5 things they won't tell you at Merck

[Anonymous]

1) Ken Frazier and the rest of his "crack managment" team really don't care if the company changes even though it is screwed up beyond belief. These crooks have become experts at manipulating Merck for their own ends, and really could care less about the stockholders or employees.

2) Your manager knows that most of the calls you make are ineffective at best and totally fabricated at worst. They would rather have phony calls and entered than have you come up on the region dashboard for low call activity. Heaven forbid!!

3) The majority of the doctors offices you call on, give you time only to feed them. You are not bringing any value or information of relevance more than 90% of the time. Many of them have contempt for you, spurred on by your relatively high compensation for hours worked.

4) Pharma sales is a job and not a career. Merck will try and string you along, (espcially if you are part of the "club" or have high sex appeal. As you age, you will find out that you have been swindled. You will wake up one day and really understand how the pharmaceutical industry works now.

5) Free thinkers must be removed from the system as soon as they are detected...Only sheep and followers are able to reconcile the stupidity of the work, and are simple enough to be motivated by silly sales contests etc...

Feel free to add some more if you wish....

 

[Anonymous]

Not in sales, so can't comment about first 4. But you are right on the money with the 5th. It's an ugly pervasive authoritarian culture that completely inhibits innovations, especially in MRL. Good luck to you and get out if you can.

 

[Anonymous]

Was in sales and sadly learned that the first 4 things are very true. Keep in mind the older reps at Merck or those whose careers began in the 80's got their start in a very different environment when there was much less corruption and bs associated with the job of sales rep. Now they are caught like the proverbial frog in boiling water and find they may be trapped in a sleazy job and as you accurately state, not a career.

 

[Anonymous]

1) Ken Frazier and the rest of his "crack managment" team really don't care if the company changes even though it is screwed up beyond belief. These crooks have become experts at manipulating Merck for their own ends, and really could care less about the stockholders or employees.

2) Your manager knows that most of the calls you make are ineffective at best and totally fabricated at worst. They would rather have phony calls and entered than have you come up on the region dashboard for low call activity. Heaven forbid!!

3) The majority of the doctors offices you call on, give you time only to feed them. You are not bringing any value or information of relevance more than 90% of the time. Many of them have contempt for you, spurred on by your relatively high compensation for hours worked.

4) Pharma sales is a job and not a career. Merck will try and string you along, (espcially if you are part of the "club" or have high sex appeal. As you age, you will find out that you have been swindled. You will wake up one day and really understand how the pharmaceutical industry works now.

5) Free thinkers must be removed from the system as soon as they are detected...Only sheep and followers are able to reconcile the stupidity of the work, and are simple enough to be motivated by silly sales contests etc...

Feel free to add some more if you wish....

....speak for yourself.....this job can be totally exhausting for those of us who really do all that is required....too little vacation time for many of us and way too much study work, policy exams, data evals and running from off to office and trying to keep sales up,,, and provide some value to offices......Doctors contempt? For those of us with advanced education and degrees in some sort of healthcare the contempt is only there when people like you spread lies and BS as you are doing...I feel I give far more than the mid range salary that I make.

In case you dont know it some docs read this board. You are hurting many of us...

 

[Anonymous]

....speak for yourself.....this job can be totally exhausting for those of us who really do all that is required....too little vacation time for many of us and way too much study work, policy exams, data evals and running from off to office and trying to keep sales up,,, and provide some value to offices......Doctors contempt? For those of us with advanced education and degrees in some sort of healthcare the contempt is only there when people like you spread lies and BS as you are doing...I feel I give far more than the mid range salary that I make.

In case you dont know it some docs read this board. You are hurting many of us...

No, I would contend that you are hurting yourself. Hurting yourself by accepting the apparent delusion that what you do matters and brings value to your customers. Sure, the job can be totally exhausting and it is by all the meaningless BS that is required of you. "Study work, policy exams, data evals and running from off to office and trying to keep sales up," are your words and not mine. Do you honestly believe there exists significant value in any of that and that running from office to office is what keeps sales up? Your dishonesty with yourself is what is really hurting you. I would agree, your advanced education is surely going to waste by playing the game of pharma rep. Yet that is what you choose, ostensibly for the money I assume. Just being honest with you.

 

[Anonymous]

....speak for yourself.....this job can be totally exhausting for those of us who really do all that is required....too little vacation time for many of us and way too much study work, policy exams, data evals and running from off to office and trying to keep sales up,,, and provide some value to offices......Doctors contempt? For those of us with advanced education and degrees in some sort of healthcare the contempt is only there when people like you spread lies and BS as you are doing...I feel I give far more than the mid range salary that I make.

In case you dont know it some docs read this board. You are hurting many of us...

agree with this quote - as for the OP if you are so disgusted find something that doesn't disgust you and stop being a self admitted whore.

 

[Anonymous]

Houses of cards can stay up for a surprisingly long time if nothing fundamental gets shaken. But once they start to fall, they fall very fast.

 

[Anonymous]

....speak for yourself.....this job can be totally exhausting for those of us who really do all that is required....too little vacation time for many of us and way too much study work, policy exams, data evals and running from off to office and trying to keep sales up,,, and provide some value to offices......Doctors contempt? For those of us with advanced education and degrees in some sort of healthcare the contempt is only there when people like you spread lies and BS as you are doing...I feel I give far more than the mid range salary that I make.

In case you dont know it some docs read this board. You are hurting many of us...

"...I feel I give far more than the mid range salary that I make."

Too many people think we make big buckos for all we do...considering we work days, nights and weekends its pretty average. Unless you are in this company for 15 or more years its not that good. I have firends who work in other types of sales and are making plenty more with plenty less stress and time put in every week.

 

[Anonymous]

No, I would contend that you are hurting yourself. Hurting yourself by accepting the apparent delusion that what you do matters and brings value to your customers. Sure, the job can be totally exhausting and it is by all the meaningless BS that is required of you. "Study work, policy exams, data evals and running from off to office and trying to keep sales up," are your words and not mine. Do you honestly believe there exists significant value in any of that and that running from office to office is what keeps sales up? Your dishonesty with yourself is what is really hurting you. I would agree, your advanced education is surely going to waste by playing the game of pharma rep. Yet that is what you choose, ostensibly for the money I assume. Just being honest with you.

good post...many Merck reps are in such denial...they try and convince themselves that all the busy work matters in some way...and that feeding a bunch of nurses or having a doctor give them a sig for samples has some meaning to it...

they will find out the hard way what Merck is really all about...and they will pay...oh how they will pay...

 

[Anonymous]

good post...many Merck reps are in such denial...they try and convince themselves that all the busy work matters in some way...and that feeding a bunch of nurses or having a doctor give them a sig for samples has some meaning to it...

they will find out the hard way what Merck is really all about...and they will pay...oh how they will pay...

Busy work but try skipping on anything. They will PIP you and you will be out of a job.

Find out the hard way. Get tired. Get physically sick. Get unemployed. All real.

 

[Anonymous]

....speak for yourself.....this job can be totally exhausting for those of us who really do all that is required....too little vacation time for many of us and way too much study work, policy exams, data evals and running from off to office and trying to keep sales up,,, and provide some value to offices......Doctors contempt? For those of us with advanced education and degrees in some sort of healthcare the contempt is only there when people like you spread lies and BS as you are doing...I feel I give far more than the mid range salary that I make.

In case you dont know it some docs read this board. You are hurting many of us...

You are an extraordinary idiot if you actually believe this drivel. The OP is spot on, especially with #5.

 

[Anonymous]

the doctors don't value a drug rep, are you kidding me? why do you think all the pharma companies are going to outsourcing reps?? publicus, quintiles, etc.... because like many of you stated before, a monkey can do our job. look around you, where have all the 100K reps gone?? answer, they have been weeded out. yes, even the multiple vp award winners...gone. the outsourced reps are the smart thing to do these days. why not pay those reps half the salary and no benefits?? i love how some idiots on here think they do a "hard days work" . are you f'ing kidding me? dropping samples, lucky to witness the sig, and feeding cattle calls is not f'ing hard work..... a monkey can do it! RESOURCES?!?!! HAHAHAHAHA... seriously? a stupid f'ing spinning wheel with cholesterol numbers on it is not a resource morons. listen, if you want a future, get your resume in at pubicus so you might have a shot to stay in the pharma game for a few more years. cuz, yes, we are a joke, and the upper management are finally paying attention to it.

 

[Anonymous]

You know, it's a good day when I can help a customer help a patient. It does not happen everyday, some of our customers are way too busy to stop and have a conversation other than over a sample signature, but there are times when they do remember that they have a partner in Merck who will make a good faith effort in helping to answer a question or support a patient need. On those days, my job is enjoyable. On those calls, it feels like we can make a difference. It is only when someone else's (a crap manager or director) idea of what we "should" be doing in customer offices is so out of touch, that the job becomes a real bitch.

The customer thank yous keep me going, and while they are far and few between, they are still out there to earn.

 

[Anonymous]

whatever dude, drop your samples and beg for the sig from the doctor that you never see and never will be able to see, then txt your manager what a great job you did in that office. keep up your smoke and mirrors... what a joke.

 

[Anonymous]

You know, it's a good day when I can help a customer help a patient. It does not happen everyday, some of our customers are way too busy to stop and have a conversation other than over a sample signature, but there are times when they do remember that they have a partner in Merck who will make a good faith effort in helping to answer a question or support a patient need. On those days, my job is enjoyable. On those calls, it feels like we can make a difference. It is only when someone else's (a crap manager or director) idea of what we "should" be doing in customer offices is so out of touch, that the job becomes a real bitch.

The customer thank yous keep me going, and while they are far and few between, they are still out there to earn.

I hear ya. The chance to help a customer with something that obviously matters to them is the only thing that kept me going. That came to a halt for me in 2004 when our VIOXX mess hit the fan and I was surrounded by a majority of managers/directors who were incredibly out of touch with the reality in the field. The job was then a real bitch and there weren't nearly enough customer thank yous to keep me going anymore. There is nothing anymore redeeming about working as a drug rep. It's only about the money now. I would simply say I worked in sales and that's a stretch.

 

[Anonymous]

whatever dude, drop your samples and beg for the sig from the doctor that you never see and never will be able to see, then txt your manager what a great job you did in that office. keep up your smoke and mirrors... what a joke.

Only a Ken or Barbie rep would text a manager to claim victory. We, the old reps, just do what we should do on a daily basis to earn our money.

 

[Anonymous]

I hear ya. The chance to help a customer with something that obviously matters to them is the only thing that kept me going. That came to a halt for me in 2004 when our VIOXX mess hit the fan and I was surrounded by a majority of managers/directors who were incredibly out of touch with the reality in the field. The job was then a real bitch and there weren't nearly enough customer thank yous to keep me going anymore. There is nothing anymore redeeming about working as a drug rep. It's only about the money now. I would simply say I worked in sales and that's a stretch.

1. The job itself is very basic and routine. That everyone, including a monkey can do it.
2. The fun and creative part cannot be done by a monkey. That's the job satisfaction part which Merck is slowly taking it away by restricting the role of a rep with all the legal craps.
3. It is gratifying to hear real-life success stories how our products save and/or enhance lives. These days we are too sales driven to stop and hear them.
4. Part of the enjoyment is friendship with customers built since their days as residents and now top ranked in the territory. Merck does not care. I see that as partly why I am in this business.
5. I don't enjoy the micromanaging and reporting this and that. But I enjoy most of my customers.
6. I make very good money but it is not the only thing. You cannot take them to your grave. I live well. But it is the other non-monetary aspects of my job that I enjoy which Merck is ruining.

 

[Anonymous]

the doctors don't value a drug rep, are you kidding me? why do you think all the pharma companies are going to outsourcing reps?? publicus, quintiles, etc.... because like many of you stated before, a monkey can do our job. look around you, where have all the 100K reps gone?? answer, they have been weeded out. yes, even the multiple vp award winners...gone. the outsourced reps are the smart thing to do these days. why not pay those reps half the salary and no benefits?? i love how some idiots on here think they do a "hard days work" . are you f'ing kidding me? dropping samples, lucky to witness the sig, and feeding cattle calls is not f'ing hard work..... a monkey can do it! RESOURCES?!?!! HAHAHAHAHA... seriously? a stupid f'ing spinning wheel with cholesterol numbers on it is not a resource morons. listen, if you want a future, get your resume in at pubicus so you might have a shot to stay in the pharma game for a few more years. cuz, yes, we are a joke, and the upper management are finally paying attention to it.

Exactly.

 

[Anonymous]

You know, it's a good day when I can help a customer help a patient. It does not happen everyday, some of our customers are way too busy to stop and have a conversation other than over a sample signature, but there are times when they do remember that they have a partner in Merck who will make a good faith effort in helping to answer a question or support a patient need. On those days, my job is enjoyable. On those calls, it feels like we can make a difference. It is only when someone else's (a crap manager or director) idea of what we "should" be doing in customer offices is so out of touch, that the job becomes a real bitch.

The customer thank yous keep me going, and while they are far and few between, they are still out there to earn.

I hear you. Once a doctor caught me in the hallway to ask if he could give the product (I won't name which but it's a pill) to a critically ill patient and he took my word for it. Rare stuff but when it happens you feel you do have a hand in saving lives.

 

[Anonymous]

1. The job itself is very basic and routine. That everyone, including a monkey can do it.
2. The fun and creative part cannot be done by a monkey. That's the job satisfaction part which Merck is slowly taking it away by restricting the role of a rep with all the legal craps.
3. It is gratifying to hear real-life success stories how our products save and/or enhance lives. These days we are too sales driven to stop and hear them.
4. Part of the enjoyment is friendship with customers built since their days as residents and now top ranked in the territory. Merck does not care. I see that as partly why I am in this business.
5. I don't enjoy the micromanaging and reporting this and that. But I enjoy most of my customers.
6. I make very good money but it is not the only thing. You cannot take them to your grave. I live well. But it is the other non-monetary aspects of my job that I enjoy which Merck is ruining.

Spot-on!