I wonder how many nervous breakdowns and divorces Merck has caused?

100% spot on...excellent assessment...

 

Having a wife that worked at Pfizer for 25 years, I concur as well. They started that reach & frequency shit, and we followed because we felt that our big competitor was beating us with Share of Voice. Thats a direct quote from Pharmaceutical Executive magazine in 1998 or so.

Like Pfizer, we started circling the drain soon thereafter because 1) we lowered the bar of entry to the sales force and marketing and 2) we promoted too much flotsam into positions of leadership. Notice how all posts in this thread point to the late 90s as the beginning of the end? That's why. According to my wife, Pfizer's low point came a few years later when cronies starting moving up into high leadership spots.

So effectively, we kicked our own ass! As a proud member of MSD back in the day of Primaxin, I can say with confidence that MSD is thrice the company that Merck has become. MSD field force would have small chunks of Merck reps in our stool! (thank you, Phil Hartman)

 

My only criticism; this isn't unique to Pharma. Every corporation embraced this paradigm from GM to GE. It all followed in the path of Enron and the new corporate models from the Harvard School (or Wharton and others) of Business. Go watch the program 'the smartest guys in the room.'

Take a look at how Mittens Romney talked about how he created Staples. The same exact pathway to destruction. He's no different than any other CEO~~corporations are people!!

And what do we do, we blame union workers, the unproductive co-worker, etc. Meanwhile, the CEO, BoD and shareholders laugh all the way to the bank in the Cayman Isles with our money.

 

I'd say it's not his attitude that will provide the challenge, but the fact that he worked for Merck. That's an ugly part of any resume.

 

Wrong. Barry has nothing to do with this. This is about Merck behaving badly on every level with every one of its constituencies. Don't slough this off as something else.

 

Still have all my anniversary crystals and rings. All have "MSD" on them.

Still remember how pleasant it was to work as a rep for MSD. Even in the early 80's I remember, with one bad quarter, the Pfizer rep was running around begging because his boss threatened to fire him with one more bad quarter.

I knew we were becoming just like Pfizer when the manager no longer praised a rep leaving the company. When high turn over became the norm. When at every meeting a few would be gone. After prodding, a manager may say something about a person is gone because, "he/she disagrees with the way I think this product should be sold." Funny those reps became quite successful working for the competitors.

Primaxin, Vasotec, Vaseretic, Prilosec, Indocin SR, Clinoril, Dolobid, Pepcid, Timoptic, Sinemet, Blocadren (not), Hepatavax B, and hey Indocin suppositories.

 

I took all of my VP plaques and crystal Merck bullshit out in the back yard and unloaded my 12 gauge on them. I had to reload twice. That was how I felt about Merck when I got pushed out.

 

Amen Brother!! You are not alone…Many of us got unceremoniously shoved out the door as a reward for many years of loyal service…

FU MERCK!

 

wah, wah, I didn't get another gold star for all my years of service.
Get over yourself. You aren't that important. Rather, you're really impotent.

 

You are empty and soulless. May God have pity on your pathetic existence.

 

I lost my health to this shithole and then got terminated by one of those HR Business Partners that Merck picked up from Enron. I thought it kind of ironic but then again, it made complete sense when considering the type of employer Merck had become. It was an honor to be a rep for MSD......Merck, not so much.

 

Never got that mad. May be down the road. All the paper awards have been shredded. Plaques, rings and crystals are still around.

 

Got the pension. No need for another gold star. The goodbye was mutual.