Welcome to the board non-rep!
But tell me, why do you say things like "I happily emailed coworkers and vets..." do you dislike your reps? If so, why? Don't want to slam you, but you come off in your message like you are slamming us....and pretty general statement when you say "see how you reps really are..." Don't take offense, just want an honest opinion from a non-rep about how we are perceived.
Why does your doctor hate reps? And in particular Merial?
Thank you for the welcome, I didn't expect to get one here and now I have more than one. lol
What I notice most among this entire board is the sheer amount of smack talk and foul language. Not a good way of portraying your profession to a board available for viewing to the general public. Not that all of you do that, but since everyone is annonymous it's impossible to tell who's saying what and when.
I figured with the general paranoia, foul language and slamming going on on this board, that the attitude I projected in that post seemed to be in line with the general postings. I'm not normally that ornery, in person or online.
I don't like the majority of our reps regardless of what company they represent. They rarely make an appointment to see anyone, they just show up and clog up our lobby and distract the receptionists by leaning over their counters when they're trying to work, loudly talking on their cell phones while they're trying to schedule appointments, and blocking isles. On the rare occasions they make an appointment they show up late or not at all, and like to call or show up right at closing time. That is just rude.
I don't get to be privy to all the convos with our reps, but many of the ones I have heard, the rep goes way out of their way to slam the competetors products we use rather than simply point out the benefits of using their product instead or in addition to. I think that's just unprofessional.
The big boss particularly hates our Merial rep because he tends to do the most slamming of the competitors compared to the others, although I believe they all do it, just he's the nastiest about it rather like some of the posts I've seen here, just without the foul language. For all I know he posts here.
Some of our reps just have a used car salesman 'ooze' about them. Not something specific anyone can list, just a feeling people get when they are around them.
Home remedies???? Are you crazy?????? Has ANYONE been in your clinic to inform you of the 3 new major flea products that caome out IN ADDITION to Frontline, Advantage, Revolution, Program, Sentile, Capstar???
Are YOU working for free MZ High and Mighty or do you require a paycheck? If you do, guess that means you must be working for the money, too. Funny how that works now isn't it? Bet if you stopped getting paid you wouldn't make another day at your present place of work. Tell me, why do you think vets and drug companies should not make any money? Should we be on this planet to just simply serve you? Who the hell do you think YOU are anyway? You need a major tude adjustment.
Get off your high horse. The flea industry is a 4 BILLION dollar industry. I don't see too many home remedies making that kind of change. Pets are 10000% more comfortable today than they were 10 yearsa ago. If people would use the products correctly (monthly, every household pet) fleas would not BE A PROBLEM.
Here's a thought...maybe YOU, yes YOU, could come off you attitude for a bit and do what YOU are supposed to do; educate the petowner on how to correctly use a flea product. Doesn't matter which brand, all of them work if they are used correctly. You would know that if you talked to those "slick used car salsmen" reps once in a while. Get your nose out of Dog Fancy and go get your GED.
I don't need the GED, I already have a regular diploma as well as college behind me. And I don't particularly care for Dog Fancy.
I never said I, or our clinic, recommend home remedies. I'm saying when people are facing higher and higher costs of things, and then read some of the slams on this board about each others products and sales tactics, it would lead many pet owners to prefering home remedies, online sales, and grocery store products. Many of them already think the stuff is overpriced anyways.
I never said people shouldn't work for the money I'm saying people find this site off of google fairly easily and not everyone that reads this is a rep. and understands the business end.
There is a difference between making a living and ripping people off though. Otherwise explain why the same dog neuter surgery can range in price from $50 at one place and $400 at another in the same area at similar sized clinic with similar equipment/staff?
Using the same logic, Frontline Plus 3 pk small dog, gotten legitimately from the vet, approx $50-$60. Same product available online approx $40 plus free shipping? From a consumer standpoint, if the manufacturer is making money selling it at $40 (knowing there is a markup for the online distributor) then they figure vets are ripping them off at anything higher. Given their alternatives; living with fleas, buying from petmed type place and home remedies, which do you think they're going to choose? Most probably if finances are tight, the home remedy, then the online place when the dawn dishsoap fails to erradicate their flea problem. When they've exhaused all other options they call the vet, find out which product they need, go online to find the cheapest price and buy it there instead.
Hey if the manufacturers want to keep making their 4 billion dollars then more power to them. I think most of those 4 billion dollars come from online/catalog sales rather than the vets. When vets can't can't compete to sell the products, they have to raise their other prices to cover the difference from the pharmacy part, which will result in fewer clients buying anything because of the added costs. When that happens they'll be less need for reps at all since more sales will happen online not face to face with the vets. So it has nothing to do with thinking any company is here to serve me, it's just a matter of what the consumer will pay for a service or product vs what is available online or by home remedies.
Although if it were up to me (which it obviously isn't) the contests, rebate coupons, displays and dog/cat toys would be elimated. If the product is good, does what it should, is reasonably priced, then the marketing gimmicks are unnecessary and just an added cost passed on to the consumer. It's also an added hassle for the staff to store, hang, pass out, or send in. The client would rather have a good working product for a good price rather than some cheap toy that falls apart in an hour, or dealing with sending in UPC's. JMHO
I like lots of the flea products out there and have no problem recommending them to friends and our clients. Not just from any one manufacturer either (Merial, FD, etc).
Now client compliance, that's a different story and a whole series of rants in itself. We can sell a product to them, show them how to use it, explain it again to their spouse when they call an hour later because the other one wasn't paying attention when we went over it in person, send reminder notices about it, but we can't go to their houses and actually do it for them so it's done right. Although I suspect many of them expect us to do exactly that.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programing already in progress.
