While my wife was at the hospital these past few days, we ran into a weird bit of the marketing that goes on to this captive audience. Considering that my wife had not wanted visitors other than me or her parents, it was odd to find strangers trying to go right on into my wife’s room to try to sell things. We tried locking the door, but with nurses, etc. coming and going there’s always going to be a brief moment when the door is unlocked.
There are a bunch of companies using representatives out to sell services and things to patients who can’t escape their offers for various products, foods, services, maids, etc. Two days ago, one of them walked right into my wife’s room when she was breast-feeding and threw business cards for a cleaning service onto her bed. My wife was very scared and upset when she should have been calm and healing up – she was crying for ages after this happened. When I got back to the hospital from errands, I found out what happened and made a complaint. We even submitted a form in writing that the hospital uses for this kind of feedback.
For a day we had a bit of peace.
And yet this morning, yet another company tried to get into my wife’s room but I was here this time – so I chased the sales rep out of the hospital, making a couple of rather rude but accurate promises to use a toilet brush on the sales rep’s teeth if she shows up on the floor again. I also confronted the staff and the head of the maternity ward, met with someone from the GM’s office and the head of security.
These sales people go from hospital to hospital, ward to ward – pediatrics dept. just down the hall is full of very sick children with pneumonia, serious flu, etc. We didn’t complain about the people who pushed a few advertisements under the door, but these people who want to go into our room really scare my wife a lot. I told the hospital’s management that patient health, safety and hygiene is more important than these strangers’ businesses, emphasized that we are all supposed to be on the “same side” on this issue, etc. but my guess is that these assholes will be running around the hallways entering patient rooms the second my wife checks out.
Has anybody else here run across a similar situation or problem? I see it as a massive violation of health and safety for these people to leapfrog around with whatever they’ve picked up, a violation of the trust we put in the hospital and a violation of my wife’s privacy.
When I had my first child almost 4 years ago I received heaps of advertising in my mail for things like formula, red eggs, caligraphy brushes made from your babys hair etc. When I had my second child two years ago I didn’t receive anything. I asked my kids pediatrican why and she said it had become illegal for the hospital to sell patient info.
Perhaps now that actually selling the info is illegal they have found a loophole and let the sales reps come right to the hospital instead?
If someone comes to my room after the birth of this one they could be getting a chamber pot thrown at their heads. Post-partum when are known to be very hormonal!
A lot of thieves try to sneak into the rooms as well. Even the nurses will admit it’s a huge problem and they don’t know how to stop it. With so many visitors, it’s hard to figure out who is supposed to be there, I guess.
Wow - what hospital was that? My wife had our baby at Kangning Hospital in Neihu, and not one salesperson entered the room, although we did get a few - just a few - flyers pushed under the door advertising zuo yezi meal services. I would be borderline violent with anyone who tried to disturb my wife and baby at such a special time. Good on you for your restraint.
Gave birth (errr … the wife) at Taipei Adventist Hospital in late 2002 and never experienced any problems of the sort. Not even junk mail. Not sure what has changed …
Ok, now the wife says sales people would hand stuff out in the common area, where the newborns could be viewed and parents identified by wristbands we wore, but only parents and accompanied visitors were given access to the rooms.
Perhaps we just picked the right hospital?? All went smoothly there …
Last year, I was recovering from a c-section with my second child and my husband had left the room to do something. A salesperson came in and tried to “chat” with me. I told them to get out and they did after leaving their information with me. I then called the nurse and she went and chased them down and took them to admin as they had broken the hospital rules. The nursing staff were NOT HAPPY that this person had come into my room.
I now know, people handing fliers cannot enter the hospital, actually they should not even stand by the entrance. Salespeople can have their samples handed out by the nurses (like the diapers, wipes etc you get when you leave, or at the educational lectures for expecting parents), but only through working with hospital administration.
When I was at Adventist Hospital a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday there were at least 2 or 3 people going around the waiting rooms trying to sells pens. Luckily they left me alone as they probably spoke no English. This happened to me for the first time in Taipei at Taida Hospital a few year ago and that time the girl selling them could speak English. I was stupid enough to fork over $100 for a cheap pen because she had some sob story. If they approach you just garble out some nonsense and pretend you don’t speak Chinese or English.
As I understand, it’s even worth in places with elder patients or others who are expected to succumb to their illnesses soon. When dealing with the death of loved onces, you really need those dubious kind of salespeople offering their services (and trying to rip you off shamelessly) walking all over you, don’t you?
But then, this is Taiwan, there ARE probably laws against it, but nobody is there to enforce them.
[quote=“SuchAFob”]They should be able to arrest people for trespassing here.[/quote]They should, but who’s going to do it ? Hospital Security ? The “police” ?
[quote=“ab12ra12”]I wonder if it would be acceptable to go and solicit English students in a hospital.
One thing that shocks me is how t.v. crews can apparently hang out in the ER’s and film people who are severely injured.[/quote]
That’s exactly what I always think when watching related news. I think TV crews should not be allowed to enter hospitals whatsoever. They should also not be allowed to enter apartment buildings.
Tigerman: Many thanks! I’ve been getting by on very little sleep but when I see those little eyes looking about at everything it is like a bit of fresh air goes right to my soul.
Maoman: We were in Cathay. The nurses there were great and our doc also took our side. The good news is that the security people put out a flyer for their hotline to report intruders. A notice was posted on our door not to try to sell anything to us.
asiababy: That’s exactly the situation that pissed off my wife a lot. Went back to the hospital today for a follow-up check and ran across one of the other couples who were a few doors down from us, and they had also been “visited” by one of these intrusive bastards.
Opihiman: That problem exists as well – my wife was approached in the delivery room area the day before our delivery by a pair of salespersons pretending to be a “couple” there in the waiting area.
dangerousapple: That’s also a big problem – because of theft concerns we locked our room constantly except for 5 minutes when a nurse was helping my wife with the breast-feeding and hadn’t locked the door. In comes the sales rep, right into the room when my wife had her top off, thus robbing her of her privacy and peace of mind.
After the first incident happened, we raised a ruckus – my wife was crying for a long time and the nurses could see she was scared and set on edge at a time when the hospital should have been offering her (after a caesarian) rest and comfort. We complained in writing to the management and in person to the people in charge of the maternity ward … which is why it was piss-poor response on their part to allow the second incident happen.
We have now moved on to the zuo-yuezi center, where there is a better policy of simply allowing no strangers anywhere into the areas with the babies and moms. There is one little rack with a few brochures for different companies offering post-partum meals, chop stamps with umbilical cord stumps stuck in there (yuck!) and little writing brushes made with baby hair.
Despite the zillions of Chinese (Taiwanese) babies with abundant hair for such knick-knacks, I’m afraid after a complete baby shaving at best I would get back a brush suitable for filling in the facial details of 1:700 scale tin soldiers.
