Life Science Tools of the Trade

So, a local sales rep for a certain Qompany that sells mainly kits, but also robots, came by my office recently with a promotional flyer. An invitation, if you will, to a V.I.P. event – a showcase of their new robotic, liquid-handling, sample-preparing, all-singing, all-dancing box. A box with a lovely name, evocative of orchestras.

Now, I’ve made no bones in the past about not this not being my favourite of companies, their sales tactics ranging from dubious to downright annoying. And this fits right in… a V.I.P. event, you say? Then why, I ask, is it from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM in a conference room? With refreshments all day? “Oh, don’t post this notice, I don’t want this open to everyone… just a select few.” They sure know how to make a fella feel special, I tells ya.

Oh, and the robot in question? Well, the sales rep described it to me as being a box that you can put any kind of sample into, and get any kind of prep out. Cells in, RNA out. Brain in, DNA out. Fossilized pterodactyl bones in, highly purified Jak Kinase out, that kind of thing.

I think I may give this one a miss.

time for the annual Halloween vendor show.  It all happens tomorrow!  Sales reps in costumes…  always interesting.

There have been some pretty bad costumes in previous years.  The rep that went as a pipet tip always comes to mind.  I guarantee Hbogerd hasn’t forgotten that one!

I think we might have to have a contest for best and worst costume.  And the winners are…

Sorry for the long absence, not that anyone missed me. I’m getting close to the time where I move on from my graduate studies and begin toiling for slightly more money than I am making now. Yes, that’s right I’m looking for postdocs. In this time of uncertain funding, I decided that I should possibly look outside of traditional academic postdoctoral oppertunities to at least see what was out there. My current institution sponsers a “PhD Career Fair” and for the first time I took them up on attending to talk with all the interested employers who I was promised would be waiting to snatch me up. Boy was I sorely disappointed. Evidently, I am completely unemployable. Industry wants protein chemists, formulation chemists, and other people with industry experience. Unfortunately, I don’t know how you actually get industry experience so that you can get a job that wants industry experience (but no postdoc experience). Perhaps I’m wrong, but it looks like no one wants a virologist with strong molecular biology training.

Hmmm…perhaps they are hiring at the golden arches.

Today in lab started out fantastic! It has nothing to do with science but selling some fused glass jewelry. A day doesn’t get much better than when you can come into work and make a little money on the side. In my spare (non-scientific) hours, I work with fused glass. What a stress relief compared to the frustration of things not working in the lab. No matter how the glass piece comes out….it’s right! Maybe not quite what you expected but still not a failure.

I wonder….how would making a living as an artist be?

I have been thinking recently about my previous posts giving reps a hard time about providing pizza, and it getting old. Last week we had a rep (one of our favorites I might add) throw a ice cream party. It was a tremendously nice break from the ordinare. Not only was it timely with the heat wave we’ve been experiencing (103 today folks…115 heat index who hoo!) but the literature was on a back table with some sort of drawing, but no pressure. Everyone was happy, and people actually stayed around and looked at the stuff. No grab and dash for the most part…reps take note…there are ways to keep us around without locking the doors.

Music: anything Steve Earle (concert Aug 27th)
Book: History of the Crusades (don’t remember the author, sorry)
Word of the day: scurrilous (could apply to the forum recently )

I thought I would give our loyal readers a bit of an update from the much anticipated Vender Show which hbogerd spoke about a couple of days ago. hbogerd, hweigand, myself and another co-worker made our way down around 11:30 am and much to our surprize there was still food left. While most of the crowd was checking hbogey out (he is a hansome man) we managed to get some mediocre food, a truely amazing event took place. A very nice gentelman brought more food! Also to our surprize there was the debut of a new food item! Minature egg rolls! We didn’t bother with the stamps, and spoke to a couple of reps that we like. We grabbed a second soda on the way out the door. I hit the vending machine later to make up for the lack of calories earlier.

In the CD player: Jay Farrar: Sabstopol
Experimental procedure of the day : Western blotting

Thank Goodness its FRIDAY!!!

Tomorrow is yet another vendor show. This unnamed University (probably best known for its basketball program-no, not UNC……….but close) forces the vendors to buy their food through the crappy University food service for these major shows. Somehow, the lure of stale rolls and room temperature luncheon meats and mayonaise draws a crowd. The “food” is usually in short supply and by 11:30, it is usually gone except for lettuce sandwiches that starving students scarf down. There will be a silly promotion that forces you to talk to ten vendors, collecting 10 stamps to collect your very cheesy gift. I usually stop by to support the sales reps that actually do their job: answer questions, give quotes, take care of problems.

Question: Has anyone changed vendors because they were handed a baggie containg a pipet tip, eppendorf tube, glove, etc. at a show?

Musical selection-Warren Zevon, “The Wind”
Book (fiction)-John Dufresne, “johnny too bad”
Books on tape-Lemony Snickett, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10, “The Grim Grotto”.
Movie-Napoleon Dynamite (in spite of hwiegand’s intense dislike).
Pet peeve-scientists who only, and constantly, reference their own work.

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…