Oh well. The magnificent Ruth Badger, saleswoman extraordinaire, was never going to become the Apprentice. Even Sir Alan was intimidated by her, her self-confidence and her splendid range of disapproving facial expressions. Which is a pity, because not only could she sell ice cream to Eskimoes, she came across as funny and warm and seemed to inspire huge loyalty in her team.
Not sure what Sir Alan saw in Michelle – beyond the fact that she is young, blonde and attractive (er, maybe I do understand), has apparently overcome a troubled upbringing and Sir Alan had an ‘intuition’ about her. It certainly wasn’t because she had been the best performer over the previous twelve weeks of tasks. That’s the slightly disappointing thing about the Apprentice. In the end Sir Alan is not looking for the best businessperson, but the most suitable Amstrad employee – which is another thing entirely. It was as if we’d just invested a lot of time and effort watching a murder mystery, only for Poirot to come in at the end and say ‘I have a leetle intuition that xxx is the murderer’.
It was awe-inspiring watching Ruth in selling mode – she clearly loved it and could sell anything to anybody, flats, second-hand cars, homewares. Her technique was to know everything there was to know about the product, infect people with enthusiasm for it and then never to be afraid to cut a deal. Never once did she appear to be giving people the hard sell, yet had an amazing record of success.
It was inspirational and educational watching her. Which is not something that can be said for any of the other numpties on the show.
Wasn’t she great? C and I were in distinct “we wuz robbed” mood after the show last night. But then the great drawback of The Apprentice is that Sir A is a fool – and not even particularly successful these days. I approached this season with caution having realised last year, just as you say, that he wasn’t looking for the best person (*cough* Miriam, *cough* James), but the person who would best fit in his strange empire… Did you see any of the US version? They were all much more polished and ruthless (lots of great hair and teeth), but at least the Dreadful Donald seemed to pick the capable ones.
Dxx
Am not really in a position to judge (not that this has ever stopped me in the past) as have only watched one and a half episodes – but have to say that Ruth’s event struck me as an incoherent and rather embarassing mess, while Michelle’s, though nearly as grim, at least seemed to deliver what it promised. Surely if you are a saleswoman without a single creative spark then you make sure you hire an event organiser who does? I liked Michelle for that, and also for her ability to salvage a sales campaign that had gone wrong. But if I had to go to the pub after work with one of them, then ‘twould definitely be the badger rather than the waif.
Actually, I prefer Dragon’s Den…
Dxx
I hate to say I didn’t realize there was a UK version of the Apprentice. I am certainly hooked on the Donald!
If the sound on the TV was broken I would still have watched just to see those great expressions of hers in the Boardroom.
The only thing that annoyed me was the way she started/ended every reply with the phrase ‘without a doubt’.
But she’s got me saying it now! And I’m annoying myself.