Ravi Speaks:
“Gifts Act As Hookers Even In Pharma Profession.”
November 01, 2020-republished on 24.07.2022.
 |
| Gifts act as hookers |
Gifts act like hookers. This has been proven beyond doubt when we realize that by presenting a gift to anybody, we also have an expectation unknowingly of reciprocity from him. The receiver thus may have this feeling at the time of receiving the gift that he too has to return the same in any form at any occasion shortly. Thus, professionally speaking the gift given to anybody in the profession of pharma such as a doctor or any customer for the organization-is given expects the receiver would return the favor by extending his support to the organization-may it be an as enhanced business. Therefore, doctors are given gifts by the pharma companies with the sole aim of getting an increased quantum of their prescriptions for the company’s brands and other concerned people in the profession for getting them out of way, favors for their business enhancement.
 |
| Gifts Presented To Doctors |
Giving a gift to someone is not necessarily just an altruistic act. It may be given hoping the receiver responds in a particular way. It may take the form of positive reciprocation and possibly for a negative underhand purpose. It is not only in pharma the gifts are given, but this is a common scene in other professions too. In pharma with some houses, it may be almost a regular feature of giving small gifts regularly to the doctors and in return expecting getting their extra favors for the enhancement of sales. However, in other professions, the occasion matters a lot. For example, on the eve of ‘Deepawali’- in India-most business people take it as a golden opportunity to strengthen their business relations with their customers and give away the gifts of varying cost and qualities to various such people from whom they had to do their business even in the long run.
 |
| Various Types Of Gifts Normally Given To Doctors. |
A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is free. In many countries, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc. may sustain social relations and contribute to social cohesion. Economists have elaborated on the Gift-presentation, explaining the economic advantage out of the gift transaction. By extension, the term gift can refer to any item or act of service that makes the other or less sad, especially as a favor, including Gifts, are also foremost presented on occasions such as.
 |
| Type Of Gifts Given To The Doctors |
Promotional gifts vary from normal gifts. The recipients of the gifts may be employees of a company or clients. Promotional gifts are mainly used for advertising. They are used to promoting the brand name and increase its awareness among the people. In promotional gifting procedures, the quality and presentation of the gifts hold more value than the gifts themselves since they will act as a gateway to gaining new clients or associates.
 |
| Gifts Strengthen Relations |
There is no limit to the extent to which the presenter of the gift can go. There have been gifts like Airbuses or Yacht type or even the bigger stadium presented by the richest people of the world to their wives or fiancees. Mukesh Ambani has been declared the richest man a few days ago. He gifted his wife, Neeta Ambani, the most expensive birthday gift of all, a Rs 242 Crore Airbus 319 Corporate Jet if news items are to be believed on her 44th birthday which is a luxury jet with entertainment cabins, a sky bar, and fancy showers.
 |
| Airbus From Inside Gifted By Mukesh Ambani. |
 |
| Airbus-319-Corporate Jet Gifted By Mukesh Ambani To His Wife. |
Anil Ambani has bought a super luxury yacht for his wife Tina, pegged at around Rs 400 crore. An Anil Ambani Group spokesperson confirmed the purchase but refused to disclose details. Named Tian, which combines the first two letters of Tina and Anil’s names, the yacht is at present anchored near Gateway of India in Mumbai and will be used by the couple to usher in the New Year.
 |
| Yacht Gifted My Anil Ambani To His Wife. |
But the ones which I would like to mention are the promo gifts, which may be tiny utility items and are given to the doctors and such professionals who in return reciprocate the favor by giving some tangible support. In my previous company, the gifts used to be regularly given to the identified doctors after every alternate month at least and the doctors too would eagerly wait for the pharma man to come and give them the same expected gifts. I have seen it for sure that such small but utility items acted as hookers and helped a lot in getting the additional support from the doctors. Not all the doctors would return the favor and give the additional business, but yes, there were a few who would take it as an obligatory way to give back the prescription support to us. There were other doctors too-who would not give any weightage to the gifts and that way no expectations from them for the business were there. If one rep was getting say around 200 gifts for the distribution to the doctors of his list-that meant almost 80% of his patrons would receive the gift. Even if less than half of such 200 doctors would also give a fractionally increased support -it would be quite a conspicuous increase in that rep’s territory and this mechanism worked as a very impactful promotional tool other than the CTRs from the normal Research and the Development side which of course used to be there for the conviction part to be tackled.
 |
| Doctor’s Gift Given By Pharma People |
I have seen even the topmost professor rank doctors giving special treatment to a pharma man who would present a gift to the same doctor and thus proving the strong hooker-like property of a gift for the doctor.
 |
Only A Few Refuse These Allurements |
There was a time, especially in the Hospital working when I was a Medical Representative would find the most difficult doctor in the AIIMS Delhi easily when I had the gifts for distribution. The same doctor, after seeing the gift bag, would nicely call me in his chamber and listen to my detailed talk and happily accept the gift which I used to present to him. Thus, the regular gift distribution in the pharma profession to the identified doctors would always help a great deal in establishing contacts with them and in getting the required business from them.
Although the Government imposed certain restrictions later on the distribution of the gifts for getting the extra favors etc. still I don’t find that the practice of the same has been stopped and I don’t find any possibility also for the stoppage to this practice-Because it is a proven fact that- “Gifts Act As The Strong Hookers”.
==========================
