i just got off the phone with a teammate in another region and he was pissed. He said the new company car is a FORD FOCUS HATCHBACK. any truth to this. Next thing you know we'll be driving 2 door used METROS, YUGOS OR PACERS. WTF
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new fleet vehicles
- Thread starter Anonymous
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Merck is so greedy that they may just give reps rickshaws to run around with, carrying our resources and managers on territory so they can cut costs to provide more money and stock options to the executives.
Stop complaining about company cars. The job is crappy enough. Bitching about something that is out of your control will increase your misery index ten folds.
Each Ford Focus will come with a trunk blanket with the new merck motto: "Stay focused."
I can hear this inspirational voice mail coming soon...
"While you are driving your Ford Focus to your next call, stay focused on George Merck's legacy!" I am sure someone at the HQ will come out with a much better one than mine very soon.
"While you are driving your Ford Focus to your next call, stay focused on George Merck's legacy!" I am sure someone at the HQ will come out with a much better one than mine very soon.
Stop bitching. When all our products are generic you'll be driving one of those cars. May be even an AMC Gremlin.
Granted, our company cars are nothing to talk about. But with today's work environment this is what is bugging you the most?
I am not kidding. May be they are going to mail the samples directly to the physicians soon? Then why a large car? Do you need something larger than a Focus for a laptop and promotional materials?
Grow up!
You must be a "new" Merck rep or a Ken or a Barbie. The tenured reps would take whatever is offered each year and drive it. It is a tool. Merck does not pick a car based on whether that is going to make you look good or successful. In my circle of tenured reps we just say what car we are getting this year? Then we move on and focus on more relevant stuff in our lives.
Grow up!
You must be a "new" Merck rep or a Ken or a Barbie. The tenured reps would take whatever is offered each year and drive it. It is a tool. Merck does not pick a car based on whether that is going to make you look good or successful. In my circle of tenured reps we just say what car we are getting this year? Then we move on and focus on more relevant stuff in our lives.
The Focus is a POS. It is just another sign of how little Merck thinks of us all while the execs rake in millions for themselves. You grow up. I had a teammate that could not even get the fcking thing up her hill this past winter to go home on a DAILY basis. She had to park it in a neighbor's driveway and hike up to her own home. Now, that is really stupid. I hope some rep in the snowbelt gets in a horrible siutation and sues the pants off this company. They deserve it for putting the lives of their employees at risk by not providing the proper vehicle in fridged, snowy weather. Oh, and she had snow tires. The problem is the height of the frame being to low to get over drifts. You think it is OK if a rep just stays home all winter? You come on.
However, for you sunny people, the Focus is fine. Who cares at that point: It's a free car.
However, for you sunny people, the Focus is fine. Who cares at that point: It's a free car.
For the reps in the Snowbelt you can make a request and they would give you a different car. It requires filling out some forms but many have been able to get something like a Subaru Forester or whatever.
if you live in an area that gets more than 60" of snow a year, you get an AWD chevy equinox. If you have a medical problem--i.e. back issue or are really tall, you get a 2WD equinox. There is also a hybrid vehicle option. If you have a large territory and need additional space for all of the samples you carry, you can request a larger vehicle. Seems reasonable to me. Gas is very expensive now. Big cars are not a luxury we can afford.
Its a free car with free gas that is new and is replaced every 3 years. What's to complain about?
Its a free car with free gas that is new and is replaced every 3 years. What's to complain about?
She filled out the paperwork and got that magical Merck stamp: Rejected! I would love to say where this was but apparently "Fargo" is not considered snowy enough by management. Seriously, they could give a shit at HQ. Everyone there knows we are history in a few years and only contract people will be used.
What a bunch of whiners. Global economy is in the tank and you are complaining over this?
No wonder this company is in trouble, the complainers on this thread are nothing but self-absorbed, gimme, I want, life's not fair, entitlement, lazy dou@hes.
Merck Fleet Administration is crazy. I have a friend not too far from Fargo. This friend has made annual requests that were rejected until he/she develops a serious case of lower back problem. Then they approved the request. :-(
Look asshole, our jobs REQUIRE us to be in the field everyday. We really do not get snowdays. Many of us drive 3000 to 4000 miles a month in ungodly weather conditions that in the WRONG vehicle put our lives at risk. How would you like to walk in business attire and two or three feet of snow and ice in subzero weather for 1/2 mile or longer to get to your home or to safety because this POS car could not get through a drift? Even bundled up in long underwear, this could be a very dangerous situation. Manhy of us are not young. We have arthritis, health issues and a lot of stress anyway to make call requirements and drive sales. I have been out there and sometimes there is not a damn thing for miles and miles of frozen nothingness. I could give a rat's ass if someone in Florida has to drive a Fusion. I would be fine with that. This is about safety. We miss a few days of work and we are out of a job. So, Fck OFF.
How many doctor's offices are open when there is 2 to 3 feet of snow? My doctor closes his office after 3 inches because he does not want to risk his employees. In America the road are plowed during and right after the snow stops. Who would you visit?
God, you really are a dweeb. Merck has a large hospital sales force and hospitals NEVER close. Where I happen to live, there is usually one to two feet of snow everywhere all winter long for about four months maybe more . . . and, no, Merck is not going to let me have anything but a Fusion. I will be stuck in parking garages. I will be nearly rear-ended by larger cars that can travel over crosswind drifts, while I skid or lose traction. I will have trouble getting into my subdivision or leaving it. I am over 55 and will have to go out and shovel the ice and snow from the end of my driveway after being plowed in on a daily basis every morning at 5:30 am, where a SUV could just blast through. When I'm done at the end of long day, it will be dark and I will have to drive on icy snow ladden roads for 80 to 100 miles at least three days a week and often four. Now, would you like a Fusion with everything else we have to worry about from access, appointments, contracts, vendor credentials, calls, records, expenses, emails, compliance, samples, routing, GOALS, meetings and what not, do you really think worrying whether I make it home alive ought to be on the list?
Must be a new Ken or Barbie rep in a suburban territory. Someone who cannot afford to mess up a perfect hair with strong wind. Or dirty expensive shoes with road salt.
Snowing is an almost daily winter event in my first territory. People go to work every morning. They may drive slower or start later but you don't call it a snow day with a meager three inches of snow. Physicians' offices are open. Patients are still sick and make their appointments. Hospitals even have snowmobiles to go pick up the key personnel. Roads are plowed 24/7 depending on the severity. I would have overnight clothing packed in case it snowed bad enough and I would spend the night in a motel for the night rather than risked driving home in a blinding snow storm. This is also in America.
In my current suburban territory I would still go out and make calls on a snowy day with three inches of snow. Great day to be a rep as most are sitting at home calling it a snow day. Many of my customers remember me as the one that show up and work that day. Best access on that day as patients may cancel and the customers have more time to chat. My younger Ken and Barbie colleagues always start calling each other at 7 am to get their stories straight and declare it a snow day. They stop calling me. They know I am a tenured rep who would drive, slip and slide all my way to offices to make a few calls. Yes I may only make 3 or 4 calls. But I would go home when it gets really bad but feel that I make an effort and earn my pay.
Don't assume whatever is the standard rule in your area applies to "America". At the next national meeting talk to reps from the Dakotas, Alaska, and other more remote sparsely populated states. Broaden your horizon.
LOL, This way when you have two fender benders in the winter, Merck won't have to dish out the bonus. You'll be alive in your Fusion and Merck will be 29K richer for each rep that cannot figure out how to drive in the snow with a tiny light car.