As our yearly ritual goes, we are looking at a host of ventilators to decide on a purchase. (We like variety ;-)
When our decision has been made, the rep from the "other" company comes and tells us that "So and So is on ship hold and won't ship vents for three months, they are in big trouble with the FDA....".
Then, we find out it's not true. Based on our own reserach, we qualify that it is not true. Actually, it's an out and out lie to be quite honest with you. I won't name names as I am not here to embarrass anyone, or to point fingers, but this is the second time in as many years that this company's rep has tried to force our hand based on talking about their competitors machine. (the strange thing is, it was 2 differnt reps..perhaps it's the culture of the company?) Maybe the uneducated or easily intimidated fall for that type of sales technique, but I would hope most of us wouldn't.
Here'e a hint to the suits. You have a bad enough reputation as it is. Don't make yourself even more despicable by 1. lying to customers, and 2. trying to sell your products by talking about theirs. It's unprofessional, and frankly, makes you look desperate to make a sale. Neither one is very palatable.
I am sorry you are having these problems with the reps in USA. Perhaps it is the climate in which business is done, the desire to overachieve at any cost, whatever. I am employed as a Respiratory Care Specialist by a major company in Australia, and I know for a fact that if a rep from any of my company's divisions was found to be indulging in that sort of behaviour he would be terminated on the spot. Perhaps you should take on those cowboys and notify their respective employers.
Speaking for myself, this is my second job selling ventilators, the first one being overseas with another major manufacturer, where the ethics enforcement was perhaps more lax. I was in a more senior position and was forever berating the reps for selling wrong products to the wrong cutomers for the sake of a sale or pressurising them into making a decision. So I have seen the yahoo methodology at work.
I am in this for a long time not for a good time. I aim to establish long term relationships with my customers to the point where I am seen as a resource person with something to offer, rather than just another pesky rep. I offer night time education, I am on call 24 hours a day, and I work bloody hard to ensure that the end users are satisfied. I hope to achieve my results on my merits, not by rubbishing the opposition (which is highly unethical).
If you are happy with your choice, stick to it. 3 months on a product with a life-cycle of 10 years is not much, unless you are manually bagging the patients.
However I do resent you painting all the reps with the same brush.
I do not have a bad reputation. I am certainly not despicable. My customers like it when I visit them. They ask me to visit them because they feel that I have something to offer, besides trying to sell them ventilator. I have spent countless nights in the hospitals assisting them with making the best treatment choices for the patients, hell, I was even in a hospital after my wedding reception trying to help my customers out. I was working in Asia during SARS epidemic and I put my life in risk, going into the unit that treated SARS patients on regular basis to assist the respiratory therapists and the rotating medical staff. Does that make me more despicable and desperate for a sale (because I was not expecting any sales from that)?
I know you are angry as a result of your experience. Just take a minute to think about all the ethical reps out there, and stick with the ones who look after your needs
I certainly appluad your efforts. I can appreciate the better reps out there, and the bad apples are few and far between. However, you have hit the nail on the head when it comes to describing ethics enforcement by (some)overseas companies. It's there that I see the issue of company culture pervading the US market. Unethical behavioris not caused by the competitiveness of the US market, it's a symptom of the culture the company promotes. And you are right...until someone calls them on that type of behavior, it will continue. So who's going to stand up to them? Not their customers who get dinners and ball game tickets and the like...no, it will be someone who does not fall for their rouse, and who, perhaps, the complaints will appear as sour grapes. It's a catch 22 situation. Does the AVAMED code not mean anything to anyone?
