"There wasn’t any real negotiation going on."
Harpreet Kaur did not hold back when reflecting on the latest episode of The Apprentice, specifically the questionable negotiation involving Megan Ruiter and Tanmay Hingorani.
The task saw contestants aiming to turn ingredients into profit.
But one of the biggest moments came during negotiations with the corporate clients.
Karishma Vijay initially led the strategy with £27 per person.
But she was frustrated when Megan Ruiter jumped in at £12.
Due to this, Tanmay believed that he could not go higher, and closed the deal at £11.80 per person – a decision that was criticised by Lord Alan Sugar.
In the boardroom, Lord Sugar revealed that the clients could have paid £20.
It was a huge blunder and Harpreet agreed.
Harpreet, who is working with Sky Vegas, exclusively told DESIblitz:
“That negotiation [from Megan and Tanmay] was terrible. There wasn’t any real negotiation going on. That’s exactly why Karishma stood out to me.
“They said the client was getting irritated, but he wasn’t – and I’m so glad Karren Brady confirmed that in the boardroom.
“Karishma clearly knew what she was doing. She deliberately went in high because it’s a business strategy; she knew the client wouldn’t agree to that figure.
“It’s almost an unspoken rule of negotiation. The client throws out a number they know you won’t accept, and then you meet somewhere in the middle.
“What Megan shouldn’t have done was jump into Karishma’s negotiation. Instead, she started offering everything at the client’s original price. It just didn’t make sense.
“I can understand why Karishma was irritated. Ultimately, they lost and who knows? If that negotiation had gone better, it might have moved the needle for them.”
Ultimately, Tanmay was fired for closing the deal.
On whether the decision was correct, Harpreet said:
“At the end of the day, only one person can win. If Lord Sugar doesn’t see a future with Tanmay in business, then fair enough. He never beats around the bush.
“There’s also a lot that happens off-camera that we don’t see. Maybe Karren and Tim observed things that suggested Tanmay shouldn’t stay in the process any longer.
“That said, I would have liked to see more from him. I don’t think we had enough time to really get to know him or see what he was capable of.
“From what we saw on screen, I can’t say he was the main reason the task failed.”
“Personally, I don’t think he should have gone home. I probably would have sent one of the girls instead.
“Based purely on this task, do I think Tanmay should have gone home? Maybe not. But you’re working within a very short window of time. It’s not just about whether you were responsible for the failure of a task. You have to think bigger than that. You’re there to make an impact.
“If you’re not standing out and you’re just blending in, then unfortunately Lord Sugar might think, ‘If you’re not going to speak up, you might as well leave’.”
There are now 16 candidates left and in the next task, they must create an ad campaign for bottled water.
The episode, which sees special guest Big Zuu, airs on February 19.
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