My favourite is gone :(

by The Receptionist on December 1st, 2009

I am gobsmacked Lucinda is gone -the last of the ‘genuine’ candidates. Yes she wore just a smidgen too much of blusher, but I was really starting to warm to her. Lucinda was serious about this show and will go on to a successful business career, unlike others who I won’t mention that I have seen spread across all the Irish tabloids and cheesy websites. I get the impression she won’t be begging for her fifteen minutes of fame.

Geraldine has much improved – by that I mean the makeup has much improved. I liked Geraldine at the start but lately I think she gives off this persona that she is in awe of Bill Cullen. There is one thing looking up to someone, but god Geraldine, last night I thought by your face that you had seen a vision of God. Tone it down Ger, he is not that important.

Stephen Higgins is continuing on his cold faced way. Getting someone’s name wrong up to four times? I absolutely hate when someone is so obsessed with themselves that they can’t even take a couple of minutes to learn your name.

Steve Rayner – got to be the front runner now. Did anyone notice he looked like he was going to cry when Lucinda was fired? Either that or he realised that he had dressed himself in the most disgusting chalk lined suit.

The Receptionist

Episode 11 catch up

by Meteor on December 1st, 2009

This week the candidate’s took on the challenge of creating a Christmas campaign for Appleby Jewellers. With only four candidates left, Lucinda along with Steve, and Geraldine teamed with Stephen, had to create a radio ad and advertorial. A heated debate took place right off the bat when Stephen felt he could not trust Geraldine to head up this project. In the end Stephen got his way and was PM for team Platinum. Lucinda headed up Chú Chulainn.

Steve and Lucinda started out with a good idea; however it soon became a disaster. Lucinda turned what she wanted to be an advertisement for three wise men, into what looked like a Christmas pantomime. Out of all the four candidates Geraldine proved the most productive creating the radio advertisement. Stephen Higgins brought out his romantic side to create copy for the advertorial. Both radio advert and advertorial proved stronger than Chú Chulainn’s and it was Lucinda and Steve that had to face Bill in the boardroom.
Inside the boardroom Lucinda was accused of making the campaign childish. Both Steve and Lucinda then began to beg for the opportunity to stay, in what could be said to be one of the cheesiest moments on The Apprentice. A shock was in store for all, when Bill finally fired Lucinda – a mistake? We will have to wait and see.

The final is so close…

by Nicky on November 29th, 2009

After Monday night’s entertainment of Aoiffe throwing daggers plus everything except the kitchen sink at Geraldine, I am exhausted. Aoiffe even threatened to knock her face against a wall, really? At least with the chip turned mountain on her shoulder the blow would have been softened. It was bitchy overload all week with the great unseen clip of red rage Aoiffe still going at Geraldine. All that pent up anger just came flooding out in a few hours massacre. Look I blame the both of them but Aoiffe was more voiced in her opinion and I think production picked her as the bitch. They did not get on and didn’t we all know about it! Would it have been worse if they were completely fake? What I would say to both of them is it isn’t Big Brother, I appreciate honesty like the rest but this is meant to be a business show. The point is to be able to have self control and patience with difficult individuals, show you can work with any personality and get the best out of people even if you detest them. Everybody at some point works with or alongside a Mr or Ms Hitler but you would always try and act professional. It is different because these people are living and breathing each other so your nerves can get frazzled but Lucinda manages to find that happy medium. It is about removing yourself from a negative situation, physically you may not be able to do this but mentally try.

Only 4 remaining and I can’t believe how close the final is. Everyday people ask me who I think will win and Lucinda is definitely my favourite but to be honest I think Bill may be sweating, he doesn’t seem overly confident in any of remaining candidates, neither am I. Let’s review each of them and it will be very interesting to see who will be fired next. I heard it is a shocker; I will be furious and very eager to boycott the show if he fires Lucinda. She deserves to be there until the end. Bill made a mistake with Maria and I hope it is not a repeat performance.

Lucinda – She seems to be the favourite to win and definitely my favourite. She has been very dignified throughout the show. She tends to avoid drama and gives constructive criticism. Very adaptable and always takes responsibility. She has never been in the boardroom! My only concern is Lucinda is very similar to Brenda in her talents. Bill may not need a 2nd set of these skills in the new apprentice but someone with one strong skill i.e. selling, to manage other projects than Brenda. Lucinda is an all rounder but I’m not sure if she has the wow factor he needs similar to last year’s winner.

Stephen – He seemed much stronger in earlier episodes, I feel he is hiding in the background lately. Personally I did not feel his presentation was great, very uninspiring! He seems to get very nervous which makes him come across quite cold. Like Steve he is worried to take any risks but needs to find that middle ground. Last week was very weak task for Stephen and I didn’t feel he redeemed himself this week. Has a lot to prove in tomorrow’s task or he could be going home. Definitely seems to find it hard to take criticism, especially from Bill. Love how he stares Bill out of it in the boardroom.

Steve – Had an exceptional week last week but he can’t ride off this forever. He was a creative fire blanket and needs to listen to Bill now to adapt again, he is good at this, and the sales skill will only get him so far. He has potential and Bill may need a sales assassin of his kind to sell a few Renaults, leave the creative to Brenda. My petty side is asking Steve to stop wearing the dog chain necklace; I have real issues with it and it gives me the creeps! Also has anyone noticed the bizarre contorted faces he pull’s sometimes? Especially when Bill is giving them the treat info, facial expression like a 5 yr old meeting Santa except in a man’s body, with the dog chain! Ahh let it go Nicky!

Geraldine – There has been a huge amount of controversy surrounding her and Aoiffe and the firing of Breffny. I do feel Geraldine had a part to play with the Aoiffe drama but did not set Breffny up. Geraldine definitely has a Jekyll and Hyde persona in the house which she seems to be battling with. There is the kind real Geraldine and the character she knows she has to play to survive, they were crossing over each other for a while which made the public question her and she broke down. There is no lack of effort from Geraldine but I don’t think she has developed enough to go all the way, there are stronger candidates.

Nicky

No more F’s left in Aoiffe

by The Receptionist on November 24th, 2009

Because Breffny is gone, I thought watching The Apprentice this week would be like going to the local disco knowing your crush will not be there – exactly no point. So there I was sitting with my cup of tea, sucking on a jaffa cake thinking am I still going to enjoy The Apprentice without my Breffmeister when all of a sudden Aoiffe lets rip. What a diva performance – I loved it. After some harsh words by readers of my blog, I genuinely thought I would not say anything negative about Aoiffe this week, but since she walked onto the stage with a head full of fake hair, I just couldn’t let that go! Jealous, I hear you cry, um I wouldn’t be that jealous of Brendan O’Connor trying to slime his way up to me. Brendan seriously – do you honestly think you have a chance? I don’t see much resemblance between you and the other Brendan or should I say Stephen or rumours its now Breffny….At least after losing her dignity, she can walk away knowing that she has a lovely wardrobe and toned arms.

With Aoiffe out, Geraldine has the floor to herself. Lucinda will not stoop to her fighting – I am totally team Lucinda now. Who can match her confidence about Bill Gates. I did catch a glimpse of Geraldine in the unseen footgage being very sarcastic to Aoiffe, maybe she is not the sweet pea she makes out to be.

Running for a coffee back in a while!

The Receptionist

Back to genuine talent

by Nicky on November 24th, 2009

My two guilty pleasures are no more…Jedward and Breff….back to genuine talent now and to be honest I’m not sure how I feel about that. Watching last night’s episode I definitely missed the Cork rower, the feeling of curiosity wondering what Breffisms were next but the show must go on. In fairness to the other candidates it was time to really separate the genuine players from TV personalities; I noticed my attention was more focused at the task than laugh-ability factor and folks we have to remember that this is what The Apprentice is all about. Yes I admit I was blind sighted too but time to move the focus to the potential winner…….The job is within reach now and they can smell it. It’s all about number one now.

Aoiffe was visibly devastated by the result, she knew the moment Bill announced they had lost that she was fired, and you could see it in her face and through her tears. She fought with dignity but not with the same passion as previous boardrooms, she knew it was better to go with some pride than lose the head. This mentality was gone by the time she made the taxi because in her exit interview she was raging!! Did she go hell for leather or what!? There is one person who will definitely be feeling the wrath, Geraldine!! Everybody is ready to pounce on Aoiffe and I am not condoning some behaviour but I do think they were both in it and we never know what goes on behind the scenes. Production edit footage and every show has to have the token bitch….unfortunately for Aoiffe she was the chosen one. Bill has good judgment and he liked Aoiffe so that must say something? I am trying not to judge the candidates personally from the show as I know the trials and tribulations of reality TV.

This was a very high end task, technically challenging and dealing with a global market which is a first in Irish Apprentice history. I would have been ecstatic with a task of this calibre. The teams had the opportunity to prove to Bill that they had the professional and creative skills to go international. They failed miserably and Bill was furious. I do not blame him. There was so much scope here, I do understand the time restraints and they are harder than people imagine but I have to agree with Bill here. It did not take much to make a huge difference, the actors dressed multi nationally? More thought to expo stands? These are Bill’s suggestions which to me would be basic knowledge for such a task. I could be here for a few paragraphs on ideas but it was their task, not mine! Brainstorming, writing scripts, idea evolution and the if, but and maybe chats are time consuming, a lot more of this could have been worked on at home late into the night so they are prepared and ready to go during the day. I thought the presentation skills on both teams weren’t great either. They weren’t awful but by no means inspiring. It is about finding the fine line of introducing humour, quote’s or something to keep the clients attention while staying professional. Something was missing for me. As you approach each task it is important to always remember what Bill has asked for in previous boardrooms, I appreciate there is often mixed messages but the candidates are sometimes too cautious and go from one extreme to the other. For example Rhubarb & Custard was a “no” but Buddy (though wrong message) was praised for taking the risk. Bill will tolerate certain mistakes but staying in the long grass he will not. Steve crippled Aoiffe’s suggestion to be more creative but in fairness she had no other ideas. Lucinda had ideas but I think was crippled by Stephen encouraging her not to take the risk?

Bill definitely seems worried about who he will hire, each person has individual skills but none of them seem to have multiply skills in abundance which he needs at these tough times to hit the ground running! 2 boys and 2 girls left. Geraldine and Stephen have potential and I have a soft spot for Geraldine but in my opinion Lucinda and Steve are the strongest. Steve did surprise me with his comment about being punished for only him and Aoiffe on a team! This is the Apprentice; Bill knows Steve can sell so he has to be challenged in every task not pat on the back with a gold star. I thought it was a petty argument. Lucinda has never been in the boardroom! This must say something!

Let me tell you a few secrets…

by Nicky on November 19th, 2009

It’s been a somber week for the Irish nation. Ireland were robbed on Wednesday night!! Only 2 days earlier the nations favourite TV star Breffmeister was fired….where do we go from here? Scary to think the nation is relying on Jedward J . The Apprentice definitely won’t be the same without Breff but we still have 5 strong candidates and time is running out. Who is your money on?

Listening to Breffny during the week he spoke a lot about the “pad”, his housemates and how he will miss the camaraderie outside of tasks. The public like to get an understanding of in-house relations, what really goes on behind the scenes and everyone asks what we do on days off? This year has had the added benefit of Meteor camera’s which as a viewer I love. You get to know the candidates catching those vulnerable and funny moments. I recently had this conversation with a few of my fellow apprentice’s from last year who now are my friends; would we have liked the extra cameras? There was a divide…some felt it would have helped show our more human side and let the public connect with us? Others felt it was too invasive for them and nothing to do with getting the job. The house was the chill out saviour time. Either way some classic moments were missed which would have been TV gold, for the laugh I’ll exclusively reveal some in house antics nobody knew including Bill

Week 2 – Wet & Wild. Girls had won again We were treated to dinner and drinks in Westbury Hotel. Time to head home to Roganstown, Swords; it was the worst rain fall of the year! Said goodbye to camera’s and all 7 girls piled into Renault. The first hour of traffic jam consisted of “we are the champions” at least 5 times but by hour 6 and still no nearer home drastic measures had to be taken. We were at the back road of the airport at 11pm in monsoon rain, no through road in front or behind us. Were we to sleep here and hope for the best or prove our worth off tasks? After watching a few dare devils try to drive through the knee high water bank which was blocking us it was decided there is no reason we could not make it. Good job there was no engineering task throughout series or we would have all been fired. An electric car in 3 foot water?? After screaming “GO DONAL” to the driver repeatedly he took the chance, more to shut us up! We were off…”go Donal”…could we make it…..yep half way through…come on and …………………….NO! Car went dead half way through Airports answer to Liffey. Oh s*it! Joanna decided to crawl out sunroof in her navy and red suit crawling across bonnet looking like spider man hoping to wade or swim the remainder of the way….by the licence plate she was back in…..after trading our doggy bag of steak a kind trucker bumped the car to dry land with his truck, our back boot door had the trucks front sign of “haulin ass” stamped in….Bill definitely down a Renault! From here 7 girls with no money or phones had to split, go Bear Grills style to survive. Brenda, Avril and Me in one split. We hitched a lift to Swords town where we hitched a lift to Roganstown, before the house the water was too high so our final leg was trousers hitched up wading through to safety. The smug losers (boy’s team) were gloating in our misfortune. For a new Renault…MasterCard, for the above…priceless.

Week 4 – Wedding crashers. I was not involved in this naughty antic because I was sick but the cabin fever had spread throughout The Apprentice house. We had access to the Hotel gym across the road and an unnamed candidate noticed a wedding party…cue 2 hours later after a few glasses of the good stuff, Mr Unnamed suggested a break out kamikaze style and gate crash the wedding. 6 candidates dressed up to the nines, crawled under the bushes and ran for freedom. One by one they entered the party, subtly trying to blend in. After a few hours of dancing and exchanging family stories with people they DIDN’T know the clock was turning mid night and the Cinderella’s had to go home! Of course not before signing the guest book…..”Thanks for a great night…THE APPRENTICES” Yes they did get caught and yes we all got in trouble!

Week 6 – X-Factor. After a long and strenuous boardroom it was back to the house. Tensions were high so a nice dinner was in order, this ended in us all congregating outside to partake in a game of X Factor/ Apprentice got talent! We each had to sing a song and Stewart was Simon Cowell, seeing how blunt and funny he was, no better man. While we laughed our way through with free styling and butchering of classic tunes Stewart took his role very seriously. Mark won with his rap tune which went “if I don’t become the apprentice I’ll become a dentist”?? I came 2nd, of course a running trend

There was tension and bitching last year but I don’t feel to the same calibre as this year, they will all stick together post apprentice as you need fellow housemates to lean on as they are the only people who know how the experience feels but it will be interesting who will be friends out of this lot in a year’s time! I was lucky because I became very close to 3 who I still see regularly and I talk to most every now and again. Of course there will be the few you never see or wish to see again. That’s life!

Back to business next week tracking this unpredictable bunch after a trip down memory lane. Who will go next? This is the first week I really don’t know who it could be? It is all depending on the task, Geraldine, Aoiffe and Stephen all need to step up their game.

Nicky

I’m off to mourn Breffny

by Nicky on November 17th, 2009

Can we take a moments silence to commemorate the end of an Apprentice legend……The Breffmeister Like many I was gutted to see him go and I know there will be a slight emptiness watching the show next week. No Breffism’s to laugh at which have been a major conversation point anywhere I have been since the start of the show. Deep down I knew he did not have further to go and I stand by my comment that he needs more corporate experience before taking on such a senior role. Even saying that no-one can deny how entertaining he was, what a genuine character he came across as and he absolutely has potential, sure it’s in his brain waiting to come out! I wanted to hug Breff in the car, he looked gutted! Being the focal part of the show this year, his 25,000 Facebook fans and an enthusiasm that would put the word enthusiasm to shame means it is not the end for Breffny. We hope! If all else fails he’ll have the rowing

I enjoyed this episode, up until now it has been mainly marketing and advertising tasks, in sales tasks contestants have to rely on one tool, themselves! I know how frustrating this kind of task can be. Getting in the door is the hardest and like all sales jobs it is swings and roundabouts, good days and bad. If you are on a roll then your confidence soars and sales happen but if the opposite it can be soul destroying and effect your performance. Steve was a perfect example, he did brilliantly and so impressive. Yes his background is sales but he utilised his skills to the fullest, did not crumble under pressure. He had the professional ability to persuade business’s to meet with him, knew his product, knew his numbers and adapted his experience in negotiating with confidence. He impressed Bill and has stepped forward as a major competitor. I was surprised by Stephen, maybe the pressure of cold calling just brought out the worst in him. Cold calling is often about knowing the client and adapting your personality so they warm to you. If they have confidence in you, they have confidence in your product. Hairdressers….no comment!

I was quite surprised by Geraldine’s performance as well, I can’t decide what happened. Did the pressure of having to perform just get too much? Was she distracted by Aoiffe and Breffny? Or was it just bad luck not getting in the door? I think it is unfair to say she set Breffny up. He had not given her confidence throughout the day and she knew her team needed that sale so she did what she thought was right but wanted to protect Breff so gave him the sale. It does make me laugh how they both said “there’ll be nothing more said” etc…….it’s on national TV!? I find watching Aoiffe and Geraldine interact quite uncomfortable and to be honest they are both in it. Who called who? She text me? She said this? bla bla bla, were they in a boardroom or playground? I choose not to make a comment on this episode, who was to blame, though everyone is jumping on the anti Aoiffe bandwagon, it’s not always black and white. I think it was slightly unfair for Breffny and Geraldine to say Aoiffe lied on purpose and was a liar, I really do not believe this. Yes Aoiffe made a huge mistake offering sale or return but I think it was a rookie error, lack of experience. She absolutely should have known to check this and I thought she was going to do this so what happened? Never take a risk like that; she should have known better but purposely lying, I don’t think so.

Breffny was brilliant on You’re Fired, seemed to have everyone including the steel man Brendan O’Connor eating out of his hand. He oozes likeability and is naturally so funny. His present to Brendan of CV and hire Breffny email just represented what Breffny is about! I was shocked to see an unseen clip of Breffny suggesting to the girls to target sports clubs and associations…….they were totally ignoring him!! That is exactly where they should have been approaching…..Breff is always the man with the right idea’s and an experience like the Apprentice will give him certainty on what he needs to work at and improve, which often take’s years for people to realise. The Apprentice offered more to Breffny then he could offer to the job but it is a platform of opportunity from this day on. I will miss watching him but wish him the very best of luck!

I’m off to mourn Chat again later in the week

Nicky

The end of Breffmania

by The Receptionist on November 17th, 2009

Geraldine entered The Apprentice as Mary Poppins, and what Geraldine can do Aoiffe can do better, as she turned up for this week’s task bright eyed and bushy tailed dressed as Little Snow White. Aoiffe, what a fashion backward move – who on earth wears a yellow skirt with navy tights. Although in fairness, it was not as bad as the shower loofah that Geraldine was sporting in the boardroom. Big fashion faux pas for the girls all round. Listen to Aoiffe as she cries out for her Louis Vuitton’s on this week’s unseen clips. She told Breffny to get real last night – eh pot, kettle, black.

And Breffmania is no more. Does this mean the end of Breffaldine? Surely not. I am just waiting for them to appear crawling out of Krystle on a Friday night, showing their love to the world. Hopefully he will leave the Harvard jacket behind this time. But I do feel for Breff. He genuinely believes he is better than he is. Maybe being disillusioned is the way to go.

So who are we going to talk about every Tuesday morning in the office now? Can any of the remaining candidates create some serious gossip for us or is it all serious for us for the rest of the show?

The Receptionist

Episode 9 Catch up

by Meteor on November 17th, 2009

In this week’s task there was no hiding in the grass for any of the candidates, as their true sales skills were put to the test. Laden with the ‘Breathe Easy’ product – a strip placed across the nose to reduce snoring and improve breathing, the candidates had to sell to pharmacies and gyms in Dublin. The team with the most sales obviously would win.

Steve Rayner walked the task as expected as sales are his field already. He put in an excellent performance and really impressed Bill. Down the far end of the selling scale was Breffny as predicted. With no selling experience he struggled to make one sale until Geraline came to his rescue. Closing a sale herself, Geraldine then placed the sale in Breffny’s order book. Back in the boardroom Bill was unimpressed with this tactic.

Aoiffe slipped up big time by promising one particular pharmacy a sale or return policy. This was not allowed and cost Cú Chulainn dearly. In the end it was Platinum who won and Geraldine, Aoiffe and Breffny faced Bill in the boardroom. Aoiffe and Geraldine were at loggerheads once again with both parties accusing the other of being a liar. In the end it was the cat with nine lives that finally ran out of luck. Breffmania has come to an end.

Your only support network is your competitors

by Nicky on November 13th, 2009

The debate around town this week is “Will Irelands two favourite TV personalities be evicted from our screens this weekend “Jedward and The Breffmeister”? Have they gone as far as they can go? There is nowhere to hide now and with talent becoming more prominent on stage and in the boardroom do they have what it takes? We support the Breff so I hope he does go further but he is very aware of his position in the competition. He has a very mature outlook in the unseen clip “Me, myself and I”. Breffny talks about the fact his biggest competition is himself. He is aware he has the least experience and if he does not smooth those rough edges he will go. I have to be honest and sorry to all you Breff fans reading but I do think he will go soon. I have seen great attributes and have confidence in him but the role of Apprentice in The Glencullen Group is a very senior managerial role. I think Breffny needs a few more years’ corporate experience because I have learnt you can have all the degrees in the world (which are important) but life and industry experience is crucial to make profitable decisions. More than just gut instinct. He would not have the team behind him in tasks and would have to make decisions from experience and knowledge of industry, could he do this? Breffny has a bright future but can we all put hand on heart that he is the best for this job? Personality and personal feelings towards him aside. My opinion is purely professionally based as I really like Breffny and hope to see more of him in the future.

We saw a very “real” side of Geraldine in the unseen clip of her crying. The pressure of the competition seems to be affecting her as it is others, only weeks ago we saw the same from Aoiffe. From personal experience we all had those moments, unfair for people to say it is not sincere or for sympathy vote. These girls are human and have not hearts of steel as people want to make out. It is a very tiresome and stressful environment where your mind can play tricks on you. It is a show and after last year there were expectations from this series. Candidates are expected to perform somewhat and if you are not seen to fight for your place and stand out you could go. It was different for us last year as it was a new experience for everybody. I said to myself no matter what I would stay true to myself and integrity was of massive importance to me. I believe you can soar in business by hard work, dedication and people skills. Others believe you have to be very ruthless but each to their own. I was a background player last year until nearer the end, some were surprised I made the final but I was not in the background in contribution to tasks and skills but the less entertaining are less TV worthy. I love having the banter but took the entire process very seriously. I was myself to those in the house but I was lucky because I had good friends who I am still very close to but I can see why Geraldine and Aoiffe put up a facade, need to protect yourself from the competition to a degree. It is so bizarre that your only support network over the 13 weeks is your competition. People have tactics before entering the house but they always back fire as you don’t know what production will show so best thing is to be yourself, it worked for Breff!

Monday’s task looks like a sales task. Selling nasal strips! We had to sell Sat Nav’s on a Saturday and Sunday, expecting people to part with the best part of €300 by giving credit card details on camera. Not easy! These sales tasks are about having the guts to approach people, don’t be rejected by the word NO, not be shy and get the sale over the line. Who will prevail? The guys left seem to be from a sales background and the girls from a marketing background. I think Geraldine may do very well; she has good negotiation skills and self starter.

I have generally been right about who will be fired but unsure this week. Could be anybody and our Bill can be unpredictable. Talk on Tuesday to discuss Monday’s episode!
Nicky