S05.E04: Monica Potter Home

[Thrifty]

I haven't seen the entire episode yet, just up until the first commercial break.  It's interesting to see an actor in a different context like this.  It makes me think of their acting work in a different way.  Like it helps them stand out from the hundreds of other actors out there.  I didn't recognize the name until Marcus mentioned it, and I had to look her up on IMDB.  I haven't seen most of the things she has been in.  The only things I've seen her in were Saw and that wretched Patch Adams movie.

 

I'm sure I'll post more, about the actual business, later.

[ae2]

Wow. Monica Potter is a bit of a mess, to say the least. I'm almost surprised this aired without her completed redemption arc. No surprise the deal fell through in the end though. Marcus even took it easy on her compared to most people. She showed up late, and she rarely visits the store. Both of those would have earned a reaming for a regular business owner in the show.

 I thought Marcus's plan for the business was good. Simplifying into the four categories and putting more focus on her branded products makes a lot of sense and I hope she sticks with it. 

They really flew all over the place in this one. It was interesting to see LA Monica versus hometown Monica.

When they demoed the new branding at the end, I said out loud, "that looks like everything else out there."

Not two seconds later, MP echoed, "that looks like everything else out there."

And it really does.

Even the MP in the square brackets logo that they apparently settled on looks exactly like another brand I have seen in a similar space. (I will think of who it is eventually.)

[BusyOctober]

I watched every season of Parenthood, and Monica Potter's character, Christina, was consistently my least favorite person.  I thought Christina was an entitled, elitist, histrionic, whiny baby who was always on the verge of tears (happy tears, sad tears, frustration tears...didn't matter).  After seeing her on the Profit, I realize Monica Potter never had to "act" for her role.  She is an entitled, elitist, histrionic, whiny baby who always is on the verge of tears! And her nasally voice just puts me over the edge.

 Her whole melt down at the store was a real WTF moment. Too many tantrums to keep them straight, but let me specify- I am referring to the one when she walked out (again) from the conversation while caterwauling how she is the SOLE SAVIOR for not only her Mom & sisters, but for all of Cleveland!  Really?? Cleveland's economic survival relies on MP's crappy Ye Olde Shoppe of faux shabby chic and "rustic farmhouse" <<wink wink>> tchotchkes?  Pretty much everything in her store, aside from her magical Sea Buckthorn potion, can be found at any Target or Marshalls or TJ Maxx or Hallmark store.  And I bet their price points are considerably lower.

I felt bad for all the employees, but sorriest of all for MP's poor sister Jessica.  That woman looked like a dog that's been beaten into terrified submission.  She visible curled herself into a protective ball whenever her harridan of a sister entered the room or spoke. I wish Marcus could pluck her from her prison and set her up as a graphic designer in one of his successful ventures. FREE JESSICA!

[Gregg247]

I've never heard of Monica Potter, and I've never watched "Parenthood", but it took me about 2 minutes of this episode to realize that she is a total flake.  What a spoiled, entitled NUT!  How many times during the episode did she rub her hands all over her face, burst into tears, and make a dramatic exit from the room?  Did you notice how quickly her demeanor would change if anyone questioned any of her decisions?  Yikes!  She has a great "death-stare".  Monica's employees were absolutely scared to death of her, especially her sister.  I haven't seen employees that intimidated since the episode with the steroided body-builder who had the full meal delivery company.

I don't buy this as a legitimate episode of "The Profit" because I don't think Marcus is so gullible that he didn't immediately pick up on what a handful Monica was going to be.  It's not like she hid her true personality from him at first (at all!).  I think this was like the George Lopez episode, where having a semi-celebrity on the show is more important to Marcus than an actual business deal, which is a shame.  Why do I say that?

1. Marcus wasn't angry when Monica was "very" late to their first meeting and apparently spent little time in the store, even when she was in town.

2. Marcus offered a 50-50 deal with this obviously flighty actress-owner who needed a massive amount of help, and who would, ideally, only function as the "face" of the company.

3. Not only did Marcus not pull the whole "I'm 100% in charge" thing, he also never acted on it.  He tried to clear every decision with Monica before proceeding.  When has he ever done that before?

This was a disappointing episode for me, and it looks like next week may be not much better (he goes into business with a kid?!?!).

I almost forgot--Marcus once again tried his "Phil Donahue" approach of fixing deep-seated family issues by sitting down with family members for a 5 minute discussion.  This time, even Marcus didn't seem to believe that his "intervention" did any good at all!

[ae2]

47 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

I watched every season of Parenthood, and Monica Potter's character, Christina, was consistently my least favorite person.  I thought Christina was an entitled, elitist, histrionic, whiny baby who was always on the verge of tears (happy tears, sad tears, frustration tears...didn't matter). 

I am referring to the one when she walked out (again) from the conversation while caterwauling how she is the SOLE SAVIOR for not only her Mom & sisters, but for all of Cleveland!  Really?? Cleveland's economic survival relies on MP's crappy Ye Olde Shoppe of faux shabby chic and "rustic farmhouse" <<wink wink>> tchotchkes?

As much as I try to separate actors from their characters, I had a very similar thought about that. At least Christina was able to carry on a conversation without breaking down. Marcus was in over his head on the emotional problems this time.

The funny thing about Cleveland... the store she had IN Cleveland closed, and now her only store is almost an hour away in Garrettsville, OH. (Which looks like it's a tiny town outside the suburbs of Cleveland.) 

OH! We finally saw Juli Reed, "winner" of Partner! It didn't even occur to me that's who she was when I saw her. Really was not impressed by her presentations or how she handled Monica, though it's probably not a fair first challenge for her.

[cooksdelight]

I did a Google search of “logos with two square brackets Monica potter”

Nothing. Zero.

2 hours ago, ae2 said:

Even the MP in the square brackets logo that they apparently settled on looks exactly like another brand I have seen in a similar space. (I will think of who it is eventually.)

I couldn’t find anything that I immediately recognized, except Uber. Which is in a square.

 

Marcus has shitty designers working for him.

[Thrifty]

6 minutes ago, Gregg247 said:

I don't buy this as a legitimate episode of "The Profit" because I don't think Marcus is so gullible that he didn't immediately pick up on what a handful Monica was going to be.  It's not like she hid her true personality from him at first (at all!).  I think this was like the George Lopez episode, where having a semi-celebrity on the show is more important to Marcus than an actual business deal, which is a shame.  Why do I say that?

Me neither.  Like I said, I haven't watched more than the first 10 minutes or so, but going for a business owned by a successful actress instead of a regular Joe, like most episodes, seems like a stunt.  And they showed the preview for next week's episode, which is some business owned by a 13 year old and his mom.  Ugh.  I hate when shows like this feature children.  I guess I could go more into that, but it'd be off topic and I should wait for next week's episode.

 

Back to this week, the whole business feels like one of those businesses opened by a dilettante with disposable money but not a lot of business sense.  Like restaurants and bars opened by lottery winners.  Monica Potter is a successful actress, which is more than you can say for most actors.  She had a major role on over 100 episodes of a successful show, so she's gotta be somewhat flush with cash.  But still, she's not pulling in Kaley Cuoco money, or even Lauren Graham money.

[qtpye]

First, I really think Monica was on something.  Something was not right in her headspace.

Second, her story is pretty common in show business.  Even though she is kind of a c-list actress, she is probably very wealthy compared to the rest of her family.  Even though she is kind of a nightmare, she probably has contributed a decent amount of money to her family's upkeep, which she resents bitterly.  She really needs to sell this company and focus on her acting since she has no head for business.

[tobeannounced]

Oy vey, what a cluster fuck! That episode what positively schizophrenic, all over the place. The only way I know Monica Potter is from her appearance on that Tyler Henry psychic show on E! (don't judge). Now I need to go back and watch it because I'm thinking she came off as a reasonably sane, nice person. This was not good for her image, but now I want to try her ointment for my daughter's eczema, so there's that.

[ae2]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

I did a Google search of “logos with two square brackets Monica potter”

Marcus has shitty designers working for him.

I couldn't find anything Googling either, but I'm going to go to Home Goods and search for it because I'm positive I've seen it at a place like that before. Which is exactly where you'd expect to find MP's products. I don't hate too much on logos that aren't original, because anything you can think of independently is likely already in use. But this one is driving me crazy :)

Was it Juli I think that proposed the logo designs?

23 minutes ago, tobeannounced said:

Oy vey, what a cluster fuck! That episode what positively schizophrenic, all over the place. The only way I know Monica Potter is from her appearance on that Tyler Henry psychic show on E! (don't judge). Now I need to go back and watch it because I'm thinking she came off as a reasonably sane, nice person. This was not good for her image, but now I want to try her ointment for my daughter's eczema, so there's that.

I first saw sea buckthorn creams at a store near the beach in Maine a few years ago. So there are definitely multiple options out there!

[seacliffsal]

Marcus should have bailed as soon as she waltzed in late saying "sorry" after which Marcus said "you're very late" and she immediately turned to him with a scowl on her face and said "I said I'm sorry."  At that point it was really clear that she would not take responsibility for her actions and did not value anyone else's time or opinion.  Wow, but she shot him down.  

As I watched the episode, I, too, thought that Marcus really wanted a "celebrity" to partner with in order to establish his coolness factor.  But, he sure chose the wrong celebrity.  I wonder if he thought he could create his own version of The Honest Company with this homegoods business.  Monica really sees herself as always being right.  I laughed when at the meeting with the distributors she stated that her name was a huge differentiator from other businesses and the presenters came back with she was well known but not that well known by everyone.  I think she has an inflated sense of celebrity equaling being better than others as well as an inflated sense of entitlement.  

Marcus needs to be consistent with all of the businesses with which he invests.  I thought that he was way too nice with her.  I wonder if there's more to the story.

[Kenz]

I agree with all of the posts above. Why would Monica Potter want to come on this show and make a fool of herself? Is that "Home Grown" store out in the middle of nowhere? After they had the garage sale, how are they going to fill up the store space just with ointments, creams, candles, a few scarves and linens, and some gift boxes?  Was Marcus interested in this only because of Monica Potter's name on the products? That seems like a flimsy reason to be involved with such a little business. As usual, this show confounds me with so many unanswered questions.

Edited to add link to website:https://www.monicapotterhome.com

She didn't change her labels. They look blah to me.

Edited December 14, 2017 by Kenz

[JasminePhyllisia]

11 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Marcus has shitty designers working for him.

Agreed. I can't think of any specifics but I'm a longtime fan of the show. Sometimes he takes an organic (if not-quite-professional looking) logo that may already be familiar with locals and customers and has his designers sterilize it so that it doesn't stand out in the crowd. Maybe that's what he's going for, but still in my experience a unique logo pops out.

[cooksdelight]

The swimsuit company, he changed their name and look, instead of keeping the owner’s name somehow in it. They named it Silhouette, and there was another swimsuit company with a similar name. No research on that whatsoever.

First thing you do when you’re going to name a company, or design a logo, is research the Internet to make sure you’re not ripping someone off. I can’t remember one he’s redone that I like or is memorable. 

[cooksdelight]

I looked at their website, as well as their Facebook page. Not one word about the show. I caught one post where someone was agreeing with Marcus and I am surprised they didn’t delete it.

I felt really bad for her sister. Her head was always down, she looked so sad. 

[qtpye]

9 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I looked at their website, as well as their Facebook page. Not one word about the show. I caught one post where someone was agreeing with Marcus and I am surprised they didn’t delete it.

I felt really bad for her sister. Her head was always down, she looked so sad. 

I felt bad for her, but at some point you have got to take yourself out of your sister's shadow and make your own life, particularly if she happens to be batshit crazy.

I remember Whitney Houston got so bad partly because her whole family was on her payroll and were afraid to say anything to her about her addiction.

Monica is a queen bee and the sister has to stop being her punching bag.  This also means she has to stop relying on Monica for a pay check.  I think the sister quit once, but unfortunately came back.

[cooksdelight]

1 minute ago, qtpye said:

particularly if she happens to be batshit crazy.

I watched it after my husband did, and when I mentioned it this morning, those were his exact words for Monica.

[Thrifty]

I finished watching the episode yesterday.  It reaffirms my earlier assessment.  Monica doesn't really have any business sense, and she has a big ego because of her success and her status as the "golden child" of the family.  I don't think this makes her a bad person, but it's a bad family dynamic.  I think it's good that she is taking care of her family, but the family may be too dependent on her.  It's never good when something elevates one sibling above another.  I once borrowed $7000 from my brother and didn't make any payments for about 5 years.  Although I did eventually repay him in full, it was difficult to be around him during those 5 years.  He wasn't a jerk about it, but I felt very embarrassed.

10 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I felt really bad for her sister. Her head was always down, she looked so sad. 

I felt a little bad for both of them.  Jessica seemed downtrodden by her sister, and Monica seemed haggard from the responsibility of being the big success and taking care of her family.  I think they all need a good therapist.

[cooksdelight]

The million Monica spent on the business, to honor her late father, would have gone a long way to making sure her mother and sister were OK.

[Thrifty]

49 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

The million Monica spent on the business, to honor her late father, would have gone a long way to making sure her mother and sister were OK.

Definitely, but I think she wanted to try and do something more than just a handout.

[sugarbaker design]

17 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I felt really bad for her sister. Her head was always down, she looked so sad. 

 

7 hours ago, qtpye said:

I felt bad for her, but at some point you have got to take yourself out of your sister's shadow and make your own life, particularly if she happens to be batshit crazy.

Seriously, get another job!  You have marketable skills!  Get out of the asylum!

[guilfoyleatpp]

19 hours ago, Kenz said:

I agree with all of the posts above. Why would Monica Potter want to come on this show and make a fool of herself? Is that "Home Grown" store out in the middle of nowhere? After they had the garage sale, how are they going to fill up the store space just with ointments, creams, candles, a few scarves and linens, and some gift boxes?  Was Marcus interested in this only because of Monica Potter's name on the products? That seems like a flimsy reason to be involved with such a little business. As usual, this show confounds me with so many unanswered questions.

Edited to add link to website:https://www.monicapotterhome.com

She didn't change her labels. They look blah to me.

She seemed nuttier than squirrel poo. I can't imagine she wasn't like that before she went to LA, although it's a toss up if being a working actress made it better or worse. 

Even on the website the labels aren't centered on the jars. It doesn't look professional. 

[cooksdelight]

9 hours ago, Thrifty said:

Definitely, but I think she wanted to try and do something more than just a handout.

I didn’t have to be a handout. She could have opened one store, let them run it without her constantly sticking her nose in. Hubby wonders if she’s done some drugs in the past that messed with her head.

[attica]

If there was a delight in this ep, it was the editor's generous inclusion of Marcus reaction shots. Lots of great Lemogis (tm Sarah D. Bunting).

[methadonna]

1 minute ago, attica said:

If there was a delight in this ep, it was the editor's generous inclusion of Marcus reaction shots. Lots of great Lemogis (tm Sarah D. Bunting).

Fo’ realz: they were so abundant that my first thought was that the editors were trolling the Lemoji-seekers / giving the viewers SOMETHING to make this episode watchable.

Then I realized how *I* was reacting every time Monica ... Monica-ed, had a vision of my mom dragging me back in time three decades to slap the pre-teen eye-rolling disrespect outta my face, and considered how much more time Marcus had to spend around this woman.

 

So, nah, I believe, if anything, the editors probably cut far more of his is-this-dingbat-for-real? faces, as the only way to amplify any reaction anyone—let alone someone with such propenisity for expressive faces—would’ve had would be to literally create the cartoon-eyes-rolling-out-of-his-face-and-onto-the-“garage-sale”*-table trope.

 

*Maybe I’m  nitpicking because I hated everything about this episode, but calling the “get-rid-of-the-excess-merchandise/random-shit” part of the Process a “garage sale” was even more precious than everything else precious Monica so carefully tried to make precious in her precious country store craphole. Marcus has one of those purge scenes in half of his episodes: as with any other business (vs a de-hoarding homeowner), every normal (fsvo) featured owner calls it a liquidation sale. OMG, I hate this woman.

[sarthaz]

5 minutes in, you could tell Potter was batshit crazy and this would end badly, so this episode was mostly a tedious slog getting to the predictable finish.  What surprised me most, though, was that Chloe's logo designs sucked.

It bothered me that Marcus basically gave this business the "celebrity discount".  "I wasted mine and my team's time on this shit fest, and you've subverted my goals at every turn, but because you're kinda famous, no hard feelings and feel free to waste more of my team's time in the future."

[attica]

Is it petty of me that i super enjoyed the moment in the branding meeting when the guy said, out loud and to Monica's face, "Not everybody knows who you are! "?

[cooksdelight]

6 hours ago, sarthaz said:

What surprised me most, though, was that Chloe's logo designs sucked.

As a longtime graphic designer, didn’t surprise me. Marcus has yet to hire anyone in his office, or as a freelancer, that has any knock-it-out-of-the-park talent. With his money, that is the only thing that surprises me. I keep telling him I’m available....

[sarthaz]

5 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

As a longtime graphic designer, didn’t surprise me. Marcus has yet to hire anyone in his office, or as a freelancer, that has any knock-it-out-of-the-park talent. With his money, that is the only thing that surprises me. I keep telling him I’m available....

No love for the mural? LOL

[healthnut]

I recognize Monica Potter from Along Came A Spider. Wow, she’s insufferable in real life and a complete basket case. Marcus totally walked on egg shells with her. Did she even call Marcus for help? I didn’t understand the trust issues she had with him especially considering she was never around the store. Just a very weird episode for me.  

[cooksdelight]

12 minutes ago, healthnut said:

Did she even call Marcus for help?

Somebody did. If not her, might have been either the sister or the store manager.

[attica]

Might've been the dude accountant guy? He seemed to be the only one who knew the dire financials.

Monica has always reminded me of Julia Roberts physically. I think she's now even sounding like J-Ro.

[sasha206]

On 12/13/2017 at 9:34 AM, cooksdelight said:

I did a Google search of “logos with two square brackets Monica potter”

Nothing. Zero.

I couldn’t find anything that I immediately recognized, except Uber. Which is in a square.

 

Marcus has shitty designers working for him.

Amen.  The logos were so shitty.  I like her original much better.

And this Monica Potter came off so poorly that if she was hoping that the show would be advertising for her product, who would ever buy it?  I felt sorry for everyone BUT her which is unusual since I tend to feel some sympathy for people that are at their wits end with their businesses.

11 hours ago, attica said:

Is it petty of me that i super enjoyed the moment in the branding meeting when the guy said, out loud and to Monica's face, "Not everybody knows who you are! "?

OMG YES!  I know Parenthood was a hit show, that I only got through a few episodes of, but she's no Lauren Graham.  To see her get that comedown after thinking for sure her "celebrity" would allow her to sell her very unoriginal products was hilarious.

[sasha206]

On 12/14/2017 at 11:36 AM, Thrifty said:

Definitely, but I think she wanted to try and do something more than just a handout.

Except she tried, with no success, of getting Marcus to pay her back the $1M she sunk back into the business like a moron.

[TVForever]

This episode confirmed for me what I thought of Monica Potter's business when I first heard of it a few years ago- it's more of a vanity project than a true business for her. And she certainly wouldn't be the first celebrity to go down that road. You can swing a cat and hit a "used to be hot" celebrity who now fancies herself a fashion designer, jewelry designer, or that all-inclusive "lifestyle brand." I've only seen three people pull it off successfully (so far)- Jessica Alba (The Honest Company), Jessica Simpson (I know, but that company of hers is doing really well), and Gwyneth Paltrow ( goop).  For Potter's employees, it's real- but for her, it seems to be mainly an ode to her adored, dearly departed father. Of course the partnership wasn't going to work; everything Marcus tried to implement to grow Monica Potter Home as a business, and not just an extension of Monica Potter, was getting shot down. I would be curious to know how many of the employees on the episode are still there in a year's time if the company still exists by then.

[Thrifty]

Wow.  That is a perfectly worded summary of the business.

[Lola16]

I get dry patches of skin that flare up. Started using sugar scrubs because of a pitch I saw on Shark Tank a few years ago (one of Mark Cuban's sons has eczema or psoriasis). Between that, my trusty benedryl, and the hydrochloride spray, I can get any flare up under control in seconds. And the sugar scrub helps keep flare ups at bay. So the sea buck whatever is appealing to me.  Not that I can order any!

Because... they are out of stock of the sea buck whatever. The one thing that differentiates them, and they don't have it. Learned nothing from other companies on The Profit or Shark Tank. What a missed opportunity.

I never heard of Monica Potter the actress. Her name though sounds like a home care brand. Agree with all the comments about Marcus's lame staff and the blah-ing down of the brand, logos, etc.

I thought maybe her outbursts were an act. Guess not. Guess she also is still running/ruining the business.  Run sister run!

[JasminePhyllisia]

On ‎12‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 5:49 AM, attica said:

Is it petty of me that i super enjoyed the moment in the branding meeting when the guy said, out loud and to Monica's face, "Not everybody knows who you are! "?

I did watch Parenthood but never saw MP in anything before or since and that guy made an important point which was she was not a big enough celebrity to carry this off as a celebrity brand, so they really didn't have that going for them (even in her hometown!)

As if this episode wasn't already a major shitshow I happened to see, after the last scene with Marcus and Monica's emotional conversation on the porch, the commercial break included a commercial for Gold Bond Eczema Relief cream.  Hold on, isn't the Sea Buckthorn stuff an eczema treatment?  Total coincidence I'm sure!!

[tobeannounced]

Oh, I'm pissed. I ordered the Sea Buckthorn Balm for my daughter's eczema. They sent me a facial oil instead, and now I come here and see the Sea Buckthorn Balm is out of stock. So they just sent me whatever the hell they wanted??? I got plenty of emails from them, and none said they were out of stock and was it okay to send a different product. 20 bucks for the balm plus 5 for shipping and handling, and now I've got to deal with trying to get my friggin' money back, grrrr.

ETA: I already got an email from them. They said they will refund my money and will still send me the balm when it becomes available. We'll see...

Edited December 22, 2017 by tobeannounced

[Lola16]

6 hours ago, tobeannounced said:

Oh, I'm pissed. I ordered the Sea Buckthorn Balm for my daughter's eczema. They sent me a facial oil instead, and now I come here and see the Sea Buckthorn Balm is out of stock. So they just sent me whatever the hell they wanted??? I got plenty of emails from them, and none said they were out of stock and was it okay to send a different product. 20 bucks for the balm plus 5 for shipping and handling, and now I've got to deal with trying to get my friggin' money back, grrrr.

ETA: I already got an email from them. They said they will refund my money and will still send me the balm when it becomes available. We'll see...

Let us know when you get it. I did read that it says not to put on broken skin so I guess it's more of a preventative thing. Amazon has a few competitor products, I might try one of those.

[JasminePhyllisia]

On ‎12‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 3:59 PM, tobeannounced said:

Oh, I'm pissed. I ordered the Sea Buckthorn Balm for my daughter's eczema. They sent me a facial oil instead, and now I come here and see the Sea Buckthorn Balm is out of stock. So they just sent me whatever the hell they wanted??? I got plenty of emails from them, and none said they were out of stock and was it okay to send a different product. 20 bucks for the balm plus 5 for shipping and handling, and now I've got to deal with trying to get my friggin' money back, grrrr.

ETA: I already got an email from them. They said they will refund my money and will still send me the balm when it becomes available. We'll see...

Hmmm could it be they were monitoring this site for reviews from their episode and happened to see your post?  I know there are a lot of sites people could be talking about the show but still this smacks of PR/damage control to me.

[tobeannounced]

32 minutes ago, JasminePhyllisia said:

Hmmm could it be they were monitoring this site for reviews from their episode and happened to see your post?  I know there are a lot of sites people could be talking about the show but still this smacks of PR/damage control to me.

Honestly, I got a reply back so fast, it almost felt like they're sending out a lot of these emails, but who knows.

[JasminePhyllisia]

1 minute ago, tobeannounced said:

Honestly, I got a reply back so fast, it almost felt like they're sending out a lot of these emails, but who knows.

In that case maybe they got a post-episode bump and couldn't keep up with the sudden increased demand for their products.

[tobeannounced]

1 minute ago, JasminePhyllisia said:

In that case maybe they got a post-episode bump and couldn't keep up with the sudden increased demand for their products.

Which just shows how inept they are. I mean, it would have been a perfect opportunity for them to sell a bunch of stuff. Seems like a no-brainer that you'd gear up for it. Maybe they have supply chain issues.

[tobeannounced]

Well, I have to give props to Monica Potter Home - they refunded my purchase like they said they would, and today I received the ointment in the mail with a complimentary lip balm and a hand-written note apologizing for the inconvenience. So ended up getting three products for free counting the wrong one they sent the first time. Can't be mad at that.

[Lola16]

On 1/11/2018 at 5:54 PM, tobeannounced said:

Well, I have to give props to Monica Potter Home - they refunded my purchase like they said they would, and today I received the ointment in the mail with a complimentary lip balm and a hand-written note apologizing for the inconvenience. So ended up getting three products for free counting the wrong one they sent the first time. Can't be mad at that.

Good for you :) Let us know how it works.

[Brewfan130]

I’m not familiar with who Monica Potter is as an actress, but in real life she’s a psychopath.

[EconMan]

 I’m a bit late to the party here (just watched the ep) but I thought I would leave a few thoughts. 

 This was probably the most lame episode ever. Not the worst business, but the worst episode.  It begs the question whether it was just some “filler“ episode they slapped on TV while they were filming real episodes?

 It also, to a limited degree, tarnished my perception of the show.    I think it is a grave strategic mistake for the show to go the “celebrity route“ where actors become the stars.   It is obvious to me Marcus treated her differently than non-celeb owners.   This sort of thing lowers my respect for him and faith in the show. 

 Yes, I know “Reality TV“ isn’t real, and that it really should be called “unscripted TV”.   But even unscripted TV is still choreographed, and in this episode the choreography was way too invasive.   Such episodes stain the integrity of the show. 

 It is also clear she almost certainly did the show for its “advertising affect“.     Reportedly, her net worth is approximately $3 million, so it’s not like she was facing poverty.  She can easily cover the relatively small deficits that the business is suffering, and she didn’t really need Marcus, and I strongly suspect did not really want him either.   

 Moving onto Monica Potter herself, first, I am shocked that an actor would let themselves be in such a situation.  Brand is everything in that business.  To be honest, she reminds me of a woman I used to date (for about 6mo) several years ago.  Later, I found out she had been diagnosed with something called “borderline personality disorder“, which best I can tell means, “we really don’t know why you’re so narcissistic, selfish, hateful, dramatic, and controlling..so we invented this label for such cases..”.   Second, the way she treated her sister was appalling. No thoughtfulness, no empathy... just an “ I am Monica Potter, and you are *just* her sister, don’t ever forget that..” sort of hatefulness.   Third, her “woe is me“ self-sacrificial perception of herself, honestly made me wonder if she was going to hop up on a cross and ask somebody to drive some nails into her hands.   Utterly distasteful. Before this episode, I would have rated her a B-list actress. After the episode, I’m thinking more C-list.   Regardless, at least on the show, she came across in a very poor light, at least by my values.  

 Lastly, I have a question, perhaps I just missed the answer because I was being triggered by Monica Potter.  Marcus wrote her a check for $100,000 (yeah, we know that “the check“ is a prop primarily), and I don’t remember the show showing anything about him getting his money returned? 

[CrazyInAlabama]

From looking at the Profit Updates, apparently the $100k check was contingent on the deal going through, but it didn't so I'm guessing that Marcus never sent the money.    I feel sorry for her sister that works for her, and is treated like garbage.      The family relationships were so much nicer on the show where Monica and her sisters redid the parents former home.     It's sad, because Cleveland does have a lot of issues, and a thriving furniture and housewares business could do a lot for the local economy.  

I wonder how much of the $3 mil she's supposed to be worth will actually turn out to be left after the divorce, and when her business losses and other expenses come to light.  

Edited August 25, 2018 by CrazyInAlabama

[Kroliosis]

On 8/24/2018 at 1:33 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

From looking at the Profit Updates, apparently the $100k check was contingent on the deal going through, but it didn't so I'm guessing that Marcus never sent the money.    I feel sorry for her sister that works for her, and is treated like garbage.      The family relationships were so much nicer on the show where Monica and her sisters redid the parents former home.     It's sad, because Cleveland does have a lot of issues, and a thriving furniture and housewares business could do a lot for the local economy.  

Clevelander here & just saw this episode. The shop is not close to CLE - it’s an hour away in the middle of no where.  She had a pop-up shop downtown around the RNC convention but it was never open & what she was selling didn’t fit the the younger vibe of the area.  I can’t see a ‘thriving’ furniture and housewares place like that adding anything to Cleveland. It’s definitely not a sad place and has undergone a massive revitalization that I can’t imagine a place that enhancing.