Last night’s episode of Flipping Out featured Jeff wrestling with some of the negative aspects of the design business, such as unsatisfied clients and unethical contractors. Jeff also revealed his million-dollar idea, but sadly it’s not going to make him millions- yet!
The episode begins with the remnants of Randy, and Jeff needs to hire a new contractor ASAP because Spring Oak is already delayed. When Jeff is at the job site to inspect the status, Randy arrives and he wants guess what? His check! Jeff asks him to invoice him, but is predicting that Randy – desperate for money – will exaggerate the invoice.
Back at the office, Jeff is in talks to develop his own paint line with a company that currently is not available in America. The paint is totally green – with little to no chemicals, but must be applied with a special brush. The colors are amazing. Jeff really wants this opportunity to pan out because he considers it the “big fish,” or a way for he and Gage to move forward to the next stage of their lives. They want to buy a house and start a family of people children (even though they already have Zoila and 65 pets). Jeff is over relying on clients to pay his bills with all the unpredictability and stress of his business and is hoping the paint line will be the $300M lottery. He doesn’t want to settle for any stinkin’ single digit millions – that’s for pansies – he only wants the almost billion dollar pay out!
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Jeff brings his new paint samples to the Durand site where friend and client Jeanie is in the final stages of her renovation. Jeff explains when the paint is applied the finish looks like wallpaper (which Jeff loves and currently sells on his website!). Jenni loves the colors of the line so much she agrees to let Jeff paint her car and her nails with them – ok maybe not, but Jeff thinks she should!
Jeanie lets Jeff know she is against fruity tiles, cause they are for two men in a relationship and not for tough heavy metal wives like herself. Hehe. Jeff and Jeanie joke about the tiles, but the white semi-satin ones she picked actually look really nice. Jeff decides to play a little trick on Jeanie, by suggesting she paint some accent walls and giving her his paint chip selection for some sample colors, without telling her it is his new line. Jeannie is blown away by the colors and loves them all. When he reveals SURPRISE! It’s special Jeff Lewis Paint, Jeannie is thrilled for him and wants to use them right away. Jeff, jokingly (maybe), asks Jeanie if he can borrow some start up capital.
Back at West Knoll, I noticed Casey is walking! Good job Casey – I’m glad you’ve recovered! Unfortunately the good news ends there, because Jeff also learns that Randy has sent him the anticipated “phony” invoice and does not want to provide any proof that he spent the money on supplies, claiming he is not an employee of JLD and does not have to. Jeff is flabbergasted by how self-sabotaging Randy is given his precarious financial state. Gage discusses the stress of dealing with difficult clients and contractors who you depend on for your income (Hello, Stacey Farrish!). Jeff, ranting over Randy’s email, calls him a “f*ck ass” which apparently opened a whole new world of vocab for Zoila who keeps repeating the naughty words until Jeff threatens to wash her mouth out with soap. No cursing in front of the kids, boys! Jeff decides he isn’t paying Randy for the unverified invoice and Randy can sue him!
Jeff and Jenni interview a potential new contractor for Spring Oak. After many, many bad dates and a couple failed relationship Team J are not getting burned again, so they are giving Roberto the full Spanish Inquisition. Roberto passes with flying colors as soon as he said: ‘works on Saturday from 8-5 with a one-hour lunch break.’ Randy decides Roberto is an angel sent to save his a** Spring Oak.
After finding Roberto, Jeff lets clients Mike and Laura know about the change of contractors and is nervous about their reaction, given they are in Marin County and haven’t seen their house in weeks. Jeff starts out by giving them the good news about the project, but then drops the bomb – Randy is out. Jeff explains about the $5,000 material advance and although Mike understands, he still wants to do a site visit to see things for himself, making Jeff very nervous!
Moving onto future plans, Jeff meets with his dad, Tom to get his opinion on the paint endeavor. Jeff’s Dad… so serious, so gruff, so… Jeff. We totally know where Jeff gets his demeanor (and his nose!) Tom has been a business man for twice as long as Jeff and has a lot of experience winning and losing big. His advice on the paint: do more research – if it’s so great why haven’t any major paint companies picked up the product? Also, be prepared for a major personal investment to get the line off the ground. Jeff seems a little defeated after talking to his father. Jeff expresses his reservations about the risks involved with a major business venture; but risk-taking is his style and that’s how he got where he is today.
In order to raise the capital to invest in the paint, Jeff has taken to playing the lottery and bring on the scratch-offs! Good Luck Fairy Jenni is the head scratcher on the job, and in his first go round he wins a whopping $14 and a free lotto ticket. Dashing the excitement is Gage Jr, Intern, and kill-joy Vanina, who reminds him he actually may have lost money since he had to invest in the tickets. Jeff decides if he wins big, everyone is fired except his pets and he’s keeping the money for himself, maybe Gage might get a little, but mostly he is keeping it all (Isn’t that what happens in his relationship with Gage anyways? He makes the dough and Gage whines?).
At Durand, Jeanie is eager to test out the new paint on her accent walls. Jenni and Jeanie experiment with brush strokes to see if they like it harder or softer – the paint, sillies! Jeff and Gage can’t stop snickering over the unintentional double entendre. In order to cool things down, Jeff gives Jenni a cold shower by spraying her with the hose.
To reassure Mike and Laura about the progress of Spring Oak, Jeff and Jenni are in a rush to make things look a little more “complete” than they actually are. So they stage a Jeff Lewis photoshoot and make the contractor crew look “busy” while they document the evidence. Jeff demands that everyone get on ladders, grab hammers, and start taking measurements for the “pretend work” scene.
Back at the office, Jeff learns Randy is threatening to place a lien on Spring Oak for the unpaid invoice – and he wants to inform the already nervous homeowners. Jeff is furious – placing a lien against the property means the owners cannot sell or refinance until the lien is removed which would necessitate Jeff paying Randy even though Randy is refusing to provide any receipts or proof that he purchased the materials. Jeff compares the situation to a nasty divorce where the woman is demanding more than she is worth. Nice, Jeff. Jeff’s father advises him to file a complaint with the Contractor’s License Board against Randy and informs him that if Randy does not have a written contract with Jeff for the work, than he is legally unable to file the lien. Jeff is still worried Randy will contact the homeowners to try and give them his version of the story in the hopes of extorting Jeff for the money.
At Spring Oak there are further issues, when Jeff discovers that golden boy, Roberto has removed windows that were supposed to remain in the house. Jeff panics since he had been going back and forth with the homeowners about whether or not to remove the windows or keep them, and Mike ultimately decided he wanted them to stay. In a pinch Jeff, devises a scheme. He calls Mike and pretends he intentionally removed them in an effort to gain symmetry with the other side of the house and create continuity by having 8ft Frech Doors on both sides. Mike decides he loves the plan.
Checking on the paint at Durand, Jeff and Gage discover it looks horrible on the wall. It is very inconsistent and streaky, even though the color is beautiful. Jeff, naturally blames Gage the person who applied it. Gage feels the problem is that the drying time is too quick making it hard to get an even coat. Jeff’s hopes are dashed – he wanted his $300M idea to happen in a couple months and now recognizes his father is right – he is going to need to invest a lot more time and research into the product before it is ready for the market. So, no more Jeff Lewis Paint – for now!
It’s crunch time at Spring Oak before Mike and Laura arrive. Jenni get’s garbage duty and is cleaning up pile of installation. Go Jenni go – work those arm muscles! But what are those plaid palazzo pants!? When Mike and Laura show up for the walk-thru they love it and are speechless at how amazing the addition is going to be. Everyone gives Roberto mad-props for the amazing work he has done in such a short amount of time, essentially turning the project around completely. Jeff realizes he still needs clients, because he loves his job and it is rewarding to see his clients happy with this work.
Next week: Sadly, it’s the Season Finale! All the good shows end too soon! Jeff breaks into to his old house. Wants it back. Jeff and Jenni get into it! Jenni’s rap career is taking off and she may lose her job because she can’t give a better time commitment.
Do you think Jeff should branch out into a paint line or have you had enough with the Bravolebrity Home Shopping Channel? Do you think Jeff handled Randy appropriately? How exciting was it to see Jeff’s dad?!
