Drug Rep Breakfast

[MissBrit]

At the doctor's office I work at we have drug reps that come in periodically to talk to the doctors. Sometimes they go above and beyond and bring us snacks, drinks, or breakfast. Yesterday, a drug rep brought us breakfast that consisted of bagels and coffee. I was very greatful as a vegetarian that there was something that I could eat but you would have thought the food was incredibly inedible according to my coworkers. One person flipped out because there was no orange juice and others scoffed at the fact that there wasn't more food. Seriously, the drug rep didn't have to do this for us. It's FREE FOOD. The drug rep told me that she felt very disrespected. Shouldn't my coworkers have at least managed to be polite and say thank you despite their disappointment? I told my boss and one of the doctors about this. My boss didn't seem to care but the doctor says that the next time she sees this rep she is going to apologize to her.  What do you think? Isn't this terrible?

[Hillia]

It's incredibly  rude.  I hope the doctor rips the office staff a new one for their rudeness, and the office manager a new one for not taking action.

[WillyNilly]

I think it depends on how it was presented. If the breakfast was announced a day in advance and people were led to believe they were getting a full meal and they should not eat before work, I think people deserve to get a full meal - a hunk of bread and butter/cream cheese is not a full meal. If the breakfast was just an extra mid-morning snack type thing and people had already eaten a proper meal before hand, then yes of course their griping was uncalled for.

[susantoyota]

Your co-workers were definitely rude. The drug reps definitely don't have to do that and I seem to remember that there was a fairly recent crackdown on what types of "rewards" drug reps could bring with them on their calls.

Does anyone else remember this?

[SoCalVal]

Your co-workers were definitely rude. The drug reps definitely don't have to do that and I seem to remember that there was a fairly recent crackdown on what types of "rewards" drug reps could bring with them on their calls.

Does anyone else remember this?

I remember it because I work for a public university hospital, and the policy is absolutely no gifts.

I think, even if the drup rep mentioned it advance he/she were bringing breakfast, the reaction was still rude as it was a gift.

[siamesecat2965]

Whether or not they thought they were getting a "full" breakfast or just bagels, etc. they were rude. I've been in similar situations, and want to crawl under something when I hear others complain about something that was free, and wasn't a necessity. I was always taught you accept any gift gracefully. There are times when I've been in situations where food was provided, and I either didn't like it or couldn't eat it, but I keep my mouth shut.

[AngelicGamer]

I think it depends on how it was presented. If the breakfast was announced a day in advance and people were led to believe they were getting a full meal and they should not eat before work, I think people deserve to get a full meal - a hunk of bread and butter/cream cheese is not a full meal. If the breakfast was just an extra mid-morning snack type thing and people had already eaten a proper meal before hand, then yes of course their griping was uncalled for.

RE: the bolded - to me, it is.  However, I know that I am not the norm.  I cannot eat a lot in the morning and am very picky about breakfast meats due to my taste buds being different in the morning vs. the rest of the day.

As for the situation, the staff were very rude.  The rep didn't have to do anything and probably won't do anything in the future.  Heck, the rep might even decide that the office isn't worth it and pass off your office to someone who isn't as nice so she can focus on her good clients.

[WillyNilly]

I don't see a work breakfast as a gift. Its certainly nothing like an ugly sweater you can just smile about while you say "thank you", then put to the side and never look at again. This is the fuel a person needs in order to perform their job functions over the next few hours.

And its supposed to be a sales incentive (which is why there are so many rules about this type of thing). The sales rep wants something from the staff, not so much the other way around. The meal's function is to make the medical facility (which is comprised of staff) want to do business with that rep and push that rep's product. If the rep drops the medical office, its not a problem, there are no doubt a dozen more reps waiting to just get their foot in the door to make their pitch... along with a meal for their audience.

One shouldn't be outright rude of course, but certainly one needn't just put and shut up about being offered a meal and then served something sub-par when the provider is trying to get the staff to do something for them.

[cheyne]

I think the staff was rude.  They actually complained to the Rep?  Talk about entitlement!  If someone, anyone, brings an office a food item they should be thanked.

Example:  I work in a male dominated industry.  The default morning gift is a couple of dozen donuts.  I cannot eat donuts in any way, shape or form (horrible heartburn).  I always thank the "gifter" profusely for their contribution.  Even if I can't eat the donuts it doesn't mean that the rest of the employees won't enjoy them.

[Hillia]

It would be pretty foolish, IMO, to plan your day's nutrition around an expected gift of food.  Even if the rep said, 'I'll bring breakfast on Thursday', there are many reasons why it might not materialize.  What if the rep were ill that day and couldn't make the call?  What if she was in an accident, or some other emergency came up?  What if she was just stuck in traffic and late getting in? If you know that your day will not go right if you don't have a particular type/amount of food, it's up to you to make sure all contingencies are covered.  Griping about a gift is always rude.

[Hmmmmm]

I think the staff is horribly rude. Whether a marketing incentive or not, it was still a complimentary offering. Their choice was to either say "Thanks, but no I'll pass" or to say "Thank, I'd love some coffee."

There was no bait and switch that I can tell. It doesn't sound like the rep said I'm bringing bagels, fruit, coffee, juice and breakfast tacos tomorrow and then only showed up with bagels and coffee.  And even if the rep had promised a more substantial breakfast, it was still impolite to complain about it to the rep.

[Jones]

I've never heard of someone bringing a full breakfast buffet to an office before. An on-the-job breakfast is usually bagels, donuts or muffins, sometimes with coffee and occasionally with juice. It would be very silly, IMO, for someone to depend on a free office gift for their morning's nutrition. That is, if they even knew in advance, as quite often these things are a total surprise.

[PastryGoddess]

I've never heard of someone bringing a full breakfast buffet to an office before. An on-the-job breakfast is usually bagels, donuts or muffins, sometimes with coffee and occasionally with juice. It would be very silly, IMO, for someone to depend on a free office gift for their morning's nutrition. That is, if they even knew in advance, as quite often these things are a total surprise.

Exactly.  If you need a full breakfast then it's on you to make sure you have one.  It's not the reps job to make sure you eat properly.  It's a gift and those people were rude and entitled


Notice the OP said Sometimes they go above and beyond and bring us snacks, drinks, or breakfast. Which means this does not happen every time a rep comes in.  A sales rep does not announce ahead of time what they are bringing, they will either bring something or they don't

[WillyNilly]

When I worked in a Dr's office we always had advanced notice of drug rep's coming (they had to have a set appointment) and we knew if they were bringing a meal and it was always a full meal. Now it might not be each person's preference, but it was a full meal (usually lunch, but occasionally breakfast). And staff was expected to partake in it unless they had a allergy/noted diet need issue not to. So that's where I'm looking at this from.

Not all reps brought food and that was totally ok, but if a rep offered a meal they were expected to provide a meal. If a rep said "breakfast" and came in with just bagels and coffee (aka a snack) - no fruit, no protein (eggs, yogurts, etc) that rep almost certainly would not be granted another appointment time to hawk their goods anytime soon. If they offered a snack or didn't make mention of food at all, then there would be nothing but "thank you"'s from the staff.

[Talamarie]

When I worked in a Dr's office we always had advanced notice of drug rep's coming (they had to have a set appointment) and we knew if they were bringing a meal and it was always a full meal. Now it might not be each person's preference, but it was a full meal (usually lunch, but occasionally breakfast). And staff was expected to partake in it unless they had a allergy/noted diet need issue not to. So that's where I'm looking at this from.

Not all reps brought food and that was totally ok, but if a rep offered a meal they were expected to provide a meal. If a rep said "breakfast" and came in with just bagels and coffee (aka a snack) - no fruit, no protein (eggs, yogurts, etc) that rep almost certainly would not be granted another appointment time to hawk their goods anytime soon. If they offered a snack or didn't make mention of food at all, then there would be nothing but "thank you"'s from the staff.

I had similar experiences as WillyNilly on this one. Our pharmaceutical reps would contact me to set the meetings up, and would find out dietary restrictions, restaurant preferences, etc. There would be times that they'd occasionally just pop in with something to be nice (a round of generic frappacinos for example) but any time there was a meal scheduled it meant that a set amount of time was being given to that rep to sell whatever product (under the guise of information), the staff was held "hostage" for that period (because really, the medical assistants/receptionists/etc aren't going to be the one okaying a switch to use of ___ medication) and the trade was "yay, free food!".

That lead to other much more awful snowflake-like behavior.