Just Keeps Getting Worse!!!

Word from inside the sales force is that things are as bad as ever in the field. Massive employee dissatisfaction due to endless micro-managing by worthless managers, completely unrealistic budget numbers, no quarterly bonus checks, and of course the useless daily reports/phone conferences.

HUGE turnover of reps continues as a result of the above and reality is; the group of mental misfit morons at corporate have absolutely ZERO hope of ever pulling this thing out of the downward death spiral it's been in for years. The latest juggling of debt load and subsequent corporate downgrade by Moody's should tell everybody that numbers are going from bad to worse and that there are absolutely no buyers for this toxic entity.

Do yourselves a favor......there are PLENTY of fabulous sales opportunities out there right now with real companies who understand hourly reports and/or phone conferences are ludicrous (like the people who deem them necessary), that have awesome products instead of industry relics or red herrings, with strong benefit packages and stock options, that pay MONTHLY commissions, that actually VALUE their employees.

I know this because a number of us left ConvaTec years ago and have been blissfully happy ever since and have made a LOT of money while enjoying life and loving sales again. It's far too short a ride to hate waking up everyday and feeling stuck in a dead-end job like you do.....start interviewing and leave that simply horrid environment in your rearview mirror to self-destruct on its own....and welcome yourself back to life as you once knew it!!

 

Can you do us a favor a name a few of the companies that have "PLENTY of fabulous sales opportunities out there right now with real companies who understand hourly reports and/or phone conferences are ludicrous (like the people who deem them necessary), that have awesome products instead of industry relics or red herrings, with strong benefit packages and stock options, that pay MONTHLY commissions, that actually VALUE their employees".

Thanks

 

Our former TMs have gone to companies like Steris, Stryker, Cardinal, Medtronic, 3M, Bard, Alliqua, Eli Lilly, Derma Sciences, Coloplast, and Systagenex to name a few. I'm sure it is not always Utopia elsewhere, but don't they have a really good chance to be happier than here?

 

Grass is definetly greener, and I went to a lesser company not even listed!

 

I was a finalist for an opening in the midwest a few months ago. Didn't get it. Seeing the chaos that you guys are enduring for your 70k base makes me think it was a blessing.

 

Worse than discribed, truly toxic! Street expectations are beyond unrealistic and the competition is having a field day. If you aren't interviewing that's a huge mistake, yes it's that bad fact.

 

I heard the medline were about to buy you all

 

Are you kidding?!?!....their products are a fraction of the price of ours and we would be such a drag on Medline's earnings.....their management is wayyyyy too smart for that.......nobody wants to buy this freakin' horror of a shit show!!

 

Thanks for the info...me a couple others have already taken the first step....cuz you're right, anywhere's a better place to be!!

 

I like the Harry Chapin allusion....Anywhere is a better place to be than convatec. Gone 3 years now and like a car wreck, I visit this site from time to time. Tragic how they ruined you guys.

 

God Bless Harry Chapin! Lyrics are from his song A Better Place to Be (one of the tracks on "Sniper and Other Lover Songs" by Harry Chapin-this album released in 1972: a few years before there even was a Squibb-ConvaTec)

Correct, ANYWHERE BUT CONVATEC is a MUCH better place to be. RIP Harry---and RIP the old ConvaTec before the Dark Times Came August 1, 2008.

 

There you go again KK... We know who you are. You need to cease making your slanderous comments about the Company and individuals

 

Prove it!

 

Fuck that. KK earned the right to say whatever he damn well feels the need to say.

 

More people fired this week as the blood letting continues within this absolute horror of a company. Why people chose to remain within this terribly toxic environment is beyond comprehension. Corporate does not give a damn about you....you've got to recognize this as fact by now. Before you are blindsided with a pink slip of your own...update your resume, get on those job sites, set up some interviews and get yourselves the hell outta that train wreck as quickly as possible. They are going nowhere fast and are dragging you down with them....don't let it happen....be proactive, get off that Titanic and start enjoying life again....you'll be SOOOOO happy that you did!!!

 

Some territories are burning thru TMs every 5 or 6 months. No one should stay here willingly and should do their best to flee

 

This poster speaks the sad but real truth. Typical privates equity firms with normal brain functions, unlike Avista & Nordic, aren't interested in sticking around for the long term...ideally they like to make their investment, bring in a mgmt. team to revamp the company, and look for somebody to pay an even higher price than they did for the business after 5 years or less in the owners seat.

Fast forward to 2013.....the private equity boneheads at Avista & Nordic who were blatantly fleeced when they vastly overpaid for CVT from BMS in 2008 are still hanging around with their imbecilic management team(albeit with a few new ineffective changes in their starting lineup). Why, you ask?? Simply because they haven't been able to figure out ways to successfully make CVT more profitable to handle their debt payments. This is why you recently saw them trying to juggle their debt load to find ways to generate more cash and in turn had their debt rating downgraded by Moody's. They can't implement their exit strategy until they figure out a way to somehow make more money.

They have a couple issues to deal with. One of their biggest problems is their products are no longer leading edge. Ostomy has been around since the dawn of time and although very profitable, the competitors are doing a much better job of expanding the business. Skin & wound has become such a commoditized product that has become increasingly difficult to garner attention just by re-packaging the CVT line. Adding lame line extensions such as different sized cleansing foams and a "me-too" foam dressing 5 years too late doesn't help the cause. Not to mention the Medline's of the world are eating CVT's lunch within the category. This leaves the FMS category which at one time was a profit goldmine but has also become commoditized and is suffering dramatic price erosion due to competitive advances despite attempts to differentiate with minor tweaks.

All this leads to the single biggest issue; employee moral. The idiots at private equity installed a puppet regime after running off the remainder of the old CVT mgmt. team. This is equivalent to replacing dumb with dumber and predictably, the internal environment has gone from bad to worse. These new corporate dumbasses installed a whole bunch of monitoring systems to micro-manage every facet of the TM's world. They then ran off a great number of tenured reps and replaced them thinking this would get some fresh blood and mind control capabilities. As within any dictatorship, there is tipping point when enough is enough which leads to eventual revolt. The remaining tenured TM's along with a number of freshly hired new TM's began fleeing from the sinking ship and to date, the revolving door hasn't stopped.

The rest of you reading this who have not yet reached your tipping point and still reside within the walls of that stench-filled, one way dictatorship have a great deal of power. You can choose to stay and continue on with that unending misery & loathing that greets you each and every day when you wake. Or, you can choose to follow the previous poster's advice and leave that poisoned, tainted environment behind and re-launch your professional life within a new company of your choice that values your contribution, supports your daily efforts, trusts your abilities to manage the business and pays you handsomely for your efforts. No more daily Kindergarten phone conferences, no more tracking devices, no more daily/weekly justifying your existence, no more listening to know nothing dipshit corporate yes-men and most importantly, no more toiling for a bunch of soulless, blood-sucking sycophants who would sell their mothers and send them COD just to get out from under the debt deal that is choking them to death.

There is no happy ending ahead for CVT........so take today, join the revolution and go create one for yourself!!!

 

Brilliant editorial--thanks! I fled this debacle in 2010 taking with me 2000 shares of BMS stock that were $19 a share back then. I knew BMS suckered the saps at Nordic/Avista and I'm thrilled to be still holding my shares at $52 each! And a nice dividend, too. Saddened at how Convatec was ruined by the Nordic/Avista Blood Suckers, but do exult that I found a better gig elsewhere and reveling at watching the death throes of this once great wound/ostomy company. ALL my friends are now gone from the New Con, thank God. To the rest of you, what are you waiting for?

 

Dividend over soon
Better sell bms it's about to tank
You are a boring us since 2010

Please come up with se new material before another inane post

 

Unbelievable to say the least. The Ostomy Manager that was let go this week was probably one of the most respected, supportive and honest gentleman ConvaTec had. He did not manage by bullying, or demeaning his team. One bad year and it is bye-bye, thanks for nothing. He is the lucky one as he no longer has to play the stupid games and babysitting duties that is now the primary role of the RSMs. No manager feels that they can actually speak up and tell upper management the reality or truth. If you do, you will realize the same fate as Mr. Reverman.

Message to his former team, get out now as it is about to get so much worse.