Where did you get that hat?

The Apprentice on BBC1, continued to entertain last night with another jaw dropping edition. Of course we have to acknowledge the editors in picking the most amusing scenes from many hours of film. However, from a communication perspective, there are a number of priceless scenes!

• A contestant cold calling a rival hotel's procurement (The Ritz) to ask for a copy of their suppliers' list. Karren's face was a picture. The contestant had no idea about building up a business relationship based on trust: let's face it a cold call: asking for The Ritz's invaluable resource that they'd built up over a number of years. Dur!
• The cloche saga; they didn't even know how to pronounce it, let alone know what it was. Yes: there are cloches that are used for gardening, but surely they could work out that a hotel wouldn't need 'garden' cloches.
• The upward negotiation gag; one contestant started with a low price: each time she negotiated with the vendor, she quoted a higher price. I thought negotiation involved trying to get the lowest price: not the highest!
• The lurking presence of a moustached man, whenever a female was on the phone; he barked orders, so she was having two conversations: with the company and him. He even grabbed the phone, mid-conversation, to complete a call. What a negative advert for anyone that was considering working with him.
• The total lack of time spent assessing the nature of the business; those posh, Mayfair shops are quite intimidating at the best of time: unless you are a young successful business person apparently. They just marched into these shops, expecting to negotiate a 'deal' with a huge sense of entitlement. 'They wouldn't even knock 1p off the price" said one contestant. Why do they have to? The King of Tonga pays full price: if the BBC broadcast a company giving even 1p off, their client base would all be on the phone asking for a refund! I presume no prices were displayed; don't they know the saying that if you need to know the price, you can't afford it?
• The hilarious "I have a very important client" comment by Susan, topped by the vendor's "What's that to me". The apprentices made the mistake of believing that they could get anything for the price they wanted. They had a total sense of entitlement and a disregard for the vendor's costs and overheads. 
• The genuine shock and horror faces, when prices were quoted. OMG was said more than once. My husband told me that you try not to give anything away with your body language and what you say, because it weakens your position with negotiating. Has anyone told Susan that?
• Listening; it appeared that they weren't listening to the vendors but just waiting to quote another price. How not to create rapport in one easy lesson.

If we contrast with the wonderful Irish charmer with the sad eyes. He engaged the vendors, and developed a fast rapport. In the butchers, he managed to get another £10 off and a hug from another vendor. His manner was open, friendly and not arrogant.

I am sure they are very tired (they always get up really early and people have told me they are exhausted), BUT why are these basic mistakes made by, well, some of the most successful young business people in the country. Ha!