Okay, Summer did spin her wheels on this task; however, she had a valid point about the lack of a big idea. She also had a valid point about not bothering restauranteurs during the dinner rush. Under the circumstances, that should not have stopped her from making a few more phone calls; however, it did underscore the fact that they needed a more compelling sales pitch.
Tarek, on the other hand, unfairly cast blame on Lenny. To make matters worse, he hauled Lee into the boardroom out of pure vindictiveness. This alone suggest that he should have been fired right there.
I don’t blame Trump for piling on Tarek and wanting to fire him. At the same time though, I understand why he switched gears and went after Summer at the last moment. The gal had it coming.
I know a few people in Mensa. One of them is schitzophrenic and his constellation of symptoms make him pretty much unemployable. Not the only credential you want to hang your hat on, I’d say.
During the first boardroom scene, when the whole group was about to leave, the camera panned the group and rested on one woman who I swear I hadn’t seen at all during the task. I think she wandered in from the set of Martha Stewart’s Apprentice by mistake. It takes so long to sort them all out.
Except Brent. No way that guy gets to fly under the radar. I’m a little sad that his big, goofy display of…um…skills is happening so quickly. I like a good, long set-up. He does seem to be this season’s Markus (as well as this season’s Danny) in that he talks and people basically look right by him and pretend they hadn’t heard anything.
It was the best of both worlds. Get rid of the person who cannot even explain a perfectly reasonable concept, while at the same time putting on notice a person whose pettiness is exceeded only by his vanity. Summer should have confidently stuck with the angle about interrupting people at their busiest times. She could have illustrated it perfectly by asking Carolyn whether now would be a good time for a telemarketer to call Mr. Trump while he’s busy with the board meeting. (Carolyn really had it out for Summer, for some reason.)
I’m glad Tarek is still here. (Did Will from Big Brother buy a fake ID, and apply for The Apprentice?) He now has the distinct honor of being a big disappointment to Donald. I’m glad that Summer was eviscerated quickly, while Tarek will have to suffer considerably before his execution. And incidentally, please stop bragging about your Mensa membership. It only gives TOPS members something to make fun of about you.
Did Summer say anything at the time about it being a bad time to call restaurants? I didn’t get the impression she did, so even though she’s absolutely right that you don’t solicit restaurants during the dinner rush, it’s bullshit to say nothing and bring it up after the fact.
I like Lee–he stood up to the pack of wolves as they blamed Summer for the loss–they had a good basic plan and if ANY of them had worked a bit harder, they probably would have won. He’s too young to make it very far, though.
Don’t forget that we only see a tiny fraction of the discussions that go on. It’s entirely plausible that she said something, and that this footage didn’t make it into the final editing. Note that Tarek didn’t deny that Summer said such a thing, which makes her defense rather plausible.
As a couple of people have pointed out, even if she was right (which she probably was), and even if she explained to another team member why she wasn’t make the calls (which she may or may not have done) – the correct thing to do at that point isn’t to sit on your ass, but to go to your team leader and say “I can’t do task one right now, for this reason – what can I do instead?”
Summer missed the Apprentice 101 lecture, and a key point is as the discussions are winding down and Trump begins his monologuing - you shut your mouth and let him shoot whoever it’s aimed at. If it’s you, you’re not going to argue your way out of it, and if it’s someone else - then it’s someone else.
Trump ALWAYS fires the person who interrupts his monologues.
The Mensa boast is exactly the kind of thing that Trump will latch onto and needle someone about endlessly, especially if they lose. I can see it now, “What’s the matter, Tarek? You’re in Mensa. You’re a genius. Why do you keep losing?”
I think in seasons past, we’ve seen that Trump doesn’t necessarily mind ego, per se. I think he even sees it as desirable to a certain extent. But what he doesn’t like is when that ego is not backed up by results. He’s not impressed by bragging in itself. He’ll call someone’s bluff every time when they try to pull crap like “I’m a genius, Mr. Trump.”
“Oh really? Well you’re project manager then, Genius. This should be easy for you.”
The only thing that saved Tarek last night was Summer somehow not knowing Rule Number One- Don’t interrupt the Donald when he’s about to fire someone else.
Amen Diogenes, Donald likes you to have ego - but if you don’t perform, you’re not qualified to keep that ego. It’s not bragging if you can back it up.
Was Summer told to call only restaurant owners? Why? Sam’s Club sells everything. Why make calls anyway? Isn’t that what the blimp was for? Getting the word out?
It might have been the editing, but Summer just sat there dumbfounded trying to think of something to say when Carolyn asked her what she’d contributed. Of course, the reason for that is that she really hadn’t done anything. If only she’d been that silent when Trump was about to pull the trigger on Tarek.
But what really surprised me was that the winning team only sold 3 more memberships, given that their massage & manicure offer was a hell of a lot better than that lame gift bag.
Which leads me to believe that the outcome of many of these tasks might be influenced as much or more by random factors (such as what locations the teams are given, that day’s traffic, etc.) than the teams’ actual efforts. Yet Trump and his henchpersons always excoriate the losers like the other team was so very much superior, even when the results are even closer than this episode.
That’s the nature of the beast. You need only win by a teensy bit over your competitors to land the big contract or draw in the whale to finance your venture. Donald’s tasks aren’t so much an exercise in who can sell the most widgits. They’re an exercise in who can beat whom to the same goal.
I agree. You can have a task where one team makes $100,000 and the other makes $99,999. The winning team will be praised as business gurus and the losers will be taunted like bozos. Yes, the winners did win, but in a close contest it’s probably because of luck that one team got the edge. It doesn’t mean that the losing team is full of losers.
Lee reminds me of two previous candidates, Season 4’s Adam and Season 2’s Andy. I liked those guys a lot, and I really like Lee, but I doubt that Trump would ever pick a fresh-faced young fella over a gimlet-eyed shark like some of the older folks.
Yeah, Summer needed to go. As mentioned, anyone who doesn’t know by this season that interrupting Trump when he’s going off on someone else (and continuing to do so after being chastised) is too stupid to stay. No idea what “truth” she was trying to bring up. Maybe she was trying to make sure that Tarek was fired for the right reasons, but, really, why bother?
Before her outburst, I was torn on whether she should go or Tarek should. Tarek didn’t do a great job as a project managers, but Summer’s performance was worse. I actually agree with her that calling restaurants during dinner hour was stupid. But it’s not like she offered to do something more effective with her time. Plus, she could have called more than one to prove that it just wasn’t working. What could the restaurants do besides hang up on her? Plus, when Carolyn asked her what she contributed, sitting there with a blank look on her face was not Summer’s best move. She should have been able to come up with something to say (even if nothing more than "I offered to do this, and this, and this but I was shot down at every turn)!
However, Tarek bringing someone into the boardroom for no reason other than retaliation made me want him gone almost more than Summer. That was just an asshole move and one that made no sense. Didn’t he think Trump would ask why Lee was there? Shouldn’t he have had an answer for it?
I actually hoped that we’d see some strong candidates this season. I’ve lost interest in the last couple because there were just too many there as jokes. One or two, that’s amusing. But there was no one I could root for. I still have some hope left alive this season, but it’s dwindling.