The Apprentice = never TPS check!!!

[deniser]

Tha fact that it's my 9 year old's favourite programme shows the level at which it is pitched! (she hasn't seen last night's episode yet as it's after her bedtime but will be glued to the video when she gets in from school)

 

[GRDCredit]

... and what about the one who said that for him "business was better than sex"

deary me
quote]


He clearly isn't doing it right!

 

[dingbat]

It's just another version of Big Brother.

 

[steve67]

so does he get off on the stock and shares index of the financial times ?? is that his version of playboy ?? Knowing how he feels , would you deal with him knowing that he would probably '' blow his top '' if he actually dealt with you ??
Does he have a fag after every successful meeting ?? Answers to mr freud please....

 

[silvermusic]

Cruel I know, but I can't help thinking how much this episode of The Apprentice reminds me of this ancient Monty Python sketch....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSqkdcT25ss

 

[steve67]

yes, even a dead parrot could beat some of these '' businesspeople ''...

 

[silvermusic]

yes, even a dead parrot could beat some of these '' businesspeople ''...

Yes that one too.....

 

[steve67]

Or even the lumberjack song with new lyrics '' i'm an apprentice and i'm ok , i'm a jerk by night and a pratt by day ''

 

[steve67]

i dress in designer clothing , and drive an expensive car.....

 

[BusinessIdeas]

I saw Polly Toynbee and Raeth discussing it on newsnight. She thought that it was reprehensible to have people displaying a 'greed is good' mentality and saying 'your fired' when lots of people are losing their jobs in the real world. She misses the point! I think Boris weighed her up correctly "sad silly cow"
Its good telly tho and I wouldnt miss it for the world!!

 

[Bri]

for Margaret........a real woman

 

[Mister B]

for Margaret........a real woman

Imagine getting back from the pub late to meet an irate Margaret. Here bejesus that's a scary thought

Mister B

 

[Inapickle]

I notice that the viewership was up from the last episode; last nights episode pulled in over 8.1 million viewers.

 

[urbanmale]

Think this show should be taken off air...past it's sell by date

 

[Logan Robertson]

The embarrassing thing is these are supposed to be elite business people. Another reality TV nonsense, get famous the easy way routine. This just shows how poor the TV writers are becoming on TV that all that is being produced is reality nonsense and they have the audacity to charge us a TV licence! That is the annoying part.

anyway, I agree to watch it - gives us a laugh.

 

[ronsmsn]

Just another version of celebrity big brother. Has any reader here ever seen a serious company expect its employees to approach their work tasks like this program or has anyone here ever experienced a company manager act in the manner that Alan Sugar does?

In the real world serious business are run by serious people who approach their work seriously and expect the same from their employees. This program is about as far away from a real business environment as it is possible to get. The troubling thing is that huge amounts of viewers get the impression that this is really what business is like. Even more troubling is the possibility that the the people in the BBC believe this is what the real business world is like.

My conclusion; Its an entertaining fairy tale, which is of no value for anyone trying to gain an understanding of how business is really done.

 

[maxine]

...Has any reader here ever seen a serious company expect its employees to approach their work tasks like this program or has anyone here ever experienced a company manager act in the manner that Alan Sugar does?

... Yes

You can add your comments to the apprentice message board if you like

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/apprentice/F12985772?thread=6438868

The first response I have had to not TPS checking for cold calling is that they thought it wasn't invidious and it was a sales tool!

 

[Lasting Designs]

There was a series on (I think) more 4 some time back called "My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Big_Fat_Obnoxious_Boss

It was a p1$$ take of the Apprentice format, without the contestants knowing, now that was funny...

 

[lloydhughes]

All you guys must have wonderful businesses with lots of people wanting to come and work for you who are super human if you think young people with drive and get up and go are as bad as you make out! Sour grapes anyone?

 

[Dennis Broe-Ward]

The two shoe-shine boy's were making £60 or was it £70 an hour, with eight hours to go they could have banked a further £400 - but ditched a nice little earner for the glamour of cleaning cars. Both teams approach to cleaning cars was pathetic, project managers, purchasing managers, accountants... to clean cars, what next? Snake charmers to tie their shoe laces! It was entertaining though, in a kinda cringing sorta way. One gets the impression that Sir Allan's lacks a sense of humour, he's a very serious man, but this episode shows more than any other that he must have Faulty Towers kind of humour... and Mr. business is better than sex will obviously burn out in under two minutes.

 

[Dennis Broe-Ward]

And another thing, perhaps the should throw in a wild card, someone already successful in business, someone that will stir up the action, someone that aint interested in being Sir Allan's apprentice... but someone that can gain by showing how good s/he is and use the kudos to advertise their own business after they win, or to die on stage if they lose. Or praps a nobody bankrupt that has a point to prove to him/herself, a chance to put their head above the firing line again. What about Fred the Shred, he aint doing anything at the moment and he needs to redeem himself... he certainly knows how not to budget, and his car needs fixing. What about me, I'm free, oh... I'm too old, okay... but hey, there is room and at least I won't bottle out at the last minute... us old uns don't say no to anything these days, especially sex, and if business is better I'm willying.

I'm kinda serious in a telly kinda way, and I know how to cledan cars.

 

[Matt1959]

not sure I agree with some of the tone of this thread really - its a telly programme, its light entertainment, its never pretended to be anything else, its not a serious business programme but I'm sure many people take inspiration from watching it like here http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=103842
and I'm sure he aint the only one that has suddenly woken up and thought, "well you know what? I could do that". and if just one of those people took a small business start to a profitable company employing others as a result of being inspired watching a programme such as this, then that would be a great thing. I don't think Alan Sugar has any illusions about what this programme is all about - it appears its his way of trying to get some inspiration out there to youngsters to give things a go...so what the hell is so wrong with that?????

 

[picture_man36]

Its great TV, but I doubt whether any of these chinless wonders have done a proper days work in their life... Arrogant is not the word... I only watch it to see who AS destroys at the end of the episode, and for the one liners.... All time favourite 'you've gone from anchor to w*nker!' and 'Don't p*ss my bloody money up the wall!'

 

[SLF]

I thought TPS was only applicable to corporate companies (ie limited) and not sole traders? Maybe they were avoiding those type.

 

[maxine]

TPS is for every number. TPS is residential and sole trader CTPS is for corporate/ltd companies.

 

[maxine]

All you guys must have wonderful businesses with lots of people wanting to come and work for you who are super human if you think young people with drive and get up and go are as bad as you make out! Sour grapes anyone?

I started this thread as I thought the show didn't paint a very good picture of cold calling.

There are loads of threads on UKBF where people are against cold calling either because they

a) Get cold called themselves when they are on TPS and cold callers ignore the law or

b) Where they have done cold calling themselves (ignorant of TPS) and then wonder why they get a load of abuse from people they are calling plus they don't know about TPS possibly and run the risk of a fine.

The apprentice show has repeatedly shown sales activities where the enthusiastic team flick through the yellow pages ringing companies willy-nilly and I feel that this repeated message gives the impression that that is OK to do in real business life.

Now I don't expect that the Apprentice would show people doing TPS checks (how boring) but I wish they wouldn't show this method over and over again as it encourages others to break the law, perhaps unknowingly, simply because they got the idea to do this from the show. I would prefer that they were simply given a list (same as all the other shopping lists, product lists) etc.

I might be over-reacting but Telemarketer's and other businesses have to spend time and money conducting these checks and if people continue to call TPS registered companies then cold calling will continue to get a bad name even though it is a very effective sales tool.

So, absolutely zero to do with young people being rubbish and everything to do with giving out the right business messages

I love the show because I love watching how the teams interact with different "leaders" and Suralan is fab

 

[indicaj01]

I have watched The Apprentice since the beginning, and I too agree that now it is far more of a Big Brother style show full of stereotype copycats of previous series. Only good for entertainment factor nowt else.

It seems to me that if this is who we have as Britain's future business leaders, they may earn a packet but they dont seem to have more than one business braincell between them.

No wonder we have a recession on our hands, this lot are only good for spending other peoples money and stabbing each other in the back at the drop of a hat. Mmm sounds like the norm for our corporate leaders today anyhow.

 

[barginboyrob]

We should start a thread each week saying what we would do if we were one of the apprentices if we were in their shoes on the Task they got given

 

[silvermusic]

All you guys must have wonderful businesses with lots of people wanting to come and work for you who are super human if you think young people with drive and get up and go are as bad as you make out! Sour grapes anyone?

I'm struggling to find any past post on this thread that mentions anything about their age? I don't can't see anyone who sees it as a major issue, not that any of the contestants are what I'd call young anyway. I guess the average ages is what 30?

Incidentally one of the best sales people I ever worked with was 17 years old, and I'll quite happily admit I was a 20 year veteran of sales at the time who thought they were good. Equally one of the most stupid business people Ive met was the managing director of a very large international (household name) company, I wouldn't have employed him as a tea boy.

..and if you're interested 49 before you ask.

 

[adam]

It's TV it is quite fuuny and at the same time annoying.

Yes it is crap, they talk a load of rubbish and all of them are just wage slaves. This has nothing to do with us knocking ambition.

Ambition is getting of your fat ar*e and doing something, it is not trying to win a TV programme or be a professional footballer. People with real hope realise just how small the odds are of earning a living this way.

I have a number of people actually that do want to work for me, there is actually a queue but I don't need anyone at the momeny because my staff don't leave!

 

[SLF]

Hi can see why you've brought it up maxine, same could be said for many TV programmes that are meant to reflect real life but appear to not adhere to UK laws! On Eastenders they sack people on the spot after 12 months of employment!

 

[maxine]

Absolutely SLF, but Eastenders isn't really looked to for business advice or inspiration. Or then again, perhaps it is ha ha

The idea of an "Apprentice" is that they would learn how to do the job from examples around them or being shown???

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

The Apprentice has become a farce. A farce where the best one hit, foot in the door salesperson shines above others who take a more considered business building approach.

I've, regrettably, worked with many of these whizz kid types, power suited women and jumbo collared males who can and will use any angle to get a sale, irrespective of the long term damage they can cause. They sell, they make money, they move on.

Give me a rock solid considerate salesperson who looks to the end of the year profit not the end of their nose cash and grab.

 

[ZipSafe]

Everything must be set up before hand.

They have one day to run a business. What do they do about insurance? Surely any company using their services would ask who they were paying and would probably request an invoice instead of cash on the day.

The girls team just found a drive by and set up a car wash, and also just went round a supermarket car park washing cars. Surely they had permission but did they get the permission on the day or was it prearranged?

Plus there's the camera factor - if someone walked into your business with a film crew and a bunch of 'business people', surely you would work out it's for TV and accept anything they offer in the hope of some free PR on prime time BBC1.

 

[MartCactus]

... and what about the one who said that for him "business was better than sex"

deary me
quote]


He clearly isn't doing it right!

What - the sex or the business part?

The thing I find difficult to understand about the apprentice is that all of these people clearly have a lot of balls and a lot of self confidence - I'd never put myself up to be ridiculed in front of millions, and have to put myself in so many diverse situations that I've little experience of. Yet with all those balls and all that self confidence, they all claim to "want it bad" but apparently only one of them previously ran his own business.

I'd have thought starting a new business for most people would be much less daunting than facing humiliation on national TV for a one in 16 chance to work for an ****hole?

So one has to wonder whether they really want business success so badly, or just publicity?

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

... and what about the one who said that for him "business was better than sex"

He was probably 'working' for himself in both respects

 

[UKSBD]

They have one day to run a business. What do they do about insurance?

I thought that when seeing the metal buckets being swung around with
inches of those humbers.
I can't imagine the owner of those classic cars letting anyone loose
on cleaning them either without insurance.

 

[silvermusic]

I'm no expert in this area, but would you really use pressure washers on classic cars that cost heavens knows how much?

Just on the off-chance anyone's interested there's a free podcast on iTunes.

Go on you know you want to really.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=309339515

 

[.Spiralling.]

Absolutely SLF, but Eastenders isn't really looked to for business advice or inspiration. Or then again, perhaps it is ha ha

The idea of an "Apprentice" is that they would learn how to do the job from examples around them or being shown???

I'm not sure anyone would use the Apprentice as a source of business advice either. It's a game show, nothing more. The people competing are not learning how to do a job, they are competing for a prize - the chance to his apprentice (although I doubt that happens anyway - a job somewhere in the corporate machine is more likely I would think).

Lots of things irritate me about the programme, but I don't know of anyone (and most of my friends are not in business) who thinks it sets out to represent what business is about.