Warnings, suspensions, dismissals, poor work, damage, money lost, arguments, falling out and falling behind schedule... what a few weeks it's been on Bricking It.
We took some time out and cornered Dr Phil to give us his thoughts on how it's all going - or not going.
What were the low points?
It was a low point for me when Ricky got dismissed. I was disappointed because I thought he had a lot of potential.
Which trainees' performance were you most impressed by?
I was impressed mostly by Laurence because he really listened to what you were teaching him. There was a pipe-bending task he had to do. The results were so good that the plumbing mastercraftsman thought the work had been done by a professional. This was a fantastic achievement considering it was the first experience that Laurence had ever had in plumbing. I could see why Laurence had always wanted to be a plumber.
Did any of the trainees disappoint you?
All the trainees disappointed me, mainly because they didn't gel together as a group. They weren't thinking about working as a team.
What was your opinion on the trainees' attitude to work?
The trainees did have a shock to their system at the beginning. They realised that they had a long, hard day's work ahead of them every day. I think the first few weeks were very exciting, and then they realised what a slog it really was. Greg Santos was often late and didn't think that a few minutes mattered. Dan seemed unenthusiastic about the work, but he was dealing with bereavement.
How did the group react to leadership and authority?
The trainees were fine with authority given by myself or the mastercraftsmen, but they could not take instruction from each other at all. There was lots of bickering. Zac would try to rally the team together and did take a leadership role. The trainees were fine with this at the beginning as Zac was able to talk to them but by the end of the second meeting everyone was being a lot more honest and Zac ended up losing his temper with Greg Santos.
Have you seen a transformation of the trainees into professional tradespeople?
I saw a lot of potential in Greg Santos and thought he could definitely become a chippy. He was keen and already had some experience, and sometimes he gave a real good effort. You could tell that Zac was steady and was moving in the right direction every day.
