The first episode’s task had them renovating rooms at tow Boys and Girls Clubs in NYC. And right off, Lenny showed that he’s not just an ineffective teammate – he’s also an ineffective leader. They got ready to meet with the executives, and it was just uncomfortable silence. Lenny had no idea what to ask the execs, and it didn’t seem like he even knew how to handle the meeting. I’m not sure he even understood what the Boys and Girls Clubs are. (can you just imagine him saying something about “what is this club? We don’t have clubs in
Even though he was much better prepared for their meeting with the executives, Michael couldn’t make a decision to save his life. Which paint to buy? Let’s ponder that for awhile. Did Bill just say that they met with the execs at 11 am? And they got back from buying the supplies at midnight? And I would have thought that Bill would have more sense then to look at Andrea in the midst of the chaos and ask how Michael was doing as a leader?
After watching the utter mess that Michael was making of things at Synergy, they cut to the utter mess that is Gold Rush. Bill is asking how Lenny is doing, and, inexplicably, Lenny isn’t there. He seems to be in a van driving the wrong way, and can’t believe that his three teammates back at the Boys and Girls Club haven’t finished the area.
At the presentation, Michael seemed to pull it out. Their room was really nice, and gave the kids lots of things to do. I loved that there were different areas, and they recognized that the kids don’t all need to be doing the same thing. At Gold Rush, their room wasn’t nearly as inviting, and Lenny’s presentation, was, well, lacking. It was no surprise that Synergy won.
Let me interject here a bit of my own platform. Two amazing charities were featured in tonight’s episode – The Boys and Girls Club and Make a Wish Foundation. These two organizations do so much for kids, and it was a welcome change to see an episode focused on helping others. Please – help support these organizations. Volunteer your time, donate your spare change, help these kids however you can.
Back in the suite, there was great footage of Lee prepping Lenny for the boardroom. I’m not sure why he’s so gung-ho about Lenny staying. When Lenny wants to say that his brain was completely off, let him. And then Lenny tells Lee that he’s most likely going to take Lee back in with him. That’s how you repay friendship and loyalty?
In the boardroom, Lenny was horrible. And Lee kept defending him up and down. If I were Trump I would fire both of them. Alas, I’m just a fan (although, Mr. Trump, I would love to sit in for George or Carolyn if you need someone…). But justice was served, and Lenny finally went home. How Lenny left was horrible. When Charmaine tried to shake his hand, he wanted nothing to do with it. You might not be the Apprentice, but you can still show good character.
The second episode was back to the usual tasks of selling a new product for one of the show’s sponsors. This one happened to be 7-11. You know, the home of the world’s largest soda? Well their new sandwich sounds like it couldn’t be grosser…two slices of pizza with deli meat in between. And the teams have to sell them, along with a promotional item.
Synergy gets rid of Michael, but are stuck with Andrea as their project manager. I have no doubt that she’s a good businesswoman. But she’s also a control freak, which isn’t always good on these tasks. Like when her team brainstormed ideas for promotional items, but she went with her hat idea anyways. Carolyn summed it up well – if someone tried to sell me a pizza sandwich with a free cap, I would keep on walking.
Over at Gold Rush, they’re already off to a bad start. Their promotional item is much better – a cooler bag – but their price point was way too high. I can’t figure out who would buy this sandwich to begin with, and certainly not for $7.99. Lee tried to say that the price was too high, but even his price point was too high. $4 a sandwich was much more reasonable.
Speaking of Lee, I thought his idea of clearing all the other sandwiches off of the shelf was brilliant. That’s what made the competition even close. Synergy’s marketing was much better – handing out those flyers the night before clearly made a difference. Although I did like Tarek’s selling technique…I believe his exact words were “[this sandwich] will completely change your whole concept of reality.” If that reality is a 7-11 sandwich for $8, well, I’ll be sticking with my reality, thanks.
In the end, Gold Rush lost, because of their high price point. Leslie only brought Lee back into the boardroom, which wasn’t smart at all. They lost the task on price, and if she had simply said that she was aware of that, and brought back everyone except Lee (since he argued for the lower price), she would have had a chance. So, no surprise that Leslie was the second casualty of the night. What a night.
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