Trump style of firing doesn't play for some area viewers

With his reality TV show "The Apprentice," Donald Trump has put his high-roller approach to business on display for more than 20 million viewers. But some of his viewers here in Cape Girardeau don't think his cavalier attitude and his cold, hand-waving firing practices would cut it in Southeast Missouri.

The show features two teams of aspiring young entrepreneurs competing against each other in different business-related challenges. They are asked to do everything from selling lemonade on the street to opening their own flea market. The winning team is rewarded with lavish dinners and trips on Trump's private jet. The losing team is brought into Trump's board room where one of them is summarily dismissed with a "You're fired" from Trump.

The show is now down to two people for Thursday's season finale. The last person left wins a job as the head of one of Trump's companies for one year with a $250,000 paycheck.

"The challenges are realistic," said real estate agent Tom M. Meyer. "It's exactly what I would expect in the corporate world."

Meyer said the show demonstrates the rat race that business people can fall into in that hardball business atmosphere. While he thinks the cutthroat nature of competition featured in the show is indicative of the business atmosphere on the East and West coasts, Meyer doesn't think Trump's methods would work here, especially his impersonal approach to dismissing someone.

"I think business people around here take people's feelings into account more than Mr. Trump does," Meyer said.

Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner agrees. He objects to firing a person in front of his or her peers.

"That's not the way I would do it," Mehner said. "To me, firing is more of a one-on-one thing, not a group thing. I don't know that he does that in his real business. I think it's more for the show."

But some regular viewers like Don Hinkebein think business people can learn from Trump. As operations manager for JCS/Tel-link in Cape Girardeau, Hinkebein has to hire and fire people. Although he agrees that a person's feelings should be considered during dismissal, Trump's direct approach makes sense to him.

"I think he always provides well-thought-out reasons for firing someone," Hinkebein said. "I think sometimes people spend too much time firing people. There's really no point if that person won't be working there any longer."

Impressed by ideas

Hinkebein also thinks cues could be taken from the contestants' approaches to their challenges.

"I'm often impressed with their creative ideas," he said. He cited a challenge to increase profits for a pedal-cab business. One team took the traditional approach, trying to increase customer revenue. The other, however, decided to sell advertising on the cabs themselves. The second approach won by a hefty margin.

The interpersonal dynamic between the contestants is representative of real business, Hinkebein said. Even though they are all after the same position, teammates realize they have to put that aside to win the challenges and avoid Trump's executive execution chamber.

As owner of Cape-Kil Pest Control, Elizabeth Knote has done her share of firings. But when she makes her weekly appointment to watch "The Apprentice," she doesn't bother bringing a note pad. The only margin Knote's looking to increase by watching is her entertainment value.

"I love watching how Donald Trump lives," she said. She also enjoys watching the women contestants compete against the men, even though the last woman was fired last week.

While she enjoys watching Trump's world, she said it is not Cape Girardeau in scope or in nature. Fellow devotee Hinkebein agreed.

"We do things on a much smaller scale here than Donald does," Hinkebein said.

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137