Discount Buying for the Savoy The Apprentice

This is not a job. I'm not looking for bloody sales people.

I'm looking for someone with a brain to start a business with me.

'Heading to London, 16 of Britain's entrepreneurial elite,

'keen to start a company.'

I'm going to inject £250,000 into a business,

your business, and you're gonna run it.

'On offer, a 50-50 partnership with the nation's toughest investor.'

If you sit in the office for three hours, three weeks or three months,

I ain't gonna be a happy bunny.

'Passionate about money-spinning ventures, Lord Sugar is on the hunt for a winning business partner.'

This is about whether you've got the balls to smell what is going on.

This is what I'm looking for amongst you lot.

'It's a deal worth fighting for.'

Stop. We're not making any money.

'16 candidates.'

-Can you please let me finish?

-Let's not argue about this.

-Fine.

'12 tough weeks.'

I am focusing.

'One life-changing opportunity.

You're fired.

I don't think I could go into business with you. You're fired.

'Previously, on The Apprentice...'

I want you to develop a new mobile phone application. Your one has to be world class.

-'Led by Leon...'

-"You mug!" Or, like, "You shag!"

'..the boys chose local vocals.'

-Slang.

-Eh?

-Tang?

'And made a poor impression.'

-WELSH ACCENT: I was passing through the valley.

-It's a basic issue of taste.

'On the other team...'

Ampi Apps is old and Ampi Apps is noisy.

'..Edna's girls made a big noise...'

Whatever!

'..but little sense.'

A picture of an elephant and the sound of a dog?

-It's the quirkiness.

-Do you have a sound of an elephant?

-No.

'The apps went global.'

First 50 downloads get a free doughnut!

We're all thinking we might have just got thrashed.

-'And in the boardroom...'

-The world woke up.

'..a second win for the girls.'

-I'd like to bring back Alex and Jim.

-I'm not the one you should bring in.

-'Leon dithered...'

-Do you want me to change?

-You're the man!

-OK. Yeah.

'..allowing Jim to slip off the hook.'

-I'm guilty of not showing what I can do.

-That's right.

'And it was Alex who crashed out.'

This is going into partnership, If you think I'm doing all the work, forget it.

Alex, you're fired.

'In the fight for Lord Sugar's quarter-million-pound investment,

'14 candidates remain.'

'6am.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

'Good morning. This is Lord Sugar's office. He will meet you at 100 the Strand, London.

'The cars will leave in 30 minutes.' Thank you very much.

Guys, we're leaving in 30 minutes to go to the Strand.

-What's at the Strand?

-Theatre or tourists.

-Yeah. Definitely.

-Do you know what, guys? I can't find my underwear.

Just trying to work out if it will be any benefit to us whatsoever.

'Two weeks gone.

'Both times the boys have lost.'

We've won because everyone has pulled their weight.

I don't think it'll continue, because the weaker of the boys' team have gone.

There are individuals in the girls' team that aren't as strong and it's their turn to go.

It's business, isn't it?

There's no way I'm going to lose this task.

There is no option but to win.

'The Savoy, built in the 1880s,

'it was Britain's first luxury hotel.

'Today, it boasts 268 rooms, three restaurants and a couple of bars.

'But no guests.'

-Good morning.

-ALL: Good morning, Lord Sugar.

Here we are in the famous Savoy hotel.

It's been closed for three years.

During that time, they've spent over £200 million on refurbishment.

They need a few last-minute bits and pieces.

I've got a list of ten items that you've got to buy for them.

The grand opening is in a few days. I don't have to tell you how important it is not to mess this up.

If you go into business with me, inevitably, you're going to have to buy something.

So the importance of negotiation and getting the right price,

that's what this task is about.

The boys have not been very successful in the last two weeks.

Leon, Jim and Glen, move over to Venture.

Natasha, Ellie, Melody and Zoe, move over to Logic.

I want you back here at five this afternoon.

It's as simple as this. The team that spends the least on the ten items wins.

The other team that loses, one of you will be fired.

'Buyers for hotels need to think big.

'On the Savoy's stock list, 52,000 pieces of cutlery,

'350 chandeliers and 2,000 staff uniforms.

'But much more is needed.'

Our guests expect nothing but the best.

We work hard to source the finest products and ingredients.

Even in the luxury market, we look to find the very best prices.

Thank you, and good luck.

'Nine hours to find ten items.'

We've got to negotiate but it's got to be quality.

This is a task for an organiser, a delegator.

'But first, the new teams need leaders.'

I do a lot of buying in my business. I do a lot of negotiation.

'Stepping forward for Venture, market trader Susan.'

I started a business when I was 18.

I made £70,000. I helped my mum pay off her mortgage

while juggling a degree from one of the best universities in the world.

- I would like to go with Susie. - Like Felicity, I back Susie.

-Great.

-I'll back you on what you said.

-< Are you happy?

-I'm very happy.

I want to put my name forward for project manager.

'For Logic, first to volunteer, Gavin.

'He runs two opticians, turning over £10,000 a week.'

I'm the business owner. I understand buying products and negotiating.

I'm a worthy partner for Lord Sugar. I've started my own business.

I believe I can do it on the biggest possible scale.

Does anybody object to Gavin? I wanted to put my hand in.

I do a lot of negotiation, but you do own your own business.

I think Gavin will make a good job of this. Let's close on Gavin.

We need to get familiar with the items. A few, I haven't got a clue.

Fillet steak, ice - they're not the problems.

The problems we have are the likes of a "clock"...or whatever.

Anyone know what that is?

'Both teams get £2,000 plus business directories and a map of London.'

Find three locations, closest to where we are, heading east.

-I think the further east you go, the cheapest things get.

-So the key things are location and cost.

-Let's get the calls rolling.

-We are on the hunt for a top hat.

I'm looking for some chandelier bulbs.

-Would you know what a cloche is?

-'A metal lid.'

-Is the chandelier sorted?

-I'm looking for 50 clear candle bulbs.

Thank you. Bye.

Fillet steak, Aberdeen Angus.

We will be in at some stage today. I'll buy the steak, shake your hand and leave. Is that OK?

Take care. Bye bye.

NICK: 'Project manager Susan'

is managing some fairly egotistical people.

'I think she started VERY well.'

She's a little force to be reckoned with.

-Fillet steak is done.

-Yeah.

-Top hat is done.

-Yeah...

'Eight of the ten items pinpointed, Susan splits her team.'

Felicity, come with us. Jim, you're in charge of the van team.

- We'll take Helen. You take Leon. - Fine trade. Like it.

You guys go right now. Make sure you've got the information. Go now!

Hi. Is that the special meat and fish place?

'Down the corridor, struggling to find leads, Gavin's team.'

I'm looking for some fillet steak.

No, I don't want any fish. I want meat.

Can you tell me anywhere in London who sells fillet steak?

OK. Bye.

I think we need to get procurement lists from hotels. They've already done what we're doing.

'Recruitment manager Natasha's idea -

'get a list of suppliers from the Savoy's main competitor.'

We want to purchase some products,

OK, that fit in with a high-end hotel, such as the Ritz.

What we'd like to do is have access to your procurement list,

give your suppliers a call and look at purchasing from them.

So it's a win-win situation.

Does she think that a rival hotel will hand over a list of suppliers

they have spent years building up? Frankly, it's naive.

The only thing I need to do is get a copy of your procurement list.

'Um...' I just need a yes or a no.

-Sorry. Please end the call now.

-Thanks, then.

Bye.

We're wasting far too much time all trying to do our own thing.

-The logistics aren't working here.

-All right, all right.

Everybody needs to calm down, chill out a bit.

'St James's. Quality client in mind,

'it's straight to the top for Susan and her bunch of bargain hunters.'

Whatever price they say for the top hat, I want you to shoot low. Just say, "No. A fiver."

'Their target, hat-makers to the aristocracy since 1676.'

Shall I try it on, girls? I think I ought to.

Wow! Ladies! < Looking good!

How much would one of these set you back?

That is priced at 365.

This one's priced at 365? Wow!

-Oh, that is...

-That's blown our budget.

-So much higher than we expected.

-Yeah. Um...

FELICITY: Is there any price that you could go down to?

We're trying to get it for as cheap as you can possibly do for us.

What I could do is... have a quick word with my colleague.

Shall we wait here for you? Yeah.

Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

-ALL WHISPER

-380? No, no, no.

-We can't afford it.

-Oh, my God!

Do you not think it might be cheaper to go to a fancy dress shop?

The last time I was in this world-famous shop, who came in?

None other than the King of Tonga!

The King of Tonga does not go looking for bargains!

-< Go somewhere else.

-Try and negotiate down to 80.

So, what's the verdict?

Full price.

Can you negotiate just a few pounds off?

Unfortunately, no. Um... This is St James's Street.

-I had no idea how much they cost.

-Neither did I.

Really sorry to waste your time. Pleasure.

He wouldn't even take a penny off. A penny!

I mean, how greedy does one have to be?

'Nearby, Mayfair.

'On the way to buy seven kilos of fillet steak,

'salesman Jim.'

-ON PHONE:

-Negotiate everything.

-Try and halve the price.

-OK. I'll do that for you, Susan.

'In this part of London, that much fillet

'fetches over £200.'

-We've got £110.

-You wouldn't get it anywhere.

-Meet in the middle?

-Would that be OK?

-In the middle? 200.

-160.

-No, no, no.

-160's closer to the middle than 200.

Ha ha. No.

If you could do it for 185. You were at 200. I was at 160.

You offered 190, but we're going to give you the 180. OK?

-180.

-Thanks, Michael. Appreciate that.

I'm an Irish bulldozer of charm, but it's all about negotiating.

I thought you were going to come back and say £3.50.

If I knew what rapport was, I'd bottle it.

People buy from people and if the guy doesn't have rapport with you, he's not going to do a deal.

We agreed on 180, but I was thinking if you took 170.

He said 180. I'm not trying to... Michael.

Just so you know what I'm doing.

You agreed 180 and I agreed it, but Bob's the accountant.

-What did he say?

-He said 170. "If Michael's OK with it."

-Yeah.

-So we'll just do it for 170. An extra tenner.

-He's unbelievable.

I need a receipt as well, please, Bob.

'10:45am.'

We're racking our brains trying to find out what a cloche is...

'Still working the phones, and with all ten items to find, Gavin's team.'

You actually do brass... You don't do brass. OK. Thank you.

Let's go. Let's get moving.

To where, though? where's the first port of call?

We can make phone calls on the way.

I'm going to make the decision, but collectively, is this the right decision to go out?

Two hours in, and team Logic haven't identified all the items.

They don't know where to buy them from. What on Earth are they doing?

Guys, we've got one, two, three, four...

-Not doing anything.

-All right. Chill out.

-Vince, can you co-ordinate the sub-team for me, please.

-No problem.

Can you give me a call at 12 o'clock then on the hour every hour?

-Zoe, I want you to keep everything organised for us.

-Can you walk in that direction, please?

'After three hours of research,

'Gavin's team goes shopping.

'First on their list, 50 chandelier bulbs,

'found by Melody - 13 miles away.'

The light bulb is waiting for us

20 to 40 minutes away, quite a way away.

-I do have other phone numbers...

-Can we just head somewhere?

-Make an executive decision. We either go or we find it closer.

-We're going to go and get it.

Can we go to Teddington?

Teddington's not actually... Teddington's not on this map.

VINCE: Right, girls.

I'm going to give it to you in one go.

'Given the job by Gavin of keeping the girls in check, sales manager Vincent.'

The name of the game is to buy these products at the best price. Yeah?

So, physalis. Ellie, call them, please.

Just say, "What is that bloody phasylisis?"

I think Gavin realises that I'm direct, I'm efficient,

I know how to negotiate and I can be in charge

of three strong ladies, so there you go.

'First to face Vincent's command, Natasha.

'Told to haggle for a sign in brass for the hotel wine cellar.'

The absolute uber amount I've got to negotiate with today

is £20, that's my highest end price.

-Absolutely no chance.

-As I say...

-I couldn't do it.

-Fine.

Based on the fact that there'd be some volume, repeat business...

If future business comes off...

-£40?

-I wouldn't do it for that price. I cannot do it for £40.

If we could close on £50, we wouldn't need to visit anywhere else and could come back to you.

-No.

-If we can do it on £60, as a set price?

-I wouldn't do it.

I was hoping we could do 80 all in, Dom, do the deal and walk away.

-£80 including VAT?

-OK, do we want to think about this?

We'll give you 40 now. We'll be back at 3.30 and give you the other 40.

-Take care.

-Cheers. Good luck.

'Vincent didn't let me get on with the job.'

I could have driven the price down further.

'Continuing their slog round St James's, Susan, Leon and Felicity.'

£350. This is 350, this one? £350.

'Still trying to drive down the price of a top-class topper.'

We're working on a pretty tight budget and we're wondering if...

The price is the price. We don't negotiate. Right. I see.

A small percentage off? None whatsoever. How about...?

If you can get it cheaper, I suggest you try somewhere else. Don't discount anything?

Even just go down by one penny?

We're not joking at all. I'll give you the penny.

-Yeah?

-I'll give you a penny.

-Thank you so much.

-£349.99p.

Perfect.

'A penny saved. Topper boxed. One purchase in the bag.'

Thank you.

'12:45pm.'

I'm trying to find a ten-inch cloche.

'Still hunting their first item, Gavin, Melody and Tom.'

PHONE: 'Cloche is French for bell.'

Maybe it's a bell. Where might we find a ten-inch bell in London?

'For keeping food hot, a catering cloche, found for Susan's team by design engineer Glen.'

-And how much does one pay?

-£8.94, with the VAT.

-Would you do it for £5?

-Not £5.

So a cloche is definitely like a little greenhouse?

MELODY: It can't be a garden thing. If it was a greenhouse,

it would give the size by this way, by that way.

8.40, just ten pence?

It'll change my life. Ten pence.

-No, 8.50's the lowest.

-£8.40!

You can sit there all day, but 8.50's it.

'Eight minutes haggling. 44 pence off.'

-Hello, is that Jim?

-It is. Hi, Susan.

-Hi. How are you doing?

We have got the meat. We've got the cloche.

We're about to do a deal on the bulbs.

What have they bought?

We bought the top hat and the best we could have done was 349.99.

Those were the two places Felicity gave us to go to.

You're doing brilliantly.

-Bye.

-They are doing good.

-They're doing brilliantly.

-They've got loads.

They have better luck negotiating than we are with the top hat!

'Highbury, north London.

'Item two for Vincent and his girls, seven kilos of steak.'

Here's the fillets.

Wow. What are we talking about in terms of your headline price?

They are Aberdeen Angus fillets. They are worth £45 a kilo.

-We're on a budget.

-What sort of budget?

-I've got 240 on me.

Cash.

-All right, then.

-Good man. Thank you.

-'25% off...'

-Thank you very much.

'..but £70 more than Jim paid.'

It's usually 45 quid a kilo.

We just paid 35! We paid less than 35!

That's a hardware shop.

-Are you all right, Gavin?

-Yeah. Just having a look.

'Adrift in London's suburbs, project manager Gavin.'

-Hiya. Are you OK?

-Yeah.

The name of your business, is there somewhere we can get a top hat from?

-Not round here. Especially not Top Hat Dry Cleaners!

-Of course.

-I'm guessing that you dry clean these type of items?

-They're the people you need.

-Thank you.

-No worries.

Thank you.

It's late in the day. They haven't got the items they need.

They haven't got any idea of who's doing what and when.

It's not only Lord Sugar they have to face, it's also the hotel.

Cloche. What is it? >

What would it be needed for?

Melody, you honestly have not said that is not from a garden centre.

-I've just said now.

-You said now...

If it was like a garden house, it would be multi-dimensional.

You've just said it now, at 20 past two.

No. I said it in the car, Gavin. Sometimes you don't listen.

-You've not said that.

-I'm 100% sure I have.

-Shall I phone Big Ben Clothing?

-Yes, please.

I don't know what is going on. I've been saying,

"Let's get to locations, make calls on the way."

Gavin's not listening. He's stressing out. It's not good enough.

Vincent, we're having a bit of difficulty getting the...

-What are you having problems with? Share it.

-With everything.

I'll get the gang here to make some calls.

If you can get hold of something, great. If not, we've all got to keep trying.

'Up-market Mayfair.'

Fantastic!

'Next on Susan's list, organza silk.'

119.50.

-It's for a very important client.

-How would that make a difference to me?

-Cash in hand.

-That part doesn't make much difference to me.

-What I pay for it is what makes a difference.

-OK.

I'll let you have it for £100 including VAT.

I asked my team to look for places

further east or south, but these are the places they found.

And these are the places you can't negotiate much on.

'Going west, Shepherd's Bush -

'famous for cut-price fabrics.'

What price would you be looking at for ten metres?

-7.99 is the price.

-Could you do any cheaper than 7.99?

-Possibly say 4.99?

-Not possible.

Because everything is going up.

-Anything at all...?

-You look like a good man.

-You know good business. I'm sure you can do us a good deal.

-..50p off a metre?

-76.

-Ooh, you're a tough one! You're a tough'un, aren't you?

'For Gavin, first deal of the day

'but, at 25% less than Susan paid, a snip.

'Just over two hours to go.'

-What's going on?

-'Found for Vincent, crushed ice.'

Can you call the Phil guy? Tell him we'll be there at three o'clock.

'But proving harder to find...'

500 rolls of 3-ply toilet paper. Have you got that in stock?

'No. Not today.'

VINCENT: You can't find it anywhere.

Well, I've only rung one. But we know now.

ELLIE: Hi, can you help me? Do you supply 3-ply toilet paper?

'Yes, we do.'

Brilliant. 500 rolls. Have you got that in stock?

-'We can get it in stock.'

-It's essential that I get it today.

I want to know how many he can get.

Do you have people you could call to help you out...?

We want those 500!

You can get 200 from a supplier? < We're coming with cash!

It'll be cash so we'd negotiate a deal?

Can I speak to him?

All right, then. Excuse me. Sorry about that. Hang on!

Go on. I just want to get it done.

I don't see what the problem is. I'll let you take over.

< I'm Vincent...

ELLIE: 'Vincent enjoys that he's leading three women.'

He doesn't charm me much.

He's what I call in my industry, a bit of a wide boy, Billy bullshit!

Ellie's going to get the toilet roll.

Or are we doing ice first? No, toilet roll first.

'Imposing cash penalties for missing items, Lord Sugar specified

'delivery to the hotel no later than five.'

-Amazing!

-That's actually amazing!

-Perfect!

Can you see physalis?

I need 500 rolls of 3-ply toilet roll. Have you got them there?

-'I'll have a look for you.'

-Thank you.

Is there any reduction that you could make so we could buy it from you?

How about we call it 360, which is a nice round number?

360. Many thanks.

We're going to get a fine We're going to be back on time.

-What is the price on the shelf?

-They're £1.50 a bulb.

We're really...desperate.

Desperate for your bulbs or desperate for a good deal?

I really appreciate you doing it for 60.

-It's only your smile that's done it.

-It's Irish eyes!

-Irish eyes are smiling.

Do you not have any physalis? 'No.'

'Just over an hour to go.

'North London.'

We talked about purchasing 500 rolls of 3-ply toilet paper.

-You've got it in stock?

-We have.

-We're looking for £9 a case.

-£9 for 40?

-40.

What about if we said 6.50, then it's a deal?

-That is below our cost price.

-Cash.

What is the maximum you want to pay?

-7.50, we're looking at.

-All right.

-You'll do it?

Cheers, Harry. Thanks for your time.

VINCENT: Give me some toilet tissue, Harry!

'At Wembley, a result.'

No idea who's going to wipe their bum with this!

'But their next appointment is 12 miles away.'

I'm meant to be negotiating for ice. It's southeast London.

I don't know whether we're going to get from northwest in time. It's very tight.

Gavin, we're very worried. The ice is an issue cos we're too far away.

-We're five items down at the moment.

-Wow. Can I suggest a quick gameplan?

We kick arse to find the ice or the tea and forget everything else.

All right. Bye.

'4.30.

'Tea time.'

We were wondering whether you had ten kilos of loose chamomile flowers tea.

'It's the second to last item on Susan's list.'

'We do. Yes.' That's absolutely great news.

-That's a relief!

-Brilliant! Fantastic! Woo!

'Also on the tea trail, Gavin's team.'

< Upstairs. Go upstairs.

Brilliant.

-What's your normal retail price?

-It's normally 2.95 for 75g, I think.

-You're going to knock 30% off that?

-Yeah.

-I'm thinking per kilo it's going to cost us about ten quid.

-£100?

-I'd try and get that for 30.

-Try and get that for 30 quid?

-Yeah.

-Hi, I'm Felicity. Thank you so much.

-Hi, I'm Susan. Pleased to meet you.

How much will that set us back? £990.

That's 12.5 kilos of the most beautiful crafted tea.

It's made by a lovely farmer in Turkey.

He's obsessional about choosing the finest.

-I'm the Rare Tea Company, I only do really good tea.

-£900?!

-< Yeah. We don't even have...

-Oh, my God!

It's going to be £223.02.

-I can't discount it further. I'm selling it pretty much at half price.

-OK.

-Thank you for everything you've done.

-Your receipt.

We've done well there. We've done very well.

If I was to give you a 35% discount... 700?

-Plus the 35% discount?

-I honestly don't have £700.

NICK: 'They've got to get quality,'

but this is also about cost and they keep flying into the most expensive places in town.

It may be that it's going to cost them.

FELICITY: Guys, is this a good idea?

-Do you think we should leave it?

-We only have £400.

We have £410. We've been buying all day.

Please. We need to move in the next minute.

< Yes.

-We should definitely do this?

-Yeah.

'Tea purchased for £187 more than Gavin's team.'

-That was a hell of a deal.

-Yes. That was a big discount.

Quick!

Let's go, guys.

You're doing brilliantly in those heels. Good stuff!

- Wow, this is to the wire! - This is breaking time.

Oh, my God!

Time-keeping, impeccable!

'For wrong or missing items, a penalty -

'the manager's list price, plus £50.

'For the teams, back to the boardroom.'

We don't have the physalis.

-We don't have the...

-The bulbs.

Light bulbs. We don't have the crochet.

Cloche. "Cloch-ay". Cloch-ay!

-And we don't have the ice.

-The ice.

-So we have six items.

-Such a shame.

FELICITY: With the chamomile tea we had no choice.

But what if we could have had it for 30 quid?

We can't have made a mistake. >

You can go through to the boardroom now. >

-Good evening.

-ALL: Good evening, Lord Sugar.

A...busy day.

An important task, in the sense that it exercises your ability

for buying, negotiation and also time-keeping.

If I'm going to start a business with any one of you, we're going to be buying something or other.

Whether it's merchandise, products, services, rents whatever.

So that's why I set this task today.

-Nick, you were with Venture, is that right?

-True.

-Team leader?

-Me, Lord Sugar.

-Susan.

-Good team leader?

-ALL: Yes.

-And Jim was a good sub-team manager.

-Mm-hm.

So, I...assigned an item to everyone in the team.

-How did that work out, then?

-Brilliantly.

When we left, there were only two items we hadn't researched.

I heard that the top hat, you paid top price for.

-Yes, we did.

-You only got a penny off.

No-one realised that we were going to the most expensive hat shop, which was a mistake.

-You might have got a hint when the guy said, "We do not give a discount here."

-Yeah.

The organza, I think you went to buy that in Mayfair.

Couldn't have picked a more expensive place.

-Which of the teams bought it?

-That was my team, our team.

-That was my team.

-You know that St James's and Mayfair is not exactly the pound shop area.

I do understand that.

A clever business person will work out that, yes, my client wants the best quality.

It doesn't mean I've got rush off to one of these poser shops and pay it.

The key issues for me, was to make sure we got all the items in time.

You went to the Rare Tea Company. Very bloody rare!

£990 their original starting price for tea?

-Is that right?

-That was, but we did manage to...

Where are your brains? How can tea be worth £990?

You should have run a mile as soon as you heard that figure.

We were blown away and hadn't accounted for that.

-It was the best quality tea in London.

-Doesn't it tell you something, people?

How can somebody who's genuinely backing their product at £990,

end up selling it to you for 410?

It's got to give you a clue.

-Now, Logic, how much did you pay for your tea?

-£223.

-Your team leader was Gavin, right?

-Yes.

-Good team leader?

-Not bad.

-Not bad?

-We could have done with more time.

-We knew the time constraints, didn't we?

-We did.

This lot here claims they already had eight of their items nailed.

-All they had to do is go. Did you have that?

-No.

We did set up in the same manner but I don't think we were as successful.

We started a bit slowly. We didn't have structure.

-What time did you leave the hotel?

-One team left quarter past 11.

-11?

-I left you at eight! Three hours?

-Yeah.

Where did you find the top hat?

We'd initially gone to Shepherd's Bush for the organza, the silk.

We then looked for places in that area...

-Including the Top Hat Cleaners!

-Including the Top Hat Cleaners!

Out of the corner of my eye driving past,

I noticed a sign that said Top Hat Cleaners, so I took it literally.

KARREN: You had trouble identifying some items.

The physalis, we did. And the cloche.

And the cloche.

-You didn't even know what it was?

-No idea.

We found out that it was French for bell.

It's a hotel asking you to get something. That's a clue.

Being stainless steel, either catering or outdoors...

Why did you want to go to a garden centre? In hindsight, it was very stupid.

-It wasn't good enough that we didn't get all the items.

-Yeah.

Right, well, both teams didn't get all the products.

So there's going to be some fines imposed.

-Nick, on Venture, how many items did they get?

-Nine.

-Nine items.

-Yeah.

-The fines for not getting that one item.

-That one important item.

£202.75. Meaning that they spent, in total, including fines,

£1,381.69p.

Karren, same question. How many items did Logic get?

-Six.

-Six?

-The fines for the four items?

-Well, the fines were £312.68p.

Meaning that their overall total was £1,389.20p.

We won!

Susan, it's a win!

It's a win by eight quid!

The treat is that I'm going to send you to a circus cabaret show

in one of Covent Garden's trendiest bars. OK?

Yeah. Don't have any tea!

ALL LAUGH

-Off you go.

-Thank you, Lord Sugar.

£8?

-You must be...sick.

-Gutted. Yeah.

And I'm sick sitting here because it's a disgrace

that you got six items out of ten.

You deserve to lose on that basis.

I'll see you back in this boardroom tomorrow. One of you will be leaving. Off you go.

That's over a hundred quid. Put it on Lord Sugar's bill!

MUSIC: "Mr Sandman"

I want to make a toast to you guys working brilliantly together and winning this task. Team Venture!

ALL: Team Venture!

That was truly a joke.

They got nine items.

We got six. Whether there's individuals to blame... Obviously, there must be.

We didn't have two seconds to spare. On the phone every five minutes, so we know what we did...

Gavin knows that I'm very strong. I think Gavin will try and push

some sort of blame on me, I don't know what.

I can't wait to have a one-to-one with Lord Sugar.

-We were wasting time...

-To be fair.

-ALL TALK AT ONCE

One at a time. Let's all chill out.

'No-one stepped up to the plate.'

It sounds as if people are willing to let you sink and drown,

rather than help you out and try and win the task as a team.

You can go through to the boardroom now. >

-Good afternoon.

-ALL: Good afternoon, Lord Sugar.

I asked you to get ten items. You got six.

That means you deserved to lose. I left you at eight o'clock in the morning.

It wasn't till 11:25 that you left. Three hours of pontificating.

The reason we were there till 11 o'clock is that the quality of leads were insufficient to go.

I did give people individual items. I asked them to find relevant suppliers.

People were saying, "Concentrate on the steak."

I was saying, "Please carry on with what I asked you to do."

-These are grown-ups.

-Feedback I got from Karren was you set the ground rules.

-No-one took a blind bit of bloody notice.

-That is correct.

-Why not?

-I've no idea, Lord Sugar.

-People ignored him and carried on.

No-one stood up to me and said, "I don't think this is relevant what we're doing."

-People almost allowed the thing to fail.

-That's wrong.

-Gavin, you split your team.

-Yes.

Vincent in a sub-team role with Ellie, Zoe and Natasha.

Now, Vincent, you located some of these items.

You knew where they were.

-Right, Vincent?

-Correct.

-Then you didn't get them. Possibly the failure's down to you?

It was your team, why didn't you get it?

-We ran out of time.

-Why did you run out of time?

We were in the north of London and had to get south for the ice.

We spent 60% of the time in the room trying to find the items.

60% of the time was not spent in the hotel.

At about half one I was told that the sign had been ordered,

the meat was in hand, Ellie had a lead for the toilet roll, the ice was sourced.

This was at half one and it didn't materialise.

-At 20 to four we were told, "We haven't picked the ice or the sign up."

-I disagree.

At quarter past one, you had one item. You had nothing, no leads.

You had no light bulbs, no tea.

It's only because Tom saved you that you had some product.

The tea and the other items, the hat, were last-minute.

-Can I respond to that, please?

-Do you agree, Tom?

-You bought a hat and got a fiver off.

-Did you put yourself forward as PM?

-I did and I regret not taking it.

-It sounds like you did, the way you're talking.

-I wish I had.

-Yeah. He couldn't run a bath, honestly.

I heard that your ears were in ten places. Someone's talking.

-Then you're grabbing the phone out their hand.

-That is what you did to me.

I was on the phone to somebody and he just took it out my hand.

Took it off me as well. I was pretty insulted by that.

He wasn't a good manager of me because he just spoke down to me.

I just wanted to win, Lord Sugar. I've been in here twice...

-We've noticed that.

-You haven't been impressed so far.

I said, "Do you mind if I speak to...?"

Did he speak to me like that or did he make out I didn't know what I was doing? What did you think?

I'd like to have finished my own negotiation for the sign

because I felt that I could have got it for a lesser price.

We were under a time constraint...

- The other team got it for 40! - It was a bit much.

I paid more because I wasn't left to negotiate independently.

-Natasha, in this three-hour session, you were on the phone to another hotel.

-Yes, I was.

First, there were two items that nobody knew what they were.

If I got the opportunity to speak to a head chef or food and beverage manager from a similar hotel...

KARREN: You asked to speak to the procurement department.

-If one of my competitors rang me and said, "Tell me where I can get this," I'd say to get lost.

-Yeah.

-Zoe, you were the only one who didn't get into a negotiation.

-I was indeed. Yeah.

-Why was that?

-I'd found a load of leads for the Aberdeen Angus.

- And the signage. - I sourced my own signage.

No, you didn't. I was meant to get ice, but then we were going to get the toilet roll.

I said, "I'm not sure about London, but surely NW means northwest and SE means southeast."

Diagonal opposites. I was pretty sure that we weren't going to get across in that time.

TOM: At the beginning, we lacked structure.

We weren't forced... "I don't care if you think we should get beef. Concentrate on your one."

I said that on a number of occasions.

There was a feeling of we'd given up in those last 45 minutes.

I kept calling, kept calling...

Given up?

I think... It seemed to me that he looked a beaten man.

-He did pick it back up at the end.

-I would have felt like a beaten man at 11 o'clock.

When I didn't have a bloody clue what we'd got, where we're going.

-Gavin, who are you bringing back into this boardroom?

-Right.

Into this boardroom, I'm going to be bringing Vincent.

-And I'm going to be bringing Zoe.

-Right.

The other four of you go back to the house.

-Second time already for you, Gavin, that you've been in the final three.

-Yes.

I need you to step outside. Nick and Karren and I are going to have a chat about this.

Eventually, one of you will be going today.

It amazes me, really. They didn't get their gameplan sorted out.

-Gavin didn't manage them well.

-NICK: He lacked the authority

that 21-year-old Susan so clearly displayed.

He had a much more difficult team to manage, of very strong people that wanted to do it all.

The other geezer seems to have taken over.

Vincent is half-in, half-out. When he's not team leader, he's got plenty to say.

Zoe didn't get to negotiate,

so she hasn't shown us what she's capable of.

PHONE RINGS

Could you ask the three of them to come back in the boardroom, please?

Lord Sugar will see you now. >

So, Gavin, what's Zoe doing here?

She didn't negotiate any deals or make any leads.

I got feedback from Vince that she acted like his PA, giving him numbers while he made the calls.

-Zoe wasn't trying to create leads.

-Vincent's PA?

I made two leads which secured two of the three products our sub-team got.

It seems like an observing capacity.

How can it be an observing capacity if I came up with the numbers that secured the products?

-All you did was write a number.

-I went through several phone books.

The point I would make is that part of these tasks is for you to think on your own feet.

I think you've got a voice but I don't think you found a way of getting it across.

I totally agree. I find it hard to get it across to my teammates

when I've just got a load of hot air in the team.

I did what I was told and didn't get a chance to shine.

-That could be your fault.

-Why should I be punished for being professional?

With the greatest respect, that's not professional. If I see a ship sinking, I bloody jump in.

If you come into business with me,

passing me a message saying, "Oh, things are not going too well."

-No.

-I didn't pass him a message. I strongly encouraged...

That is not on the radar. Gavin, I've got your resume here.

You're claiming that you feel you're a good manager of people.

"Good at delegating and overseeing the work of others." Your words.

I understand that. I told people what they had to do.

Basically, they understood what had to be done but decided not to do it.

-Get a bunch of dummies?

-Some of the calls were unbelievable.

Why did you allow it? Why did you allow Natasha to ring the Ritz?

If someone rang my company and said, "Where do you get your paper from? Where do you get your ingredients?"

-I probably can't repeat the response I'd give.

-Accepted.

-Vincent, why's he here?

-I believe Vincent's the main cause for the failure,

some of the decisions that Vincent made.

Also, the feedback from the girls - grabbing phones off people, talking down to people.

-I'm not happy with that style of management.

-What have you got to say?

Sure, what happened was that we had a shambles for the first two hours.

We made two or three phone calls and had leads within minutes and then...

-Listen. I'm already getting sick and tired of, "This one made phone calls."

-Fine.

-I know you're Belgian.

That's where the waffles come from.

-Categorise why you shouldn't be here and who you think is responsible.

-Sure.

I secured the beef. I called the toilet guy to get the tissue.

I got the ice, but we ran out of time.

Vincent makes all the calls and closes all the meetings.

I guarantee that the three people we negotiated with remember me and I can negotiate again with them.

You reckon you're remembered long after you're gone?

-Yeah?

-I like to hope that I make a good impression. Yes.

See if I remember you.

Well, look...

Zoe, you make a point. "Give me a chance to see what I can do."

You haven't had the opportunity. That's your fault that you haven't come shining through.

Gavin, you've got your own business. You claim you can organise people.

Then you let them run riot. You didn't have them under control.

Vincent, I don't like people that undermine instructions and go off and do it in their own direction.

I've heard a lot of that about you today.

I can't see how that can work for me.

I've got to judge this on this task. That's what I've got to do.

On that basis, I've concluded...

..that because the task was out of hand...

Gavin, you're fired.

Thank you.

Zoe, you say that I haven't seen anything of you.

I'll be looking as the process moves on.

-Then it will be up to you to show me.

-All right. Thank you.

Back to the house.

NICK: Foolish loss. He just couldn't control them.

I think they're clear there's no hiding place.

I don't want to hear anyone else telling me they haven't had a chance to show me.

It's time for them all to step up.

Gutted I haven't got further in this process.

Lord Sugar made a mistake firing me. He's looking for a business partner.

If he's looking for someone like Vincent, good luck to him.

Vince, as a sub-team manager, I had a bit of a run-in with him.

He pulled the phone out of my hand, virtually.

He didn't think I could do a job that I've made a lot of money doing!

That annoyed me, to be honest.

Was it Vincent...? Here we go!

SCREAMS AND GASPS

Well done. Was it hard?

Mate, wow! Good to see you.

Gav didn't have an argument against me and Vincent.

He went in and thought, "I shouldn't have brought these two in!"

ELLIE: Who do you think he should have took in? NATASHA: I'm not commenting.

'In the fight for Lord Sugar's quarter-million-pound investment,

'13 candidates remain.

'Next time...'

Beauty is a massive business.

I can't promote this product. I've got a girlfriend!

-'Make a pretty penny...'

-Switch the machine on! What a wally!

Can I come back tomorrow?

It's like a pet hamster, isn't it?

'..or face ugly truths in the boardroom.'

-It's unfair, Zoe.

-You've made your bed and you've got to lie in it.

This was a disastrous task. You're fired.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]