Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Used car Salesman approach to pumping

After school today we will be meeting with a Rep (Stephen) from Medtronic. He is going to come over and give us a little showcase showdown of their version of the pump. We already met with the Animas Rep a couple of weeks ago and we are most definitely impressed with the Ping. I told my husband that Stephen is going to have to really impress me and throw out all the stops to make me change my mind about going with Animas. He is already sort of starting out on the wrong foot in my books honestly. A few weeks back, I called both Reps on the same day and he seemed very put out and very "used car salesman-ish" to me on the phone. We had scheduled an appointment for one day last week right after school because he told me that he couldn't come at a time any later than that. I was disappointed because I had wanted my husband to be able to be there as well and I knew he wouldn't be home from work at that time. Such is life though, so we booked our time for immediately after school. Stephen called me the morning of our appt. and had to cancel because his daughter was ill. Don't get me wrong, I fully understand that whole scenario...sick kid...life is put on hold. So, we rescheduled for today. Before hanging up the phone, he made sure to throw some statistics at me about the percentage of people in my area who use the Medtronic pump...blah blah blah...percentage of this and percentage of that...it even has that new car smell...ummmm ok! I am looking forward to him showing up this afternoon, but I am bracing myself for that fake smile and the classic salesman "lemme show ya all the bells and whistles" demeanor. I do not mesh well with people like that. I will however keep an open mind and see how it plays out. I have set a goal for myself to make a decision by the end of this week regarding which pump we are going to go with. Wish me luck! Here's to hoping that Stephen doesn't show up wearing a cheesy plaid sportcoat and handing out complimentary Bic pens that say "Buy a pump from Steve and get a free weave!" or "Help me break even and buy from Stephen!" or "Don't get mad and leave! Buy from Steve!" lolol...now that would be funny actually.

6 comments:

  1. Pump salesmen coming to your house?!? I have visions of vacuum cleaner dudes that spread dirt all over to show how awesomely their vacuums suck: "here, let's give your kiddo some candy, juice, and cake so I can show you how awesomely this pump can crank out insulin!" :)
    Kinda glad all we had were fancy brochures from our NP and made a couple of phone calls. Though I have to say even the phone call to one of our options left that 'trying way too hard salesman' taste in my mouth.

    Here's hoping for a great visit, sans hanging pine tree air freshener!

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  2. I'm sitting here totally LMAO at the salesman pitches you've imagined with this guy! I've never really dealt much with Medtronic personally, but have heard mixed reviews from others....guess it really depends on your area. I can say we've been pumping with Animas and have had great experiences with all areas of the company over the past nearly 5 years. I've also heard great reviews on Omnipod. I definitely think it's a personal decision so don't want to try and sway you one way or another...I think it all boils down to what works for you and your family and what you all are most comfortable with. Hopefully this guy doesn't show up in his plaid sportscoat with greasy slicked back hair throwing out ridiculous one-liners, lol! Good luck with your decision : )

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  3. UGH...too bad. I am an Animas girl through and through. It would take some pretty amazing bells and whistles to lure me AND I hate their CGM. The needle is huge and it isn't as easy to calibrate or as accurrate as Dexcom IMHO.

    Let us know how it goes.

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  4. LOL- can't wait to hear how it went.

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  5. Lol I just met Steve from Medtronic a few weeks ago at the JDRF kickoff event. We only spoke briefly and he gave Colin a t-shirt and gave me lots of info....seemed like a nice guy so keep us posted I can't wait to hear what he was wearing!!

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  6. lol. 'this is the pump that i personally wont leave home without'...

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