Life Science Tools of the Trade

Yesterday I found myself again asking the question: “Is the free pizza worth making idle chat with some of our local supply reps?” After 15 min or so I found myself giving in to my hunger and wandering in. Of course the room had been arranged so that the pizza was in the back corner and you had to run the “gauntlet” to get there. I resigned myself and started down the isle. By the time I got there I had guessed how many candies were in a jar, and disscussed the high number of features of the new glassware line one of the reps was pushing. After hitting the pizza (which was starting to go cold) I was hit up by one rep who has been trying to sway us toward his company for several years now. That did buy me enough time to finish my two slices and grab a second helping before heading for the door. Freedom.

The real question from all this is, do these shows actually drum up any business? Personally the reps that get the most business from us get it by having comptetitive pricing, following up in person, and providing support when we have trouble with orders or products. And why does the lure of sub-par free food always draw us in? Our University always has large vender shows with the worst food, and crappy door prizes, and yet we wander down everytime and complain how much this all stinks.

Perhaps its just part of our nature…