Customer Service Associates (CSA) Expansion

[Anonymous]

Customer Service Associates are coming to a territory near you, very soon!
They are the true "sample droppers" of our pharmaceutical industry. CSA's have no formal product training and do not talk products. They only collect signatures, leave coupons and formulary information. They sample send Nexium (which makes them very popular!), Symbicort, and Vimovo. They expanded these positions at the end of last year!

This week CSA's added another product.........Crestor! WOW! Is this the true future of AstraZeneca? What do you think these reps are being paid?! Is this the end of MCR2?

 

[Anonymous]

Customer Service Associates are coming to a territory near you, very soon!
They are the true "sample droppers" of our pharmaceutical industry. CSA's have no formal product training and do not talk products. They only collect signatures, leave coupons and formulary information. They sample send Nexium (which makes them very popular!), Symbicort, and Vimovo. They expanded these positions at the end of last year!

This week CSA's added another product.........Crestor! WOW! Is this the true future of AstraZeneca? What do you think these reps are being paid?! Is this the end of MCR2?

If you have to ask questions like this you haven't been paying attention.

 

[Anonymous]

Is MCR gone? We are all gone! According to CSA posts on the publicis board, they make $35,000 per year with no bonus. Meet your replacement! The only question that remains (sort of, since we already know the answer): will AZ finally lay the rest of us off or just put all of us on plans/up the abuse in order to get us to leave? Judging from the amazing dignity they have already shown their reps, (i.e. hiring our replacements while we are still here), I will go with the second choice.

 

[Anonymous]

Why don't they just have Drs order samples online and not even bother with any type of rep? They can order educational info and look up managed care info online too. AZ would save a tremendous amount of money on reps and consultants. If/when AZ has a new product, contract reps can be hired.

 

[Anonymous]

Why don't they just have Drs order samples online and not even bother with any type of rep? They can order educational info and look up managed care info online too. AZ would save a tremendous amount of money on reps and consultants. If/when AZ has a new product, contract reps can be hired.

I'll tell you why. Docs are seeing more patients and reimbursements are dropping. They don't have time to look up a "new drug" online, or talk to some idiot over the phone. In the South, (with the exception of some parts of Florida and metro ATL) access is virtually 100%. They still prefer to talk with a rep they have known for years and trust. The CSA's are a joke and will always be one. I counted 4 full cases of Nexium sitting UNOPENED in a primary care office of one MD! Nexium sales have dropped consistently every quarter since they took it over. Why not give he MCR2 reps "sampling" responsibility instead of hiring another layer of reps?? The RSS position is another wasted position along with the overlay reps. I guarantee you some consultant told AZ that's the way to go!

 

[Anonymous]

Is MCR gone? We are all gone! According to CSA posts on the publicis board, they make $35,000 per year with no bonus. Meet your replacement! The only question that remains (sort of, since we already know the answer): will AZ finally lay the rest of us off or just put all of us on plans/up the abuse in order to get us to leave? Judging from the amazing dignity they have already shown their reps, (i.e. hiring our replacements while we are still here), I will go with the second choice.

Agreed. AZ outsources so many departments already. It's cheaper. Even benefits is outsourced. Facing a patent cliff it is inconceivable that AZ would not increase CSA's as products near the end of their patent lives to increase ROI. Plug-n-play, use 'em when you need 'em, you don't have to feed 'em.

Surely they won't maintain the same number of detailers if there aren't megabrands to replace those brands. As you say the question is not if, but when?

I vote for plans and abuse to get people to leave. They're doing it anyway and some management narcissist types seem to enjoy it - you know the ones - the sooner you get with my program the better we'll all be.

And it is perhaps that thought that makes me smile a little. The same middle management that has the dirty work to cut PSS's will also be slashed proportionately Soon they will be like rats fighting to save their "own" skins. How they will come to hate one another.

 

[Anonymous]

What a sick environment that has been created. Say your prayers everyone.

 

[Anonymous]

I'll tell you why. Docs are seeing more patients and reimbursements are dropping. They don't have time to look up a "new drug" online, or talk to some idiot over the phone. In the South, (with the exception of some parts of Florida and metro ATL) access is virtually 100%. They still prefer to talk with a rep they have known for years and trust. The CSA's are a joke and will always be one. I counted 4 full cases of Nexium sitting UNOPENED in a primary care office of one MD! Nexium sales have dropped consistently every quarter since they took it over. Why not give he MCR2 reps "sampling" responsibility instead of hiring another layer of reps?? The RSS position is another wasted position along with the overlay reps. I guarantee you some consultant told AZ that's the way to go!

The consultant is right. Even if parts of the South still have docs that prefer to talk face-to-face, that will surely go away as they retire. No way younger doctors coming out of residency will take that time to talk. Particularly when it is NOT at all difficult to look up new drugs ONLINE. Don't kid yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

most drs don't bother to pay attention to all the managed care formularies as you know. they write what they want and when the calls come in to switch, they switch unless absolutely necessary. companies change plans and plans change formularies and there are too many to bother keeping up with. you know that. but your dsm insists you always give them the sacred formulary cards.

 

[Anonymous]

Customer Service Associates are coming to a territory near you, very soon!
They are the true "sample droppers" of our pharmaceutical industry. CSA's have no formal product training and do not talk products. They only collect signatures, leave coupons and formulary information. They sample send Nexium (which makes them very popular!), Symbicort, and Vimovo. They expanded these positions at the end of last year!

This week CSA's added another product.........Crestor! WOW! Is this the true future of AstraZeneca? What do you think these reps are being paid?! Is this the end of MCR2?

They are paid 35K, 15 cents a mile and get a $500 toward a car payment, expenses. CSA said downside, it is not long term for them or what they went to college for as it gets boring. Embarrassing too when a Dr asks them for clinical info or anything about drug and they can hand them a cell phone to talk to someone "trained" on drug or when they have to explain what their role is.

 

[Anonymous]

I am a CSA. From the horses mouth, the salary info on here is mostly correct, but we also have 15 percent bonus as well. Most of us a well educated and have made more money in the past. However, the economy sucks and I think most of us hoped this job would lead to something better.

What we are hearing is that AZ wants their PSSs to be clinical sales specialists, not pretty girls that can flirt their way to a few scripts, but true clinical experts on their drugs. Then, they of course want a heavy (and cheap) CSA presence in the territories. I can see MCR and MCL merging into a smaller force and a greater number of CSAs in the field. I think it sucks. Yes, AZ largely has more reps in the field than they need, but I don't think the CSA can replace them and I think the phone support team has got to go. No doc or office appreciates people calling them when we already interrupt their day in person.

Just my opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

The consultant is right. Even if parts of the South still have docs that prefer to talk face-to-face, that will surely go away as they retire. No way younger doctors coming out of residency will take that time to talk. Particularly when it is NOT at all difficult to look up new drugs ONLINE. Don't kid yourself.

In most of the south, docs prefer face-to-face, regardless of their age.

 

[Anonymous]

cost will dictate and if it decreases the overall cost of drugs to have less reps out there, the southern doctors will have to do without face to face meetings.

 

[Anonymous]

cost will dictate and if it decreases the overall cost of drugs to have less reps out there, the southern doctors will have to do without face to face meetings.

Let's be honest, do you really need a face to face when a drug is about a year or so out from going generic? There comes a point where maintenance and sampling only becomes more profitable than the return on a mature product with detailing.

The company is ramping up DTC ads as well. Every time you turn around there is an AZ product on TV or other media. The $$ bucket for reps again gets smaller.

Since the USBC is sailing the ship and there is little regional representation, it is unlikely that the south would be operationally different than the rest of the country.

 

[Anonymous]

I am a CSA. From the horses mouth, the salary info on here is mostly correct, but we also have 15 percent bonus as well. Most of us a well educated and have made more money in the past. However, the economy sucks and I think most of us hoped this job would lead to something better.

What we are hearing is that AZ wants their PSSs to be clinical sales specialists, not pretty girls that can flirt their way to a few scripts, but true clinical experts on their drugs. Then, they of course want a heavy (and cheap) CSA presence in the territories. I can see MCR and MCL merging into a smaller force and a greater number of CSAs in the field. I think it sucks. Yes, AZ largely has more reps in the field than they need, but I don't think the CSA can replace them and I think the phone support team has got to go. No doc or office appreciates people calling them when we already interrupt their day in person.

Just my opinion.

The only thing here I can argue with is that AZ does NOT want the PSS's to be clinical specialist at anything. When I first came to AZ, I took great pride to learn everything I could get my hands on but now we are spoon fed what we can say. I was told by my DSM that our product knowledge and what we are allowed to say will be curbed even more by all the lawsuits.

 

[Anonymous]

The only thing here I can argue with is that AZ does NOT want the PSS's to be clinical specialist at anything. When I first came to AZ, I took great pride to learn everything I could get my hands on but now we are spoon fed what we can say. I was told by my DSM that our product knowledge and what we are allowed to say will be curbed even more by all the lawsuits.

Agreed.

Clinical expertise is no longer valued or needed by AZ, only the ability to regurgitate key messages.

There is only one clinical paper approved for use by any AZ PSS, and that is for Seroquel. The fear is if you have a clinical paper to detail you might get into parts of it that are not strictly on label.

This is only the beginning of a trend that is going to become more and more restrictive. The demand is going to be for fewer "clinical experts" and more low priced sample droppers.

The next big trend is going to be e-detailing and samples through the mail.

 

[Anonymous]

They are paid 35K, 15 cents a mile and get a $500 toward a car payment, expenses. CSA said downside, it is not long term for them or what they went to college for as it gets boring. Embarrassing too when a Dr asks them for clinical info or anything about drug and they can hand them a cell phone to talk to someone "trained" on drug or when they have to explain what their role is.

The pharma sales (catering, and sample delivery) job is only worth 35K per year. I think thats great money for the part-time useless job that it is.

 

[Anonymous]

The pharma sales (catering, and sample delivery) job is only worth 35K per year. I think thats great money for the part-time useless job that it is.

OOOOOOW!!!! Sounds like somebody can't get in the industry

 

[Anonymous]

OOOOOOW!!!! Sounds like somebody can't get in the industry

Wrong, I have been in the industry for 20 years, get promoted out of rep position 15 years ago and never looked back. I simply knew that the position was so easy, yet the pay was so high. I believed that if something was to good to be true, it would be a problem. We all know that the part time catering gig, known as "pharma/bio rep" is too good to be true". The fact is that, as someone said in a previous post, nowadays, all reps, serve as nothing more than CSA with a lunch budget, for virtually all of their calls, but they get paid much more.

So, I am in the industry for 20+ years, budget I was smart enough to know that the rep position was brainless, and offered me nothing in terms of a long term future, and real professional development. I have had "real" jobs in the industry, that have given me skills that are industry neutral, not to mention my MBA and other education.

Sorry you are so wrong. I didnt mean to offend you, just stating facts. The pharma bio rep bring nothing to the table for docs, but wasted time.

 

[Anonymous]

Wrong, I have been in the industry for 20 years, get promoted out of rep position 15 years ago and never looked back. I simply knew that the position was so easy, yet the pay was so high. I believed that if something was to good to be true, it would be a problem. We all know that the part time catering gig, known as "pharma/bio rep" is too good to be true". The fact is that, as someone said in a previous post, nowadays, all reps, serve as nothing more than CSA with a lunch budget, for virtually all of their calls, but they get paid much more.

So, I am in the industry for 20+ years, budget I was smart enough to know that the rep position was brainless, and offered me nothing in terms of a long term future, and real professional development. I have had "real" jobs in the industry, that have given me skills that are industry neutral, not to mention my MBA and other education.

Sorry you are so wrong. I didnt mean to offend you, just stating facts. The pharma bio rep bring nothing to the table for docs, but wasted time.

The real question is, did you move any market share? By the way, your english is terrible and you need to go back to 4th grade.