Alright. I take back every negative thing I have ever said about Orvis. It has been pointed out to me that the reason why Orvis sells things like dog beds, and Zambezi twill cotton jackets is so that they can continue to develop and market good fly fishing equipment. Still, I’ve retained a cynical view of the company, their products and their customers.
I take it all back. I was completely wrong about Orvis. Why the change of heart, you might wonder? I’ll tell you. I recently came home to my family’s home for the first time in quite a while, and I happened to come across the latest Orvis flyfishing catalog. (Spring 2005 Vol. 3) I always like to flip through fishing catalogs, and this was no different. I saw some innovative new products (Dropper Rig Fly Box, p 71) and was pleased to see that Orvis was now selling Brodin nets (p 99) - I’ve always been a fan of their nets. I smiled at the “Orvis Sporting Traditions Log Homes” (p. 147).
But, the big new product was just inside the back cover. Orvis is now offering “medical seminars” in places like Andros Island and Ambergris Cay (hosted by El Pescador, no less!) These “seminars” can be used for CME credit. CME, or Continuing Medical Education, is required for doctors in most (if not all) states. CME is a way by which doctors are expected to educate themselves about new medical treatments, medications, and general advances in the field. It is required, and is often a source of irritation for doctors, because it is usually costly and extremely boring.
Then along came Orvis. Now doctors can get their CME done in easy one-hour installments, and spend their days cruising for bonefish in the world’s best fishing grounds. And the course work looks like the medical equivalent of the basket weaving merit badge in Boy Scouts, i.e. so easy everyone can get it. If you check out Orvis’s website, (www.orvis.com/travel) you can read the prospesctus of the course, which is intended to shed like on such tricky medical issues such as diagnosing and treating traveler’s diarrhea, and how to prepare a “light yet effective traveler?s medical kit.” For what it’s worth, I was a history major, and I’m pretty sure I can diagnose diarrhea just as well as the Surgeon General. But, of course, the point is not to BORE the doctor-fishermen with tedious lecture, but to give them the opportunity to enjoy a fishing vacation, while nominally fulfilling professional responsibilities, and write the whole shebang off on their taxes as a business expense!
Ok. The folks at Orvis are just damned smart. While I read about this shocking new product, I was thinking “THIS is why Orvis is #1!” This is really cutting-edge stuff. These guys know their customers, know what they want, and are working hard to provide them with new and interesting opportunities, and are raking in the cash, while I, a lowly grad student, turn up my nose at their offerings and pretend that I am somehow better, because I buy my $500 fly rods from some other company, and our dog sleeps outside, instead of in some $200 Deep Dish Dog’s Nest. (p 137)
I don’t even know what point I am trying to make here, other than that my Orvis-bashing days are through! As soon as I get back to Colorado, I’m going to stop into their corporate store and buy something, just to show my support for this company. Whoever could have IMAGINED this crazy fishing trip / doctor school setup. I fully expect them to open a fishing lodge in Montana, where lawyers can come to fish, and at the same time, work as co-counsel on real pro bono cases. They could think about the cases during the fishing day and generate the pro bono (non-billable) hours that the state Bar Association requires! These guys are at the top of their game, and I am a proud future customer! Orvis wasn’t the jerk company, I was the jerk customer.
[This message has been edited by Jordan (edited 10 May 2005).]
