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puddin:
Show Recap: The Apprentice 2 - Episode 5
Posted by: Zinc on Oct 07, 2004 - 11:31 PM
Now, we've gone from boy's toys, food things, pearly whites, rested restaurateurs to Lively Live TV.
As the group slowly dwindles down, we start to see more of their personalities, strength's and weaknesses. This week, the 14 remaining contestants have to SELL on LIVE TV. The challenge is tough … are the apprentices up to the task? Are the sellers going to attract enough buyers? Can the women get along (for a change?)!
This week, Donald surprises us with his choice. Who did Donald Trump fire this week? Read on!
*****
The show starts, as usual, with the apprentices discussing last week's firing. Donald notes that last week "left a bad taste in my mouth".
The Challenge:
The task is to go the head quarters of QVC, pick a product and appear on live television selling the product. The Team with highest gross sales wins.
Of note: Raj is safe this week no matter what happens. He's exempt as he was project leader of last week's winning team.
The Surprise:
Donald advises that with all the animosity between the women, this time Pamela is to go over to the Apex team where she will be the project manager for this task. It is noteworthy that this is her SECOND time as project manager. So we are back to the men against the women.
"Price it Right"
Today's Donaldism: If you price something a little bit high, all of a sudden they don't buy. And if you price it a little bit low, the market comes and eats it alive. You have to find the right price. If you don't, big trouble.
Apex:
It is a two hour bus ride to the QVC head quarters. Pamela is seen giving a speech about not caring about how they did things before because that didn't work. She has to stop Stacey from talking while she was speaking.
Pamela said she has to do 180 with the Apex team if they are going to win and can't do that by playing Mr. Nice Guy. Pamela asks each person to advise what their strengths are so she can divide up the jobs.
First thing they do when they arrive is pick a product. They decide on "It Works". It's a cleaning block. When water is applied, it takes out really hard-to-remove marks. Ivana noted that Pamela was pretty busy giving everyone jobs but never took any specific responsibility on herself.
Pamela asked what Stacey's opinion was on pricing the product. When Pamela can't seem to get an answer from Stacey, the pricing job is taken away from Stacey. Pamela and Stacey just didn't seem to mix (like oil and water).
Ivana felt the product should be $19.99 but Pamela wanted it priced higher. Pamela finally makes the decision they will price it higher.
It was decided, that Jen and Maria would do the TV demonstration. They do a practice run. Pamela finds Jen more convincing then Maria. Maria did a lot of blinking and waiving her arms. But instead of telling Maria privately about the concerns, it is told to Ivana on the microphone (with everyone, including Maria listening) that Maria did not do a good job but Jen did everything perfect. Maria was not impressed at all with the way it was handled.
Finally time to go live to air. They have twelve minutes on air and must make the most of the time available. Jen starts talking about the cleaning blocks and for two minutes into it, there are NO SALES. Then Jen starts demonstrating the product and things take off.
Mosaic:
Chris is Project Leader. The guys picked a grill to sell. They realize that pricing is important. Kelly wanted the price high and Raj wanted the price lowered. The price was discussed. Although not everyone agreed on it, a decision was made.
The Mosaic team also had 12 minutes to sell their product. When they initially went live on air, it looked like "the 1929 stock market crash" the phone calls dropped so drastically. Then they put a caller live on air. Andy noted when the caller's testimonial came on air, sales jumped … especially when she said it was the best grill ever.
By the end of their time, they sold approximately 200 units but expected 800 units to be sold. This disappointed the team. Raj noted the higher you raise prices the lower your volumes will be.
At the end of the day, the apprentices went into a large room with Mr. Trump seen on a large screen. He indicated he had watched both teams on TV and found them both impressive.
The results were announced:
Apex - sold 659 units for $27.23 each for a total of $17,944.57.
Mosaic - sold 252 units for $71.25 each for a total of $17,955.00
Mosaic one by $10.43!
The Reward:
The winning team (Mosaic) were going to meet feisty John McEnroe and tennis babe Anna Kournikova. They would be able to play tennis with them. And, as a bonus, they would be able to sell their product again on live TV at QVC on October 11, 2004.
The guys were really excited about meeting the tennis players. Andy was particularly thrilled to play tennis John McEnroe. I bet Andy loved it when John said "Andy's got some feel" for tennis while they were playing. Meanwhile, Raj spent his time trying to get a date with Anna. He said that he "must try at least". He was cute in his efforts but Anna wanted to know what was in it for her. Finally, Anna said if Raj returned one of five serves, she would go on a date if not, he had to accept a dare. It was hilarious to watch him missing each one of her serves. It was not in the cards for Raj to break Anna's serve. He lost … so he had to accept the "dare". He had to run around the stadium in his boxers (black in case anyone is interested). As he was running around the stadium in his boxers, they started shooting tennis balls at him… and several almost connected and for sure one did! He was a good sport!
Back at the apartment:
While waiting to be called back to the Board Room, Pamela works out alone in the gym while the other women talk about her. Stacey thought Pamela should be fired because she didn't listen to others and that she took on the pricing responsibility and that was why they lost. Ivana said that it was between taking out Pamela "or one of us".
The Board Room:
Donald starts by asking Pamela why they lost. Pamela said she considers it a tie. George pointed out that they didn't tie. It doesn't matter if it's $10 or $10 million dollars off, if you lost, you lost.
When asked whom Pamela would bring back into the Board Room with her, Pamela picks Stacey and Maria.
And then we had no less than 8 commercials. one of the commercials even featured The Donald himself … it was some new "board" game he's selling (pun intended).
When alone, Donald asked George and Carolyn for their opinions. George was impressed with Pamela's leadership. Carolyn said the reason Apex lost this task was the product was overpriced and Pamela determined the price.
Stacey, Maria and Pamela were asked back in.
Pamela said she brought Stacey to Board Room because she didn't add one ounce of value. Pamela said that Stacey speaks so frequently that it's actually distracting.
Stacey said she was asked to do legal. She said that Pamela later explained to her that she was "too legal". Stacey said she would not act unethically, and she said that if Mr. Trump wanted another Enron on his hands "here's Pamela".
Pamela said that she brought in Maria because Maria said she had a strong back ground in public speaking and Pamela said she thought Maria was very compelling when she spoke but when the camera was turned on she crumbled.
Stacey said she did not feel Pamela did a good job of assessing their skill set. Pamela defended herself by saying she based her decisions on what the team said their strengths were.
Donald said that she had to assess the team herself. He said he thought she was really smart and she was really interesting. But "I totally disagree with your choices." Donald felt she didn't have a good assessment of people.
"Pamela, you're fired!"
And then there were 13.
Recap Thanks to ~
http://www.realityhq.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=278
puddin:
Show Recap: The Apprentice 2 - Episode 6
Posted by: Zinc on Oct 14, 2004 - 11:19 PM
Now, we've gone from boy's toys, food things, pearly whites, rested restaurateurs, lively Live TV to Fashion Flops!
After what ... four straight losses ... Apex does not seem to impress a whole lot of people yet. But I must admit, Apex lost the last one by the slimmest of margins. With Pamela fired last week, the remaining 13 candidates enter the fashion world with flare.
Hey, BTW, did anyone catch the recap show that was on around 6:00 p.m. It had about a 15-minute recap of last week's show and 45 minutes of new in-depth Boardroom discussions. It was interesting to see how the women really went after Pamela in there.
The show starts as usual with the candidates returning from the Boardroom to discuss the most recent Boardroom adventures. The waiting candidates did not seem to be surprised that Pamela was gone. As one so kindly put it, "Ding dong the ice queen is dead".
The Challenge:
This week the candidates were to produce a new clothing line that would (hopefully) become tomorrow's hottest fashions. They were to chose a fashion designer and put on a fashion show. Buyers from all over would attend the show and hopefully purchase clothing. The team that earns the most money selling their fashion line will be the winner.
Of course, Chris is exempt as he was the project manager of last week's winning team.
"Know your Market":
Today's Donaldism: You have to be able to pinpoint your market. If you can't pinpoint your market, you won't be successful.
Mosaic:
John was chosen as project manager. They started off by interviewing potential designers. Wes said they need someone not too "out there" but is really "fresh". John picked Elsa as their designer and they got to work.
The guys had a struggle with choosing the designs. Kelly got frustrated that John and Raj were fussing so much over the designs. So when the designer stepped out to the ladies room, Kelly sat down and sketched out a design. The team loved it and so did the designer when she returned. Kelly got them back on track.
The Mosaic team also struggled with the fabric selection. Actually, the camera panned over to Carolyn who was watching them making their selections. She was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. Kelly again had to bring the group together to focus on each item. Kelly mentioned he felt like he was doing the project managers work.
The guys decided to call in the models to get some measurements (unlike the women who didn't feel they needed to call in the models for a meeting). Raj said that Andy giggled the whole time the models were there (he's the young one remember) and Raj admitted he couldn't remember what he did because "I was in some kind of chemical haze" (He's the one who tried to pick up Anna Kournikova last week). Their fashion designer, Elsa, did not look impressed at all. She just kept shaking her head.
The next morning when they returned to the sewing room, they were surprised to find that they had barely one piece finished. The seamstress was frustrated. Raj was continuously interrupting her work with questions. Kelly finally told Raj to stop interrupting her. Again, where was John?
They worked on pricing and outfits until the last moment and then rushed over for the fashion show. Noteworthy, Raj wore his standard outfit (a bow tie).
Apex:
Maria was chosen as project manager. They start off by interviewing fashion designers and end up picking Darren. Or, should I say Maria just announced they were picking Darren, end of discussion. The Apex team split into two groups, one group to interview the buyers and the other to design the clothes. It was noted that the reason Elizabeth was one of the people sent to interview buyers was so she would not slow down the rest of the team.
Darren (the designer) and the remaining women designed the whole collect over a 45 minutes period and a bunch of cheeseburgers. (Maria's idea to feed the them while they work and it seemed to work out.) The women said they wanted their designs to be something they would wear themselves.
Next, they then went to pick out the material for the clothes. As they were doing this, Elisabeth and Jen returned from their buyer's meetings. Elizabeth immediately started to criticize their work saying it was "not original". Ivana was not happy with that at all.
It was finally time to start making the clothes. Darrin said they did not need to see the models that would be wearing the clothes, as they could use the measurements provided by the modeling agency. So they went right to work with the seamstresses.
The next day the women returned to the sewing room. They tried on the outfits themselves and were very impressed with the finished products. Maria seemed just thrilled.
But show time was in three hours. So Stacey and Elizabeth stayed with Darren to do swatches for the buyers and the rest went to supervise the models hair and makeup. Elizabeth acknowledged that she wasn't a favourite of the group.
The Show:
The candidates sat in the front row across from the buyers. The women's clothes were first down the runway. Their outfits were sexy and some were a little edgy but overall, very trendy, wearable clothing.
Then it was the men's turn. I must say, the men's stuff was just really unique Interesting (You know what someone REALLY means when they say "interesting" right?)
The Results:
Men's team - sales: $7,735
Women's team - sales: $22,060
The women FINALLY won. Maria will be exempt from the next boardroom.
The Reward:
The woman got to go to a party. Ivana noted the party was not the reward. The reward was the fact they didn't have to face another Board Room experience!
The Board Room:
The men enter and are seat. The Donald makes his usual entrance and immediately started questioning the candidates. John thought they went in as underdogs but the critical errors were pricing. It was pointed out that Kevin and Wes set the prices. Donald noted that Raj was a hound dog with the models.
When asked by Donald:
· Raj said to fire Andy partly because he was young and not respected by rest of team.
· Andy said to fire John.
· Kelly said to fire Andy.
· Chris was exempt - but he said he would fire John.
John decided to take two people back in the Boardroom with him. He chose Kevin and Andy.
Query: Why do they not pick three people to bring in with them and increase their odds of staying?
Kelly Chris, Raj and Wes went back up to the suite.
The candidates step out of the Board Room. Mr. Trump asks George and Carolyn whom they like. George liked Andy because he is "raw material" but with proper training he could be exceptional. Carolyn liked John but admitted he made "way to many mistakes".
The candidates are called back into the Boardroom.
Andy indicated he did not know why he was here. Donald asked John why Wes wasn't in the Boardroom if pricing was the big deal. John said he made a mistake not bringing in Wes. But he went on to say that he put his heart and soul into this. He then made a big speech basically apologizing for the mistakes he made.
Donald said Andy should not be in the room. Kevin had made a critical error by overpricing the designs. However, John's mistakes were
1. not bring in Wes as he is just as responsible for pricing as Kevin
2. but even worse than that was that he had no involvement in the pricing and as the project manager that was inexcusable. He made too many bad decisions.
"John, you're fired."
After, Donald said, "I think John's outstanding. I have to tell you I hate firing people that are that good. But we had no choice. I mean he just made too many bad decisions this time."
And then there were 12.
Recap copied from ~ :)_{}
http://www.realityhq.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=286
WENDY:
Was anyone else glad Pamela got FIRED? I was.... she seemed like a real ball buster... :)*
puddin:
Maybe i'll start watching it now Wendy? I really can't get into it this season..
Teams Go to the Dogs. Stacy R. Fired.
EP6 Recap
October 21, 2004
Kevin and Andy returned to the suite, letting all of the other candidates know that John had been fired. In an interview, Wes said that people would now think twice about bringing Andy into the boardroom, as he had survived the experience twice. With the firing behind them, the two teams sat down to dinner together - and then the phone rang. It was Mr. Trump's office and he wanted to see everyone back downstairs, immediately. The candidates left their half-finished plates and headed back to the boardroom.
Once the teams arrived, Trump instructed them to name their Project Managers right then and there; the two teams had just seconds to confer and reach a decision. Jennifer M. became Project Manager of Apex while Wes led Mosaic. Then Trump threw the big curve ball and announced that there would be a "corporate restructuring." He said that each Project Manager would have to pick three people to trade away to the other team. Jennifer M. gave up Sandy, Maria and Stacy R. while Wes let go Raj, Chris and Kevin. That meant the new Apex was Jennifer M., Ivana, Elizabeth, Raj, Chris and Kevin. The new Mosaic became Wes, Andy, Kelly, Sandy, Maria and Stacy R. Trump commented that some people might feel badly about being given up by their teams - but Trump said "That's life and that's business, so deal with it." He added, "Now is the time to really prove yourself." And with that, Trump sent the rearranged teams upstairs. In an interview, Sandy said that she really looked forward to beating Apex - and making Jennifer M. regret her decision to trade Sandy.
Kevin and Andy returned to the suite, letting all of the other candidates know that John had been fired. In an interview, Wes said that people would now think twice about bringing Andy into the boardroom, as he had survived the experience twice. With the firing behind them, the two teams sat down to dinner together - and then the phone rang. It was Mr. Trump's office and he wanted to see everyone back downstairs, immediately. The candidates left their half-finished plates and headed back to the boardroom.
Once the teams arrived, Trump instructed them to name their Project Managers right then and there; the two teams had just seconds to confer and reach a decision. Jennifer M. became Project Manager of Apex while Wes led Mosaic. Then Trump threw the big curve ball and announced that there would be a "corporate restructuring." He said that each Project Manager would have to pick three people to trade away to the other team. Jennifer M. gave up Sandy, Maria and Stacy R. while Wes let go Raj, Chris and Kevin. That meant the new Apex was Jennifer M., Ivana, Elizabeth, Raj, Chris and Kevin. The new Mosaic became Wes, Andy, Kelly, Sandy, Maria and Stacy R. Trump commented that some people might feel badly about being given up by their teams - but Trump said "That's life and that's business, so deal with it." He added, "Now is the time to really prove yourself." And with that, Trump sent the rearranged teams upstairs. In an interview, Sandy said that she really looked forward to beating Apex - and making Jennifer M. regret her decision to trade Sandy.
Back in the suite, Wes wanted to get to know his new team members a little bit better. Wes told Stacy R. that what he knew about her was that she was good at arguing and asking questions. And with that, Stacy R. launched into a series of questions. In an interview, Wes said, "Stacy can't shut up." Wes worried about the negative impact of Stacy R. asking too many questions. He said that asking too many questions can waste time and lead you to second-guess yourself. On Apex, Jennifer M. got to know her new team members. In an interview, Chris, who has only a high school education, said he knew that Jennifer M., who has degrees from both Princeton and Harvard, is intelligent and by-the-book. Chris said, "She just doesn't believe in guys like me. I think that everything about me is just something that she doesn't like."
The next day, the two teams met with Trump in Central Park, where they learned that for their next task they would have to create a dog service business - any business related to dogs. The team with the most profits would be the winner. The losing team would be back in the boardroom where another candidate would be fired. For this task, Carolyn and Trump's Chief Financial Officer, Allen Weisselberg, would observe.
Jennifer M., Apex's Project Manager, decided to keep things simple and offer a dog washing service. Half of the team would wash the dogs while the other half tried to drum up business by letting the dog owners know about their "doggie makeovers." However, Raj didn't think things were going so well. He said that half of the dogs didn't want to be washed and the owners of the other half didn't have any cash on them. Raj was frustrated and suggested splitting up the team to create another dog washing location to increase sales. But Jennifer M. shot that idea down. She thought it was important to keep half of the team members on promoting the single dog washing location. Raj predicted that this strategy would lead the team down the "path to defeat and doom."
Wes, Mosaic's Project Manager, decided that the team should donate part of their proceeds to charity; he felt that dog owners were generous people and would be more likely to get their dogs washed if some of the money would go to help a worthy cause. But after spending hours on the phone to get the New York City Fire Department on board, the team was told they could not use them as their charitable organization partner. In an interview, Stacy R. said she was frustrated that the team wasted two hours on a "dead end." She declared that, "Our failure is solely attributed to Wes." Even after the setback, Wes still felt that partnering with a charity would be a good strategy, so he asked Andy to find another one. Andy used one of the team's two cell phones to call around - and he finally found a cat shelter, Kitty Kind, to partner with. But when Andy and Kelly met up with Maria, they realized that Andy had left the cell phone in a cab that was long gone. Kelly called this a "critical mistake" and said that losing one of the team's cell phones would severely limit what the team could do. For example, he said that the team could no longer split into two groups that could communicate. Kelly wondered what kind of effect this one error would have on the team's bottom line.
On Apex, Raj again went to Jennifer M. and suggested that a few people split away from the group and try to earn some money at another location. This time, Jennifer M. agreed. So, Chris and Ivana headed out to offer doggie massages. Chris wasn't excited about the idea, to say the least. In an interview, Chris said, "I'm really not too keen on going up to a stranger and asking them if I can massage their dog. Friggin' nuts." Chris said that if anyone came up to him offering to massage his dog, he would think about kicking them in the head. But Chris took one for the team and rubbed dogs for a dollar a minute. However, Chris called the experience "degrading" and "embarrassing." Apex also expanded into doggie nail clipping. While Kevin did his best to hold yelping and growling dogs, Jennifer M. clipped away.
Mosaic set up a doggie makeover station near a dog run to wash dogs. However, Kelly felt that they had gotten a late start on the day and missed some revenue opportunity. Stacy R. and Wes went out to promote, but felt they weren't getting many customers. Stacy R. suggested dressing people's dogs up in costumes and taking their picture with the team's instant camera. Wes said that the idea didn't make any sense from a cost recovery standpoint. Stacy R. thought that the team needed to invest money to make money. Wes said the doggie outfits were too expensive and so he killed the idea.. Back at Mosaic's Makeover Station, Sandy and Kelly washed dogs both big and small. Sandy said she was annoyed that Stacy R. never offered to relieve her or even bring her something to drink.
At the end of the day, Chris from Apex thought that the results would be close. Wes, Project Manager of Mosaic, thought that anything could happen. That night, the members of Apex washed off the dog hair and went out to dinner together. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening and Kevin said that they "blew off some steam." But in an interview, Ivana said, "If we lose this task today, it'll be Jen's fault. Jen doesn't know how to draw the line between being a team member and being a team leader."
The next day, all of the candidates arrived at the boardroom to hear the results of the task. Carolyn announced that while Mosaic had a late start, the team did "okay" and pulled in a profit of $122.12. Allen said that Apex was well diversified - both in terms of location and services - and earned a profit of $307.41. As the winning team, Apex would get to meet with Michael Bloomberg, the current Mayor of New York City.
Apex enjoyed their reward of meeting with the Mayor. Raj said that a reward that involves acquiring knowledge is far better than an expensive meal. Back at the suite, Wes talked with Kelly and Stacy R. Wes said he counted on Andy for creative ideas, but on this task, he didn't deliver. In an interview, Stacy R. said, "Wes failed as Project Manager. He made some very wrong decisions that cost us our victory. And he's going to be fired tonight."
That night, Mosaic assembled in the boardroom. Maria, who was exempt from being fired, said that the problem boiled down to leadership. Kelly said there was a problem with slow decisions from Wes that cost the team some precious time. Sandy said that the team didn't get enough traffic and Trump suggested that the problem was their location. Wes said he thought about splitting the team up and trying another location but that he couldn't because Andy had lost a team cell phone and there would have been no way to communicate with the two separate groups. Trump turned to Andy and said that he'd been sticking up for him but that Andy had "sorta been a disaster." Andy disagreed, saying that on this task, he closed more deals than anyone. Andy also said that he landed the charity the team worked with, which led to at least 75% of their dog washes. But Trump was unimpressed with the cat charity, Kitty Kind. He thought it wasn't a good fit because the team was trying to sell to dog owners. Kelly said that he'd rather work with Wes than Andy because he can count on Wes. Stacy said that she would fire Andy. Andy said he would fire Wes. Finally, Wes chose to bring Andy and Stacy R. back into the boardroom to face the firing with him.
With just his advisors, Trump asked for input. Carolyn didn't have kind words for anyone. She said Stacy R. didn't produce; Andy was all over the place and Wes was somewhat of a poor leader. Allen thought that Andy losing the cell phone was a big mistake and he said that Stacy R. didn't really produce. Wes, Andy and Stacy R. returned to the boardroom where Wes said that Stacy R. wasted time with a bad idea. Carolyn questioned what Stacy R. contributed to the team. Trump said that Wes did a lousy job as a Project Manager and that Andy made a terrible mistake by destroying the team's ability to communicate. But Trump said he was tired of Stacy R. complaining. He was tired of her never taking responsibility for anything. He also said that she couldn't sell her idea to Wes. He said that you can't blame the Project Manager when you're unsuccessful in getting your point across. And with that, Trump said, "Stacy, you're fired."
RudyRules:
Good riddance to motormouth Stacy R! Yikes...she was sooo way annoying and her voice just drove me up the wall! |:(
I like Jenn M, but dang...i scringed when she was cutting the dogs' toenails, b/c she cut into the "quick". arrrgghh! poor doggies. :':') :':') I used to raise/groom poodles. It's difficult trimming the nails, & ya MUST know exactly where to cut. Just imagine getting the tip of yur finger cut off. That's how it must feel to a dog when the groomer trims into the quick. I don't think they should've trimmed the nails at all b/c they didnt know diddely about it. :(*8 :(*8 :(*8
Just bath & brush. They would still get paid the same...
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