you didn't take thirty seconds to cut 0.7m off it? Are they supposed to treat the brief literally, or like they're in "the real world"? Both and neither on this task, it seems.
True, there would have been less room for ambiguity (none at all, imo) if they'd actually assembled the thing. But the fact that Sugar is now backtracking, pretending that the spec actually said "fully assembled", certainly suggests he doesn't think he's on very sure ground here.
Even the Gogglebox people were pretty unanimous in dismissing Sugars antics, and they are a very varied group.
Originally Posted by snoweyowl:
“Even the Gogglebox people were pretty unanimous in dismissing Sugars antics, and they are a very varied group.”
“Even the Gogglebox people were pretty unanimous in dismissing Sugars antics, and they are a very varied group.”
Sweet Jesus, it's come to something when we are citing Gogglebox as arbiters of what is and isn't right in a business-related task ...
Originally Posted by In Arcadia Ego:
“Can you name a single business situation where someone asks for a metre-long rope, then tells you to piss off and never darken their door again because you didn't take thirty seconds to cut 0.7m off it? Are they supposed to treat the brief literally, or like they're in "the real world"? Both and neither on this task, it seems.
True, there would have been less room for ambiguity (none at all, imo) if they'd actually assembled the thing. But the fact that Sugar is now backtracking, pretending that the spec actually said "fully assembled", certainly suggests he doesn't think he's on very sure ground here.”
“Can you name a single business situation where someone asks for a metre-long rope, then tells you to piss off and never darken their door again because you didn't take thirty seconds to cut 0.7m off it? Are they supposed to treat the brief literally, or like they're in "the real world"? Both and neither on this task, it seems.
True, there would have been less room for ambiguity (none at all, imo) if they'd actually assembled the thing. But the fact that Sugar is now backtracking, pretending that the spec actually said "fully assembled", certainly suggests he doesn't think he's on very sure ground here.”
A very small bungee jumper?
Originally Posted by Joel_B:
“His idea was something to do with disabled children. so Lord Alan ran a mile.”
“His idea was something to do with disabled children. so Lord Alan ran a mile.”
Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts:
“Unlike the disabled children.”
“Unlike the disabled children.”
That's outrageous and worthy of a ban
Originally Posted by In Arcadia Ego:
“Can you name a single business situation where someone asks for a metre-long rope, then tells you to piss off and never darken their door again because you didn't take thirty seconds to cut 0.7m off it? Are they supposed to treat the brief literally, or like they're in "the real world"? Both and neither on this task, it seems.
True, there would have been less room for ambiguity (none at all, imo) if they'd actually assembled the thing. But the fact that Sugar is now backtracking, pretending that the spec actually said "fully assembled", certainly suggests he doesn't think he's on very sure ground here.”
“Can you name a single business situation where someone asks for a metre-long rope, then tells you to piss off and never darken their door again because you didn't take thirty seconds to cut 0.7m off it? Are they supposed to treat the brief literally, or like they're in "the real world"? Both and neither on this task, it seems.
True, there would have been less room for ambiguity (none at all, imo) if they'd actually assembled the thing. But the fact that Sugar is now backtracking, pretending that the spec actually said "fully assembled", certainly suggests he doesn't think he's on very sure ground here.”
Thats a new claim if he is making it though. His lordship sacked Felipe for being too legalistic not being a mindreader, and stretching the common sense meaning of the words on the spec. Thats consistent with him assuming words aways mean what he thinks they do, and that his meaning is the common sense one. .
But if the spec did say that the skeleton had to be assembled, his argument ought to have been "and you Felipe , a lawyer (with a first class law degree) didn't even read the (insert expletive) spec. He didn't say that - unless it got lost in the editing.
Originally Posted by wonkeydonkey:
“ I challenge people to think of a single business situation where someone would ask for a skeleton - for display or teaching purposes, say - and be satisfied when a slim cardboard box full of bits of paper was thrust at them instead.”
“ I challenge people to think of a single business situation where someone would ask for a skeleton - for display or teaching purposes, say - and be satisfied when a slim cardboard box full of bits of paper was thrust at them instead.”
I mean, how about literally any situation at all?
Unless you were getting the skeleton delivered for the exact second the lecture started, (in which case you're a moron for leaving it so late,) I wouldn't be surprised to find out it needed some assembly. You'd probably dismantle most skeletons for transport purposes . Do you think when the Natural History Museum imports a dinosaur skeleton, they have the whole thing already set up, in full Jurassic Park mode? (Do you think they have a tantrum and go "WE WANTED A SKELLINGTON, NOT A PILE OF OLD FOSSILS?")
Originally Posted by wonkeydonkey:
“Even by the specifications we saw, it didn't qualify. "Full sized anatomical skeleton, minimum 150 cm tall". Well there we are. The package they gave him was nothing like 150cm tall.
I still say that if they had put it beautifully together it would have been hard for him to refuse, as it would have looked not a million miles different from the resin one. But of course he was not going to accept a lot of bits and pieces in a box. I can't believe people are suggesting that he should have done. It would be like handing over an aquilaria branch and telling him to squeeze the oud oil out himself.”
“Even by the specifications we saw, it didn't qualify. "Full sized anatomical skeleton, minimum 150 cm tall". Well there we are. The package they gave him was nothing like 150cm tall.
I still say that if they had put it beautifully together it would have been hard for him to refuse, as it would have looked not a million miles different from the resin one. But of course he was not going to accept a lot of bits and pieces in a box. I can't believe people are suggesting that he should have done. It would be like handing over an aquilaria branch and telling him to squeeze the oud oil out himself.”
Why does the height matter? It would have been over the required dimensions when assembled. The only question is whether there were instructions that the skeleton actually had to be assembled, and despite what LS claimed on Twitter it's fairly apparent there were not. They would have been brought out in the boardroom if there were.
It's a shame there was no one Felipe could contact to check the requirements, as would be the case in any normal scenario of course...
Originally Posted by wonkeydonkey:
“My, what a lot of Felipes there are on here.
A flat-pack paper model of a skeleton was never going to be accepted as an anatomically correct skeleton, and I don't know why people are pretending that it was. I challenge people to think of a single business situation where someone would ask for a skeleton - for display or teaching purposes, say - and be satisfied when a slim cardboard box full of bits of paper was thrust at them instead. If they had made it up, impeccably, they would have had a case as it would have been a useable skeleton for several purposes, just as the resin one was. But I sat in disbelief all the way through last night's show, that anyone would dream of thinking AS would accept the unopened box. ...”
“My, what a lot of Felipes there are on here.
A flat-pack paper model of a skeleton was never going to be accepted as an anatomically correct skeleton, and I don't know why people are pretending that it was. I challenge people to think of a single business situation where someone would ask for a skeleton - for display or teaching purposes, say - and be satisfied when a slim cardboard box full of bits of paper was thrust at them instead. If they had made it up, impeccably, they would have had a case as it would have been a useable skeleton for several purposes, just as the resin one was. But I sat in disbelief all the way through last night's show, that anyone would dream of thinking AS would accept the unopened box. ...”
I have no trouble thinking of such situations. Suppose someone, sitting in their office in London tells their PA "I need a full sized anatomical skeleton, minimum 150 cm tall, for a talk I'm giving in Glasgow next month." The PA goes to a shop that sells skeleton models and notices -- as gemma-the-husky did above -- that they can be had already assembled, or not. The PA thinks the unassembled version would be a lot easier to transport, as well as being much less expensive, and that it could be partly assembled and still fit in the same box, and so buys an unassembled one. The PA returns to the office and says "I have the skeleton" and explains about assembly, transport, etc.
Would a reasonable boss say "You're fired. That clearly isn't what I asked for"? I think not. Reasonable Boss might, I suppose, as the PA to try assembling it, to check that it can be done and isn't too difficult. But reject it out of hand, simply because it wasn't already assembled? No.
Originally Posted by wonkeydonkey:
“Even by the specifications we saw, it didn't qualify. "Full sized anatomical skeleton, minimum 150 cm tall". Well there we are. The package they gave him was nothing like 150cm tall. ....”
“Even by the specifications we saw, it didn't qualify. "Full sized anatomical skeleton, minimum 150 cm tall". Well there we are. The package they gave him was nothing like 150cm tall. ....”
Surely it's the height of the skeleton once assembled that matters, not the height of the box.
Originally Posted by wonkeydonkey:
“What a rude reply, and with no worthwhile content at all.”
“What a rude reply, and with no worthwhile content at all.”
The post's (1) and (2) look like worthwhile content to me, if it's correct that "anatomically correct" and "for display or teaching purposes" weren't part of the spec. From your own quote of the "specifications we saw," none of those things were in there.
And what is with the "My, what a lot of Felipes there are on here" comment? It does seem a bit snide.
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