+Episode 5 of Celebrity Apprentice: Celebrity Intervention
This week on Celebrity Apprentice our task was to run a hotel. each team was given a floor of the Loews Regency and we had to provide room service, housekeeping, bell service, concierge, everything you need to run a hotel well. We would be rated on the overall service experience provided to the guests. So this challenge was right up my Type A alley. Hands down, my favorite task of all in terms of my own experience. But at the same time, the most painful to recall because of what happened with Rodman. So, I think I will start with Athena and just briefly go over our experience then really focus on the KOTU team this week since, obviously, they were really the meat of this episode.
So, when we got this challenge Melissa suggested Tionne as project manager and Tionne took on the task. We were missing Khloe because she had to be in LA on a personal matter. But Tionne assigned the rest of us our jobs right away so there was no confusion. That was a relief because one of the issues the previous weeks was that the PM did not assign tasks right away. Joan was assigned concierge since she had the most NYC connections. Brande and Tionne mainly did housekeeping. Natalie was on room service. Melissa was supposed to help anyone who needed help and also man the front desk when it was too busy for one person to handle. And Tionne assigned me bellman and room service. I was concerned at first when Tionne gave me a job that involved communicating to the customer. I felt that my biggest downfall in the game was communication and that that was the worst place for me to be. I wanted to be on housekeeping where I didn’t have to talk to anyone because I felt like communication was my weak suit. But I am really glad, in retrospect, that Tionne assigned me those jobs because I LOVED them. I mean I really, really got a kick out of this whole task and said right after we were done that if poker playing stopped working out I was going to do room service in a hotel as my next job. I couldn’t have been happier this whole challenge with the jobs I was given!
So, really quickly, strong and weak points to our team. I think Tionne did an amazing job organizing us. Brande was great on housekeeping. I think Natalie got a bad rap on this episode. She got those amazing free baskets and cases of free water for us to hand out to the guests. I got free champagne and wine and flowers for their rooms as well so between the two of us we had some rocking amenities. On the whole I think Natalie did a great job on room service. I understand that 702 wasn’t happy with her but everything else she did on this task was great so it is too bad that got focused on so much. I think that Joan was both a star on this task and the weakest link at the same time. I know it seems weird to say that but she did amazing work and some sloppy work too. You saw some of the mistakes she made on the episode in terms of not quoting costs in advance to the guests and that was a pervasive problem. That being said, she did take responsibility for those mistakes and rectified them by removing the offensive charges. She also was not thorough in taking the room service orders and room service found themselves having to keep calling back the guests to clarify the orders…things like not asking what kind of bread on a sandwich or what kind of cheese…that kind of thing. But she did get every reservation and every show ticket we needed so in that sense she rocked it. Lots of good from her, some bad. But most of the bad she took immediate responsibility for which is a nice side to see from Joan. Less brash and softer and more vulnerable.
I think I enjoyed this task much more than the rest of my team did (just as I disliked the wedding dress challenge while my team loved that one). I really enjoyed the whole experience immensely and I particularly loved the guys in room 702, Matthew Garber and friends. It was the night of one of the presidential debates and they were having a debate party and I just thought they were a hoot. I thought it was interesting that everyone complained about those guys so much in the boardroom in terms of them being difficult. From my perspective the producers clearly coached all the guests to be difficult and I figured that is what we signed up for when we agreed to do Celebrity Apprentice. Celebrities getting abused, right? So, I would expect nothing less than trying to be ridiculously difficult from our guests. So I guess because of that expectation I just thought that 702 was hilarious in the way they were executing the producers’ directive to be difficult guests and so had a great time with them. Anyway, fun fun challenge for me personally. I want to run a hotel full time now!
Interestingly, despite the fact that we could see Dennis being totally wild and erratic the whole challenge, I did not think that meant we were a lock to win. I also could see clearly that Jesse, Herschel, Brian and Clint were doing an incredible job. And the fact is that this was a subjective task. Just because I would not want to be served by Rodman does not mean there aren’t others who would love to have that kind of interaction with him. And clearly that was the case with the guests Rodman went off to dinner with. They loved this crazy, rambling drunk guy just hanging out with them and many times that is the case with bigger than life celebs. And that was a scary thought to me that the KOTU guests might actually like the Rodman show. Tough because I really didn’t want to see anyone get fired from our team here. If we lost the task I thought Tionne would have had to bring in two of these three: Joan, Natalie and Khloe. Joan was criticized in the boardroom for some of her mistakes but also praised for her high points at the same time so I am not sure she would have been the right choice. The question with Joan would be whether or not the good things she did outweighed the bad and I believe the answer there is yes. Natalie was openly criticized for her handling of 702 so I think Tionne would have had to bring her in despite her shining in getting all the baskets and amenities for the guests. Khloe would be a choice because Trump clearly criticized her for not being there the first day. I don’t personally think she should be fired for that because Joan missed 3 days herself during the previous 3 challenges so in fairness to that Khloe should be given a pass on that too. But Trump was obviously irked by it and you have to listen to him very clearly in who to bring in so I think Khloe would have been a strong candidate.
Luckily, Athena won the challenge so none of that was an issue. But the win was by a very narrow margin which is a testament to how amazing Brian, Clint, Herschel and Jesse were during the challenge since they obviously compensated well for the disruption Rodman was causing. And, the narrow margin is also a testament to how much slack larger than life celebrities like Rodman get cut in terms of their behavior by the peope who interact with them. Because I think some of the guests really enjoyed him even though they would have been appalled if a “normal” hotel employee acted that way.
Which brings us naturally to KOTU and the boardroom. I am so sad for Dennis Rodman. And so sad for the other members of his team. First, it is difficult just from a game perspective to feel sabotaged by a member of your team, no doubt. Particularly one who is taking no responsibility for the failures. But on a personal level that must be even more horrific. I know that Jesse James has personal experience with alcohol abuse and that his experiences with Dennis were painful for him. Brian, Clint and Herschel all were also frustrated with Dennis but you could tell they wanted him to just get help because everyone could see that deep down inside there was a good guy in Dennis that just was destroyed by the alcohol abuse.
I don’t think anyone thought when they signed on to the show that they would be doing what ended up as an intervention in the boardroom. I mean that is truly what it was. An intervention. And a tough one to watch and participate in. From a personal perspective, I grew up with an alcoholic mother. She has been sober since I was 17 years old but much of my childhood was very difficult because of the alcohol abuse. I understand how alcohol can change someone. My mother is the most amazing individual I have ever known. She is intelligent, incredibly funny, perceptive, and her mind just works in such a fascinating way. She is astonishingly unique and inspiring. But when she was drinking, well, I would not have used the same words to describe her. And I think Dennis is much the same. Sober he is almost painfully shy, sweet, intelligent and perceptive. Drunk. Well you saw for your own eyes what he is like drunk and that is an awful transformation to bear witness to.
I think all of KOTU really just wanted to see Dennis get help but I think Jesse felt that the most keenly of all of them. And to see the sadness in Jesse during that boardroom was so hard. When Dennis was talking about his past achievements in sports and Jesse just pointed to Herschel and said look at the difference between these two great athletes, that just said so much and hit the nail right on the head. What else can you say? You can see where Dennis’ life has been and you can see so clearly where it is heading if Dennis doesn’t change and that path is not a path you want to see anyone go down.
I just truly, truly hope Dennis gets the help he needs. He can be so much more than he is right now.
Was a good show tonight. I thought you did an amazing job. The best part was when you asked the guys if they wanted you to open and poor their drinks. It was funny but at the same time an awesome gesture on your part. Well done.
Watching Dennis fall apart was pretty sad. I thought the same thing about Jesse’s face… He really did take it to heart. 5 rings means nothing when you aren’t a great person. His legacy will always be his behavior.
I am raising my alcoholic sister’s 2 kids.. I know all too well the pain of addiction. I do hope one day they can somehow find the goodness in her as you see in your mother. It does give me a little more hope considering how you and Howard turned out.
Great blog Annie, although you have titled it Episode 4 instead of Episode 5!
I lived with an alcoholic for one year and saw him deteriorate to the point where couldn’t move his body from alcoholic poisoning. I had to have him admitted to the hospital. He passed away from ALS shortly thereafter. It seemed everything I did to try and help the person get straight was for naught. I can’t remember how many times I found my room-mate drunk to the point where he couldn’t even move. It was among the saddest moments of my life. I truly believe he’s in a better place now.
Annie, I can fully appreciate where you’re coming from. Alcohol is among THE most addictive drugs out there and, of course, it’s legal. Go figure.
Watching Dennis go through what he’s going through is very painful for any of us who have experienced alcoholic trauma in whatever form.
He’s obviously got a much bigger nut to crack than Celebrity Apprentice and, hopefully…he will find someone who CAN help him (if he wants the help) and turn his life around, before it’s too late.
He seems like a very sweet person when he’s not drunk.
Hi Annie,
Thanks for the blog. It was a very painful show to watch and it’s usually a fun time for me but not last night. The intervention was necessary because people care about Dennis! I felt bad for his team and felt utterly embarrassed for Jesse but Jesse has overcome his problem. I really like him and his work ethic.
I enjoyed the episode but sure hope next week is more upbeat. Hope to hear that Dennis is getting help. He is to appear on Leno this week.
Great job on the show, those guests put you all threw the weirdest requests. I too have a greater respect for hotel staff!
Great blog Annie,
For me this was the most entertaining of all the tasks to date. I actually think it would be fun to run a hotel. Room service would be a good thing. Housekeeping, not so good. Joan had a lot of responsibility in her job and I think she did it well, but, as you pointed out, she also screwed a few things up. The gift baskets Natalie brought were awesome. I think I Jesse nearly started crying in the boardroom during the “intervention”. As a recovering alcoholic (sober since 9-4-1990), I feel Dennis’s pain. Good luck to him. PS: I received the autographed pic I requested in the mail today. Thank you so much. You look glamorous!
Annie, Thank God for Tivo…wasn’t home to watch live this week but couldn’t wait to watch! As soon as I was done, I ran down to my computer to read your blog. You girls did a fantastic job! I think EVERY ONE has a better understanding what a difficult job it is to run a hotel and to see the “other” side was a real eye opener. Gives you a new respect for housekeeping in particular!
Best of luck to Dennis; I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.
Annie!!
So great to see you—I’m pulling for you! You were so hospitable and just a blast to be around that night. Thanks for understanding we were only part of the game…
Would absolutely LOVE to see you when you’re in NYC. Please keep in touch! (Still remember your tips for a first-time poker player–!)
Jesse (of room 702)
[...] We saw Annie Duke last another week on Celebrity Apprentice. Did you see it? It was an Annie Duke I’d never seen before! I think if Annie ever decides to open up a hotel, I’d sure be one of the first guests – ESPECIALLY if she was at the Bell Desk! Seriously though Annie – congrats again for lasting this long. I think her strategy is becoming a bit more evident now as the episodes progress. Don’t forget you can get Annie’s “behind the scenes” blog here. [...]
I hadn’t watched too many Apprentice Episodes in the past seasons but a few weeks ago I came across a commercial for it and saw that YOU were on it, I have been watching it ever since. Thanks for the Blog, it’s a great addition to the show, a cool inside look, so again Thank You.
P.S. Please do not let them do that to your hairstyle like they did for this episode, you look so much better the other style.
P.S.S. That over sized bellman’s outfit still looked hot on you!
Best Wishes
Jesse really impressed me, confessing to being a recovering alcoholic and making it clear the road you can go down if you dont get help.
I don’t feel sorry for Rodman at all. My father was a lunatic alcholic who drank straight vodka from the bottle all day and night and beat the living hell out of us kids. He was fully aware of what he was doing and Rodman is also aware of his behaviour. It is a matter of choice. I come from a long line of alcholics and it is in the blood but I chose not to go down that road. Alcholics are fully aware of their selfish, abusive behaviour but do not care because they are having too much fun. It’s only when the fun ends that they choose to stop.
Just going back, reviewing Annie’s recap of each CA episode before the live finale on Sunday. As a hospitality professional, I especially enjoyed the hotel episode.
Annie, you truly kicked A** with your service technique and your “can-do” attitude toward your guests! Exactly what it takes. Loved it.
If you think you’d really like to run a hotel, full time, I know of a historic hotel in New Orleans (French Quarter) that’s currently on the market… Wouldn’t that be fantastic?! Just a thought!
Best wishes for Sunday!