My version of 15 by 15

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I think that 15 hours per week is more than Merck deserves. I don't think it makes any difference whether I "work" 15 hours or 115 hours per week, anyhow. Our existence as salespeople is a complete farce.
 






I wish I was smart enough to discover the 15x15 method before my retirement. :-( I was so Merck loyal that physicians called me, "Mr. Merck". What stupidity. In the end they PIP'ed me to death and I retired. I could have a few years of easy living if I read about this topic earlier.
 






Anonymous said:
I wish I was smart enough to discover the 15x15 method before my retirement. :-( I was so Merck loyal that physicians called me, "Mr. Merck". What stupidity. In the end they PIP'ed me to death and I retired. I could have a few years of easy living if I read about this topic earlier.
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You put your job at risk if you follow the "15 x 15" advocated on this thread. If you can live with that, fine. If not, then better to be "Mr. Merck". I'm not saying to make your job your life (far from it!), but you have to put in a decent day's work to earn your salary/benefits. Otherwise, if you are "found out", you can join all the protesters on OWS!
 






Anonymous said:
I think that 15 hours per week is more than Merck deserves. I don't think it makes any difference whether I "work" 15 hours or 115 hours per week, anyhow. Our existence as salespeople is a complete farce.
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well said...i totally agree...

that is the problem i always had with the job before I finally left the industry...

It really didn't matter if I got out of bed or not...
 






Anonymous said:
You put your job at risk if you follow the "15 x 15" advocated on this thread. If you can live with that, fine. If not, then better to be "Mr. Merck". I'm not saying to make your job your life (far from it!), but you have to put in a decent day's work to earn your salary/benefits. Otherwise, if you are "found out", you can join all the protesters on OWS!
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not true at all...if you are a kiss ass that your manager likes, you can get away with anything...

if they don't like you, (ie. older smarter rep) nothing you do, or no amount of hours worked
is gonna save your sorry ass.
 






And that is why this older rep is now instituting the newest version of 15X15
If your fairly smart, you will not get caught. Just do a few things now and then to get your name up in the lights and its smooth sailing. Its hard to get rid of people these days. Especially if your an older female rep or an older male rep. Age discrimination is a real thing here, and the company knows it. Yeah I like this version of 15X15. Take that longstreet.
 






Anonymous said:
not true at all...if you are a kiss ass that your manager likes, you can get away with anything...

if they don't like you, (ie. older smarter rep) nothing you do, or no amount of hours worked
is gonna save your sorry ass.
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No one is safe...not even ass kissers....one day you're great, the next day you're not. But why give them easy ammunition to fire you? IT can run daily reports on what exactly you've been doing. Still say keep your nose clean to have the best chance of keeping your job (if that is what you want).
 






Anonymous said:
No one is safe...not even ass kissers....one day you're great, the next day you're not. But why give them easy ammunition to fire you? IT can run daily reports on what exactly you've been doing. Still say keep your nose clean to have the best chance of keeping your job (if that is what you want).
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.....so sad....in constant fear of someone screwing you, trying to knock you down.....people (especially oldies) who have spent years working hard, trying to pay their bills and make a little for a rainy day and maybe someday a retirement......now they need to worry they don't fit the bill anymore.

Like its a click or a clash ...wow...maybe we all need to take compatability tests...could be an easy solution....like a happy marriage. Be together and click.
 






Anonymous said:
No one is safe...not even ass kissers....one day you're great, the next day you're not. But why give them easy ammunition to fire you? IT can run daily reports on what exactly you've been doing. Still say keep your nose clean to have the best chance of keeping your job (if that is what you want).
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IF only that were true....keeping one's nose clean has very little if anything to do with keeping your job at Merck. That's why we've got so many people doing the 15X15 game to some degree. Look at all the reps who've had stellar records, recognition, and promotions within their position only to have the game get changed, past performance become no guarantee of future security (like investments), and all of a sudden past superstars find themselves working under some clown who thinks they "need improvement" in some bogus area and before they know it, a PIP gets issued and one way or other, that old former performer is gone. I've seen it enough to know this situation is not happening by coincidence. Merck has become a terrible place to have a job and it sounds like it's not just in field sales.
 






Anonymous said:
You put your job at risk if you follow the "15 x 15" advocated on this thread. If you can live with that, fine. If not, then better to be "Mr. Merck". I'm not saying to make your job your life (far from it!), but you have to put in a decent day's work to earn your salary/benefits. Otherwise, if you are "found out", you can join all the protesters on OWS!
Click to expand...

Agreed. I probably would not be able to do this 15x15. Retirement became the best option or I would have gone postal with my ex-manager. He probably never knew how close I was to acting out my thoughts the way he was micromanaging me.
 






Anonymous said:
And that is why this older rep is now instituting the newest version of 15X15
If your fairly smart, you will not get caught. Just do a few things now and then to get your name up in the lights and its smooth sailing. Its hard to get rid of people these days. Especially if your an older female rep or an older male rep. Age discrimination is a real thing here, and the company knows it. Yeah I like this version of 15X15. Take that longstreet.
Click to expand...

Merck has either figured a way out in avoiding age discrimination law suits or something. Most of the first wave of people forced to retire/resign or laid off were older reps and most were male. The female reps lasted a few more years.
 






Anonymous said:
IF only that were true....keeping one's nose clean has very little if anything to do with keeping your job at Merck. That's why we've got so many people doing the 15X15 game to some degree. Look at all the reps who've had stellar records, recognition, and promotions within their position only to have the game get changed, past performance become no guarantee of future security (like investments), and all of a sudden past superstars find themselves working under some clown who thinks they "need improvement" in some bogus area and before they know it, a PIP gets issued and one way or other, that old former performer is gone. I've seen it enough to know this situation is not happening by coincidence. Merck has become a terrible place to have a job and it sounds like it's not just in field sales.
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He speaks the truth! I was a victim of a "new" manager that said I needed improvement- My numbers were fantastic- best in the district- and I had been in my territory 8 years so my relationships were solid!
Ain't happening by coincidence folks! You better have your plan "B" ready cause before you know you'll be the next victim!!!
 






Anonymous said:
Agreed. I probably would not be able to do this 15x15. Retirement became the best option or I would have gone postal with my ex-manager. He probably never knew how close I was to acting out my thoughts the way he was micromanaging me.
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I hear ya on that. My right fist came within an eyelash of this know-nothing "acting" DM and I'd only been on territory for 9 months. Everybody hated the guy and fortunately our regular DM returned from a medical leave. That is the only time I got close to losing control and resorting to physical contact with a manager. That was years ago, too. Quite frankly in today's environment, I'm really surprised we haven't had more reports of reps going postal over abusive treatment by management. The worst I've heard lately are reps driving off and stranding their managers.
 






Anonymous said:
I hear ya on that. My right fist came within an eyelash of this know-nothing "acting" DM and I'd only been on territory for 9 months. Everybody hated the guy and fortunately our regular DM returned from a medical leave. That is the only time I got close to losing control and resorting to physical contact with a manager. That was years ago, too. Quite frankly in today's environment, I'm really surprised we haven't had more reports of reps going postal over abusive treatment by management. The worst I've heard lately are reps driving off and stranding their managers.
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Two of my previous managers were almost kicked out of the rep's car. I once watched one of them coaching a rep for over half an hour after a call. It was a horrible sight. That guy is now the one that faked crying at a recent national meeting. The other has PIP'ed so many reps that I assume he has proven he will do anything as directed. Right now I am finishing my second cup of coffee as a retiree while my former manager is probably looking at data on his laptop and planning to coach or terrorize more reps next week.
 






Anonymous said:
Two of my previous managers were almost kicked out of the rep's car. I once watched one of them coaching a rep for over half an hour after a call. It was a horrible sight. That guy is now the one that faked crying at a recent national meeting. The other has PIP'ed so many reps that I assume he has proven he will do anything as directed. Right now I am finishing my second cup of coffee as a retiree while my former manager is probably looking at data on his laptop and planning to coach or terrorize more reps next week.
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Glad you could remove yourself from the stress.....and have a check too.
We forget, plenty of people here have little pension......and nothing much if the cut happens.....If you have the 15, 20 or more years here you are lucky indeed and in a safe zone.
 






Anonymous said:
And that is why this older rep is now instituting the newest version of 15X15
If your fairly smart, you will not get caught. Just do a few things now and then to get your name up in the lights and its smooth sailing. Its hard to get rid of people these days. Especially if your an older female rep or an older male rep. Age discrimination is a real thing here, and the company knows it. Yeah I like this version of 15X15. Take that longstreet.
Click to expand...

but why would you not want to get caught and get out?? u must be lazy huh? or unmotivated to do something better than catering and signature collecting with your life...

15 X 15 may be necessary but it is nothing to be proud of...

You will come to a point where you realize you have wasted your life in pharma and it
will feel very empty...
 






Anonymous said:
but why would you not want to get caught and get out?? u must be lazy huh? or unmotivated to do something better than catering and signature collecting with your life...

15 X 15 may be necessary but it is nothing to be proud of...

You will come to a point where you realize you have wasted your life in pharma and it
will feel very empty...
Click to expand...

Applies to the young reps who have 15-30 or more years of career to go.
 






Anonymous said:
but why would you not want to get caught and get out?? u must be lazy huh? or unmotivated to do something better than catering and signature collecting with your life...

15 X 15 may be necessary but it is nothing to be proud of...

You will come to a point where you realize you have wasted your life in pharma and it
will feel very empty...
Click to expand...

OP back. By instituting my 15x15 plan I'm not really wasting my life in Pharma anymore. Just 15 hours per week! The other 25 hours a week I'm living it up. Working out, taking my wife out during the week on business and having Merck pick up the checks and other things that I want to do. I've given myself a huge raise and feel much less stress. I've just recently bought a tape recorder to tape interactions with my manager to document the fact that he feels that I'm a good competent rep with strong solid sales skills and great relationships with top targets. Then if he pulls this "you're out of touch with your customers" BS, I will pull out a diary with all the notes of our discussions of how well he said I have been doing. I will have this and a recording as backup if ever needed. That way I will make myself a very tough target for a PIP and he will have to look for an easier target within the district instead of me. You gotta look out for yourself. Yeah, I may not have that Wharton MBA but I have great instincts, good common sense and balls! And really that's all you need. Better get to bed now I have a big 3 hour day ahead of me tomorrow!
 






Anonymous said:
OP back. By instituting my 15x15 plan I'm not really wasting my life in Pharma anymore. Just 15 hours per week! The other 25 hours a week I'm living it up. Working out, taking my wife out during the week on business and having Merck pick up the checks and other things that I want to do. I've given myself a huge raise and feel much less stress. I've just recently bought a tape recorder to tape interactions with my manager to document the fact that he feels that I'm a good competent rep with strong solid sales skills and great relationships with top targets. Then if he pulls this "you're out of touch with your customers" BS, I will pull out a diary with all the notes of our discussions of how well he said I have been doing. I will have this and a recording as backup if ever needed. That way I will make myself a very tough target for a PIP and he will have to look for an easier target within the district instead of me. You gotta look out for yourself. Yeah, I may not have that Wharton MBA but I have great instincts, good common sense and balls! And really that's all you need. Better get to bed now I have a big 3 hour day ahead of me tomorrow!
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OK. But you're still living under some degree of stress even though you feel it is much less stress. I still have problems getting my mind around all the defensive work you're doing and wondering if that is worth it and if that is any way to have to live life. For you, the answer must be yes. For me, no, life is too short to have to play defense in a job that's a joke. My job becomes all about protecting/maximizing my job security. I'll hand it to you, it sounds like you've done your homework and have your bases covered.
 






Anonymous said:
OK. But you're still living under some degree of stress even though you feel it is much less stress. I still have problems getting my mind around all the defensive work you're doing and wondering if that is worth it and if that is any way to have to live life. For you, the answer must be yes. For me, no, life is too short to have to play defense in a job that's a joke. My job becomes all about protecting/maximizing my job security. I'll hand it to you, it sounds like you've done your homework and have your bases covered.
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I agree with the above...I could not play defense for living...I was never brought up to fight my company for the right to keep my job, like one must do at Merck...Maybe I am a bit soft, but my dignity is so much more important to me than trying to keep my job as a drug rep...

I am much happier now that I got out of MERCK and pharma sales...But Kudos to the 15 X 15 guy...the more he scams Merck, the more I respect him actually...
 






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