Ten hours, 10 items - easy? However, the credit crunch aim was to spend the least money, something Liz failed to recognise. Ten items secured, sighs of relief turned to scowls as Apollo learnt its destiny, leaving Synergy laughing all the way to Paris.
The early morning saw Stuart complaining (again) about working conditions as he is still tired. Stuart – this is not Big Brother. The winner won’t be the one who gets the most sleep.
It appears there are two ways to sniff out truffles, as the teams took very different approaches. Jamie, trying to reignite his spark, led Synergy to a 24 carat gold triumph, even with numerous penalties. With the ladies splashing the cash in Knightsbridge, we trust the candidates’ contracts provide for generous expenses.
Perhaps Liz needs to redress her work life balance. Evidently her definition of a bargain is becoming blurred. Liz’s failure to firstly track down the items’ list price proved fatal. Team members with a taste for celeb chefs/expensive restaurants didn’t help either.
Putting the wheeler in ‘wheeler dealer’, Chris and Stuart (aka Laurel and Hardy) embraced Jaime’s instructions to tell a tale in the hope of achieving a 70% discount. Two metres of cheap tartan seems an odd birthday (or wedding) present for your granny Chris. Despite the stories being as tall as the four-metre work surface (the bane of Jamie’s life) and concerns over breaches of trust and confidence, Synergy’s unorthodox negotiation tactics delivered results.
While Synergy acted like headless (or footless?) chickens, both teams forgot the golden rule – location, location, location. Synergy baffled diamond specialists in Hatton Garden when sourcing Indian jewellery. Sugar was unimpressed by Apollo’s trip to pricey Knightsbridge for truffles (we wonder how much Gordon Ramsey would charge for the rare fungi).
Apollo was confident it had stitched up Synergy, but things unravelled when it paid £57 (versus Synergy’s £35) for a sewing machine. Apollo’s sloppy time keeping spelt penalties for poor punctuality. Sugar’s declaration regarding Apollo’s bad negotiation skills met with an instantaneous appeal from Liz.
Boardroom antics saw jovial Stuart cracking (bad) Christmas cracker jokes while the girls took turns to gang up on each other. Team member appraisals attacked Liz’s management style. It’s just business Liz, no need to take it personally. Defending herself, Laura played the age card. Sailing dangerously close to the Equality Act, Sugar suggested Laura’s age might be ‘an issue’. Subdued Stella (wooden and corporate) and Liz (disgraced for lack of pricing strategy) were given verbal warnings but escaped Sugar’s sacking thanks to their exemplary records. Instead, it was tough truffles for young Laura who was dismissed for her £200 blunder.
Next week it’s all aboard for a tour of London. Remember to set your alarm sleepy Stuart or you’ll miss the bus.
Praveen Bhatia is from Sheridans – Media Lawyers
