drowning too, which is unusual for me

Time to go! I did. I was tired of drowning. sm [2008-08-17]
I finally got fed up enough, went to MTJobs.com, applied at 10 places, got 8 replies, picked the best company that suited my needs and finally climbed out of the cesspool. I started on my new job today. New platform and only 1 day of training and 20 reports to QA and I was released. I made almost twice as many lines on my first day than I would have with MQ because the platform is fantastic andthe voice recognition is a walk in the park. People answer when you email them too! I actually got a call from the MQimpact center this afternoon and I was like, I'm sorry, but I quit and my last day was Friday. They didn't even know. Go for it!

You are correct, very unusual sm [2008-06-24]
One of the doctors in a hospital I worked in did that. The houscleaning gal was running a very loud vacuum cleaner right behind him while he was dictating. He was a very nice person, but was a bit upset with her. . . LOL.

drowning too, which is unusual for me [2008-05-16]

drowning [2008-05-16]
18 jobs, and 11 of those are different accounts which I have never done before and all ESL and have to look up every client profile which takes about 10 minutes to read and re-read before I can figure it out so that is over 100 minutes of down time (almost 2 flippin' hours), so that does not make any lines. I have 700 lines in 6 hours. I have been doing this over 30 years, almost 10 of them with this company. and I threaten every day to quit. I also ask the neighbors if they hear me screaming and there are days I sit and literally cry. I too, used to actually enjoy working here, but that has all changed. Emailing the PS and QKL makes no difference (and I am on my third ones since November), and they really don't care, so. . . here I am still venting and crying. The fact of starting over somewhere else is scary too. I even compared my line counts and number of reports a day to what I was doing last year and down about 5000 lines per pay period and down 15 jobs per day and pay checks down $400 to $500 per pay check from a year ago. How sad!! Thanks for letting me put my 2 cents in here. Maybe now someone else picked up that nasty job I was about to get. My only saving grace for this week, I am off to see Bill Cosby at a casino a couple hours away and spending the weekend there, and not even thinking about MQ.

why yes, if you can throw a chocolate bar while drowning, it is truly an awesome day...sm [2008-01-16]
hope you have a great afternoon filled with only your primary accounts and the good tasting no-calorie chocolate for the rest of the day!!

Bleh, bleh, bleh - drowning in the cesspool [2007-12-25]
I have not had 1 report on my usual accounts all day! This reeks!

Is everybody drowning in the wonderful world of cesspool [2007-12-18]
today? South region here. Been getting JUNK for the last couple of hours. YUCK!

I'm drowning in a sea of crappy reports! [2007-10-19]
Different accounts of which I know nothing about.. doctors who would take a year of listening to get used to.... my own account... where the hell is it? Why.. medquist,, why.. why are you tormenting us so! Not a question. Do you want production? Do you want us to be quality-oriented? You say you do? No you don't.. not really.. I hope I die doing this and on my tombstone I want written....She never got that damned report done!

Drowning.... [2007-10-19]
I know I'm not alone, and I'm truly sorry. It would seem we're all in the same boat, but the water is just too choppy today. That's the dumbest thing I've ever said. But, hey.. my brain is totally fried this day, and I've still a ways to go!

Drowning... [2007-10-19]
Oh well.. Just think! I'll make a WHOLE DOLLAR today!

Not an unusual occurrence [2007-09-27]
If the patient was seen today, it is possible that the dictator is giving you the correct number and name, but the ADT feed has not been updated. I don't know how often this is done, but not having an ADT match is not at all unusual on the account I usually do. If your account has telephone notes, then the patient may not have a recent active encounter when he actually came in to be seen and may not be on the ADT feed. The same thing happens if the dictator is doing a discharge summary from 6 months ago. The client profile should tell you what to do is no definite ADT match can be made, but unfortunately, not all of them do. When all else fails, I'd fill in what I could and send it on to QC with the notation that there was no ADT match and how much of the name (if any) was spelled or if any part of the name was never given.

Not that unusual at holiday times. I work for another [2007-09-04]
place part time and there was no/very little all weekend.

Same here and now I am drowning in the cesspool! [2007-09-03]
x

Cesspool is DROWNING me. I vow to be out of here before next payday. nm. [2007-08-30]
x

I'm still drowning in the cesspool. 1-1/2 hours to go today. nm [2007-08-21]
'

Nope - still drowning in it here. [2007-08-09]
.

This is not unusual [2007-08-07]
Most companies will only verify dates of employment and will only state whether or not you are eligible for rehire. Some won't even say that...they will only verify dates. This is quite common. It's a legal thing. Confidentiality laws and such.

QA drowning in national work pool [2007-07-22]
Did The Q not forsee that this was going to happen or was it part of their master plan? Wait, don't answer,I think I can figure it out for myself. It seems that the only thing themanangement of thiscompany can do consistently wellis makebone-headed and short-sighted decisions. Of course that is JMHO.

Help, I feel like I'm drowning. I appreciate the [2007-07-12]
positive post regarding our ability to bounce around between several accts and I am trying to be positive, I really am. I have been working for 1 hour and have only typed 3 reports from 3 new accts. I am in tears right now. I think this is just too much to ask of us ESPECIALLY AT MY PAY!!! Again, before statutory was taken away and E-time added, I never, ever, EVER ran out of work. Oh, as far as QASAR scores, in the past maybe a 0.25 off here or there for stupid things (usually I was correct anyway, according to BOS and PS), now I am constantly getting marked off. The sad thing is we can all work until our fingers bleed to master all these accts but when that happens, they will change it once again. This job is really making me ill and I really do not make enough money to work this hard. Sorry I am venting but family and friends won't listen anymore. I am going to check the job board, and the newspaper. I can't believe we are all accepting this.

re. drowning [2007-07-12]
I would say we are not accepting this, we're doing it just for the time beig... I think most of us are looking elsewhere and that takes time! UGH!

This was just cruel and unusual punishment. [2007-06-17]
Doing ASR tonight and I guess the docs have the ability to listen to the reports as well, as my doc starts listening to a dictated Radiology report, then summarizes it at the same time that the report is being read. OK, so what I end up with are TWO DOCS talking at once (one is the one I'm transcribing, the other is the dictated Rad report being played loudly in the background). The computer is picking up both voices of course. I'm trying to proof two voices??? It was crazy. I wanted to scream.

Direct Deposit question. Is this unusual and wha do you all think? (sm) [2007-06-10]
I work for another company as well and occasionally (about six times a year) have a Direct Deposit issue with them where they say the deposit could not go through. They then mail my check immediately and I've never had a problem getting paid. However, in all the many, many years with MQ I can only recall once being told that the DD couldn't go through and was then immediately sent a check. Should I be worried that this other company is having to send a check rather than DD as often as it has happened? I've always had work with them and the checks have never bounced. Does anyone know why the DD would go through for one company (I get paid by both on the same day) and not for the other?

I highlight all these unusual headings and.. [2005-12-28]
do a Control + E and add them to my DQS glossary, give them a name like hahc for and save them for future use.

I know its not unusual, but for those of us who [2005-10-23]
live in NJ, it has often backfired when we have tried to stay with our accounts and leave MQ - oftentimes when one of us would call, even without giving our name, the clients would call MQ and complain.It annoyed them. These were several big hospital systems in NJ, and yes, MQ often shared the MT work with 2 or 3 smaller MTSOs. The smaller MTSOs would not hire the MQ MTs, out of hate for MQ, so we would try to go in the back door with the hospitals ourselves. One huge hospital system even did hire some of my fellow MQ MTs, set them up at home, did this for about a year, and then unceremoniously dumped the at home MTs by having a courier show up at their door, demanding the computers back...No notice, no thank you, just GOOD BYE!! So, it sounds good to try to stay with your account, but it usually never works out - at least I haven't heard of it working for anyone yet!

holiday [2008-11-23]
What a grim tale Scrooge! Yes, there are some great paying MT jobs out therewith a lot of MTs applying for each and every one of them. Yes, there are other companies willing topay more than MQ. Yes, there are other companies paying less than MQ. Yes, there are other companies with better benefits than MQ. Yes, there are other companies with worse benefits than MQ. I alsoworkas an IC for a privatemedical office that does pay me more per line than MQ doesbut I don't get any benefits, have to pickup and deliver, don't get paid when the doctors are on vacation or out of the office, have gotten only 1 raise in 11 years,andam only allowedto take off1 weekper year (unpaid ofcourse). There are a lot of campanies in the US that have headquarters, manufacturing plants, etc., outside of the US.This is not something unusual or unique to MQ.If MQ becomes a foreign company doing business in the US, then theymay very well lose accounts.However, you have to remember that hospitals and other medical facilities are first and foremost a business and all businessesoperate toturn a profit and will gravitate towards the cheapestmeans to achieve that goal. In this economy, we all need to be thankful for a job. ThoseMQ employees who harbor suchhostility towards MQ should think of how they would feel if they logged on simply to learn they'd lost their job because MQ couldn't keepenough accounts. Instead of puttingso much effort into dissing them, maybe that effort should be puttowardstheir job. As for those prior MQ employees---WHO CARES-----your opinions mean nothing, your ideas mean nothing, you are not a vital part of the MQ community now and probable never wereto begin with. When you don't like yourjob, you get a new one and that's that. You don't continually diss yourformer employee unless you're trying to convince yourselfyou're right.This is something teenagers do, not grown-upswith bills to pay and mouths to feed. MQ may not be the perfectemployerbuttell me one that is, then I'll believe your doom and gloom,they did me wrong song!

My turn to vent... [2008-11-19]
I was, like everyone else, extremely upset by yesterday's e-mail from MQ. Imagine the nerve of them, after my 13 years of service (off and on in one form or another) to them, my loyalty and hard work to get another slap in the face with a 10% pay cut. In my service area all we do is ASR. I may get one or two reports a monthwhere I actually get to use my typing skills, but that is unusual, so I don't have the opportunity to make up the cut back with actual transcription, unless I change service areas, which from what I understand is difficult to do anyway. My husband, after listening to me rant and rave for a while, went on-line and checked out the MQ standings... yes, they lost money in the last year... didn't we all (just look at your 401k)... but when he asked me why so many of the upper level executives were leaving (2 in the last 3 months) I didn't have an answer for him. He said that it seemed kind of fishy to him when upper levels start jumping ship (as in rats leaving a sinking ship). Yes, I wonder if MQ will be around in the next year. Right now I am not in a position to leave MQ, but that is not going to be the case in a few months when I go on maternity leave. I doubt I will be coming back. I will have time to search and interview and all that so I can find a company that respects me and appreciates my skills that I bring with me. My perfect job would be working for a smaller clinic once again, where you can build a relationship with the doctors you type for, not just be some anonymous initials at the bottom of the report... but that would require me working out of the home, so I guess I am going to have to be resigned to being anonymous and just taking pride in what I do and having the respect and appreciation for myself. I used to love being a transcriptionist, but MQ has slowly killed that feeling over the years. I hope one day I can find that inner peace and be happy knowing that I did my part to help someone to better health. Here's to the hardworking but under appreciated MTs out there. This too shall pass, I just know it will.

Working for MQ is a large part of it. [2008-10-12]
They have set up a system that is frustrating and in which it is hard to earn money. I still enjoy the work when I have a good dictator doing a difficult or unusual report but most of the time it is totally unrewarding. I work only 4 hours at a time now and that is all I can handle. I can't wait to end my shift.

report dictated twice in error. ? on that. [2008-09-23]
An ER popped up to type, where the doc said he was doing it over b/c the original was lost. I recognized the name, so checked my log and I was right. I found the report right away. Obviously it had been sent to the hospital. There was nothing unusual about it that I could see. I'm not sure if they use physical (paper) charts or not, and obviously there could be several reasons why someone thought it was missing when it really wasn't. I just wondered how that could be, when it was so easily located. It must be a slow night/Monday to post something this silly! I felt badly that the doc dictated it over, but he didn't even flinch over it.

Cesspool miser [2008-09-11]
Boss is away, and it seems someone has changed the work priorities around. Not one report from my primary account, which the boss has been frantic about for the past 2 weeks. Trauma drama with losing account. Guess MQ has no one to blame but themselves if account goes away at this point. At least, the BOSS tries to stay on top of this account. Drowning in cess!!!!

SA1 [2008-09-05]
Anyone had any word on when the cesspool will end for us? I haven't had my primary in so long. My super said things would be put right in September... Today I'm ready to throw in the towel. I've emailed my super asking for something to hang on to. I have a job interview outside of MTing in two weeks and if the money is right I'm going to have to give this up. I just can't take it any more and my bills are mounting! Is it just me?? I hate to whine, but I'm drowning. Anybody have any ideas??

Sorry forgot to finish - How do you [2008-08-14]
think those people who post on here only get a primary while others are still drowning in the cesspool?? Also if you read here even on a rate basis you will see where some people make 10.5 cpl while others are making 7 CPL. Do you think this is a mistake??? Believe me they are pulling all our strings and only a few are lucky enough to be protected by management....

Just curious but how many MTs have negotiated [2008-08-10]
and are doing just their primary accounts. I'm drowning in the cesspool getting hit with new vague client profiles left and right. Can't wait till my last day at MQ.

From Keystrokes to MD-IT, back to MQ. [2008-07-28]
I quit MQ a year ago because of the drop in our ASR income and the sudden cesspool. I was with Keystrokes who told me I needed to buy my own computer which was apparently compatible with Vista. A week after I started with them, they changed their minds, said they had too many glitches to work out. I was stuck with a brand-new computer, all new programs, totalling over $1000. My loss. I then bought a C-phone to work on another account they offered me, but it felt like a dinosaur compared to MQ's DocQscribe. I left for MD-IT in Colorado. The recruiter and the MTs I worked with were nice. The account I was put on was surgery, which I have worked on with MQ very profitably in the past due to my Expanders (pre-ASR). There were only two other MTs on the account, and they had been with it for 15 years, basically stuck in their ways. I had to learn to think like them, but even between them they disagreed, so I never really got a straight answer to many things, creating quite a bit of confusion. Also, their program, ExpressScribe, was difficult for me. The typing screen is smaller than DocQScribe and any time you hit a key on the keyboard, it kind of blinks. The technical department couldn't fix this. You also had to buy your own Expander program, which had its limitations. Also, you couldn't just click on a doctor's name, you had to look it up on the Internet, then copy it down by hand, then type that into the screen - cutting and pasting didn't work because of the formatting, which by the way had to be done all by hand, with every single document. When I went back to the recruiter with my suggestions to improve it (as it worked with DocQscribe), he said he would put it on the list for the technicians, but it could take months. I felt like I was transcribing with only one hand and one eye shut, very compromised. I stuck it out with that company for a couple of months, then came crawling back to MQ. Maybe I just had an unusual amount of bad luck, but I think MQ is a good fit for me. I have over 20 years' transcription experience and have been with MQ for going on 8 years now. They have their glitches but now at least I know what's out there.

What is going on? [2008-07-14]
There is a generalovertime approval for building backlog - two days before the end of pay period. That is extremely unusualeven with schedules. I have been getting my primary account for the most part and no cesspool work. Where did everybody go that my MQMT life is semi-normal except for the insanity of ASR platform. Did that many MQMTs quit to leave this excess work right before end of pay period or has MQ new ownerdone away with the cesspool?

CBay info/educational stuff! [2008-07-09]
OK. Here we go. I have been keeping up with Cbay and came across this new stuff today. Cbay launched some sort of platform today called Kyps, some jargon, but that led me to see if I could find anything new. First, below is an article on Cbay's website. The interesting stuff is that Cbay calls the purchase of MQ a reverse takeover, which it is. So, off I went to Wikipedia to learn exactly what a reverse takeover is. Very informative. Basically MQ will be the empty shell company, and Cbay will call all the shots 100%. Please see the 2 articles I copied and pasted below. The good stuff on CBay is about halfway thru, and all of it is interesting in the Wikipedia article. Just want us all to be as informed as our sneaky suits! Press Releases S.A.C. PRIVATE CAPITAL GROUP AND LEHMAN BROTHERS AGREE TO INVEST USD 123 MILLION IN CBAYSYSTEMS HOLDINGS LTD. CBAYSYSTEMS HOLDINGS LTD. AGREES TO PURCHASE A 69.5% INTEREST IN Medquist INC. FOR USD 287 MILLION CBaySystems Holdings Ltd. (AIM: CBAY), a holding company with a portfolio of investments in medical transcription, healthcare technology and healthcare financial services, today announced that affiliates of S.A.C. Private Capital Group, LLC (�SAC PCG�) and Lehman Brothers have agreed to invest USD 123 million in CBaySystems Holdings. The proposed investment will be made through a limited partnership and will consist of a subscription for new ordinary shares in CBaySystems Holdings at a price of 70p per share, equivalent to approximately 57.8% of the enlarged share capital of CBaySystems Holdings. The proceeds of the investment will be used by CBaySystems Holdings to finance the proposed purchase from Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (�Philips�) of its approximately 69.5% shareholding in MedQuist Inc. (MEDQ.PK), the world�s largest medical transcription services company. The purchase price for Philips� shareholding in MedQuist is approximately USD 287 million, equivalent to USD 11.00 per MedQuist share and representing a 47% premium to the closing price of MedQuist shares on 21 May 2008. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, MedQuist provides a suite of healthcare technology and medical transcription services to more than 1,500 hospitals and large physician practices in the US. For the year ended 31 December 2007, MedQuist reported total revenues of USD 340.3 million. The subscription for shares in CBaySystems Holdings and the acquisition of Philips� shares in MedQuist are expected to close concurrently during the third quarter of 2008 and are conditional on applicable regulatory approvals, approval by the shareholders of CBaySystems Holdings and re-admission of the enlarged CBaySystems Holdings shares to trading on the AIM market, among other conditions. The closing of the share subscription will only occur if the conditions are satisfied and the purchase of Philips� shares in MedQuist is completed. As the proposed acquisition amounts to a reverse takeover for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies, trading in the Company's issued share capital has been suspended with immediate effect pending the publication of a shareholder circular comprising an AIM Admission Document providing full details of the acquisition and notice of a general meeting, which is expected to be published in the third quarter of 2008. Upon the closing of the transactions, MedQuist will join CBaySystems Holdings� portfolio of operating companies, which includes CBay Systems Services Inc., CBay Systems Private Ltd., and Mirrus Systems. MedQuist will operate independently with its own executive management under the financial oversight of the holding company. It is anticipated that, over time, synergistic opportunities may be identified among the operating companies within CBaySystems Holdings to enable them to enhance their portfolios of products and services, to accelerate growth, to improve operational performance, and to better serve the needs of their customers. Raman Kumar, Chairman and CEO of CBaySystems Holdings, said: �MedQuist, as the world�s largest medical transcription company, has impressive technology, management and employees. We look forward to working with the MedQuist team as it seeks to enhance MedQuist�s revenue growth and to deliver an ever-expanding portfolio of products and services to MedQuist�s customers. We welcome the support of SAC PCG and Lehman Brothers in this transaction, which we believe will be of significant value to all stakeholders.� About CBaySystems Holdings From Wikipedia: Reverse takeover From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article needs additional citations for verification.Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) A reverse takeover occurs when a publicly-traded smaller company acquires ownership of a larger company. It typically requires reorganization of capitalization of the acquiring company. In the event the larger company is not publicly traded, the reverse takeover results in a privately held company becoming a publicly held company by circumventing the traditional process of filing a prospectus and undertaking an initial public offering (IPO). It is accomplished by the shareholders of the private company selling their shares in the private company to the public company in exchange for shares of the public company. Contents [hide] 1 Process 2 Benefits 3 Drawbacks 4 Future financing 5 Examples 6 See also 7 References 8 External links // [edit] Process In a reverse takeover, shareholders of the private company purchase control of the public shell company and then merge it with the private company. The publicly traded corporation is called a shell since all that exists of the original company is its organizational structure. The private company shareholders receive a substantial majority of the shares of the public company and control of its board of directors. The transaction can be accomplished within weeks. If the shell is an SEC-registered company, the private company does not go through an expensive and time-consuming review with state and federal regulators because this process was completed beforehand with the public company. The transaction involves the private and shell company exchanging information on each other, negotiating the merger terms, and signing a share exchange agreement. At the closing, the shell company issues a substantial majority of its shares and board control to the shareholders of the private company. The private company's shareholders pay for the shell company by contributing their shares in the private company to the shell company that they now control. This share exchange and change of control completes the reverse takeover, transforming the formerly privately held company into a publicly held company. [edit] Benefits The advantages of public trading status include the possibility of commanding a higher price for a later offering of the company's securities. Going public through a reverse takeover allows a privately held company to become publicly held at a lesser cost, and with less stock dilution than through an initial public offering (IPO). While the process of going public and raising capital is combined in an IPO, in a reverse takeover, these two functions are separate. A company can go public without raising additional capital. Separating these two functions greatly simplifies the process. In addition, a reverse takeover is less susceptible to market conditions. Conventional IPOs are risky for companies to undertake because the deal relies on market conditions, over which senior management has little control. If the market is off, the underwriter may pull the offering. The market also does not need to plunge wholesale. If a company in registration participates in an industry that's making unfavorable headlines, investors may shy away from the deal. In a reverse takeover, since the deal rests solely between those controlling the public and private companies, market conditions have little bearing on the situation. The process for a conventional IPO can last for a year or more. When a company transitions from an entrepreneurial venture to a public company fit for outside ownership, how time is spent by strategic managers can be beneficial or detrimental. Time spent in meetings and drafting sessions related to an IPO can have a disastrous effect on the growth upon which the offering is predicated, and may even nullify it. In addition, during the many months it takes to put an IPO together, market conditions can deteriorate, making the completion of an IPO unfavorable. By contrast, a reverse takeover can be completed in as little as thirty days. Additionally, many shell companies carry forward what is known as a tax-loss. This means that a loss incurred in previous years can be applied to income in future years. This shelters future income from income taxes. Since most active public companies become dormant public companies after a string of losses, or at least one large one, it is more likely that a shell company will offer this tax shelter. It is highly unusual to preserve any benefit from the tax loss carry forward in a shell company. The tax regulations normally reduce the loss carry forward by the percentage of the change in control. In a well structured reverse merger, the private company should end up with 95% or more of the stock after the merger, thus reducing the tax loss carry-forward by this amount. [edit] Drawbacks Reverse Takeovers always come with some history, and some shareholders. Sometimes this history can be bad, and manifest itself in the form of currently sloppy records, pending lawsuits and other unforeseen liabilities. Additionally, these shells may sometimes come with angry or deceitful shareholders who are anxious to dump their stock at the first chance they get. One way the acquiring or surviving company can safeguard against the dump after the Reverse Takeover is consummated, is by requiring a lock-up on the shares owned by the group they are purchasing the public shell from, otherwise there very likely will be a stock dump. Other shareholders that have held stock as investors in the company being acquired pose no threat in a dump scenario because the number of shares they hold is not significant and, unfortunately for them, they are likely to have the number of shares they own reduced by a reverse stock split that is not an uncommon part of a Reverse Takeover. Possibly the biggest caveat is that most CEO's are naive and inexperienced in the world of publicly traded companies, unless they have past experience as an officer or director of a public company. A major disadvantage of going public via a reverse merger is that such transactions rarely introduce liquidity to a previously private stock unless their is bona fide public interest in the company. Without decent analyst coverage, many reverse merger companies end up relegated to the OTC market (also called the pink sheets), and never end up giving holders of the formerly private company the liquidity they expect. While probably an overstatement, there is an adage on Wall Street that companies which use reverse mergers to gain a stock exchange listing or quotation are doing so not because it is convenient, but rather because it is their only real choice. Whether this sentiment is valid, it has a significant and adverse impact on the perception of reverse merger companies among Wall Street analysts and other investment professionals. In other words, whether you are a private company that is being talked into such a transaction by investment bankers or a retail investor who keeps getting calls from brokers trying to pawn off shelf company shares, buyer (and seller) beware.

Paycheck DEDUCTION.. whats going on? [2008-06-10]
Well, I have my fears that the Q is penalizing me for not hitting my quota. My check today was short...had an unusual deduction of $209 - Awards. Anybody have this happen to them? I have received no explanation or warning (other than I have been short on my quota on several occasions in the recent months and am in theoral warning phase.)

90% primary (1 hosp), 10% (2-3 hosp) ranked beneath primary [2008-06-03]
But I had to switch hours to get what I want. I now know generally (unless it's an unusual day) when the work is going to run out of my primary and have scheduled accordingly. I get my primary nearly all the time now and am very happy. I'm to the point where I refuse to work the C-pool. If I have to take breaks at strategic times or log in or out early (15-20 minutes) to avoid it and make up time later by working over, I will. If that doesn't work, I change hours. Now I'm working on sitting my butt in the chair and not getting up during my scheduled shifts. My pay has dramatically increased in the past few days just implementing some self-control. Who would have thought, lol. I have come to the conclusion that unless you are incredibly lucky with a huge, huge primary, you can't expect to work M-F 9-5 and depend on getting your primary. You just can't. If that's what you want, I would suggest getting a different job or you'll just go nuts.

Anyone else low on work? [2008-05-07]
My primary has zilch! Haven't heard from my supervisor at all today which is very unusual, as she usually sends updates and backlogs twice a day. I'm a bit concerned.Anyone else having the same thing?

Even flowers get taxed [2008-04-11]
Got bad news for ya--it's not unusual. I work at Hopkins during my day job, and we have to be careful sending FLOWERS to employees for congrats or sympathy events such as births or deaths, because that qualifies under the rule of business gifts and they would be taxed for any flower order over $25. Do you know how hard it is to get flowers delivered for under $25??? Still pushin' da pedal...

Blame it on the cesspool! [2008-04-09]
Nice try, but no, I don't think so. Almost any MT could have done better -- especially since this one was a tier 3. Words like meatus, turbinates, cyst, microdebrider and several others are not that tough, especially for a tier 3. QAs are drowning in the cesspool too, so this just isn't a good excuse.

Has anyone complained to their PS about [2008-03-31]
Just wondering if anyone has complained to their PS about the current work pool situation and if so what kind of response you received. I spoke with my PS a couple weeks ago about it and she told me to wait a couple weeks and see if I start getting my primary more, but I have not. I (along with others I know) am drowning here. I feel like I am working so hard and am not making a decent paycheck for it. I have a friend who works for MQ as well and she is completely happy. She did get some of the work pool early on, but now hasherprimary all of the time.I just want some adviceon what to do. I have been looking for other jobs, but I need somethingflexible because I have a 4 month old andso I have to work aroundmy husband's schedule. Thanks in advance for any response!!

That's a very good description [2008-03-18]
And I couldn't agree more. When we had individual CSS centers, it was not unusual to get calls to work extra or ask if we could jump on and help bring a client up to TAT...but huge difference in that they actually knew us by our work and we could be assured that the account we needed to work on would be the account we got...because we could select it. Like I said...HUGE difference in getting a call from a total stranger who knows absolutely nothing about what we really do and their *calling protocol* isn't even correct half the time. I wonder sometimes if this job is like many other telemarketers...they must make a certain quota of calls to maintain employment..which often leads to a margin of error.

(((Rose))) [2008-02-27]
I am sorry you are going through such a rough time Rose, and I know how you feel. I have had some pretty unusual medical problems that works against me in keeping up with my line count, but I am also fortunate I have a PS who is very understanding and takes up for me to give me more time to catch up. Anyway, will be thinking about you, and sending you all the best.

Employee Rest Breaks - What's Required? [2008-02-24]
http://www.nfib.com/object/IO_31904.html Employee Rest Breaks: What's Required? 01/ 19/ 2007 by Beth Gaudio, NFIB Legal Foundation It may come as a surprise, but the federal government does not have a law requiring business owners to give adult employees either rest periods or meal breaks during the workday. In fact, only 19 states specifically require rest or meal breaks for adults, while only seven states specifically require adult employees to be allowed a rest break and a meal break. Although the federal government has no specific requirements for break times, the Fair Labor Standards Act states that if employers choose to provide employees with rest periods, they must be paid. In addition, if employers grant employees a meal break, they, too, must be paid, unless the break qualifies as a bona fide meal period. What is a bona fide meal period? Only bona fide meal periods qualify as an unpaid break. Such meal periods usually last at least 30 minutes or more. The U.S. Department of Labor deems a break to be a bona fide meal period when it is a period of time set aside for a regular meal. The break must also be long enough to be used for this purpose, and it must be an uninterrupted period during which the employee is completely relieved from his/her duties. During this period, the employee can neither be actively nor inactively working. If an office employee is required to eat at his/her desk, or a factory employee is required to be at his/her machine while eating, it is considered working while eating. In that situation the criteria for a bona fide meal period is unmet and such time would require compensation. The U.S. Department of Labor does not require the employee be allowed to leave the premises during this time, provided he/she is otherwise completely freed from all work-related duties. What is a rest period? Rest periods are considered work time, and therefore, the employee must be paid. The typical length of such a period can be anywhere from five to 20 minutes and consists of coffee breaks and time for snacks. Rest periods may not be offset against other working times such as compensable waiting time or on-call time. Employers may require employees to take breaks to avoid violating specific state or municipal laws. However, employers cannot force employees to do certain things on break (i.e., drinking coffee during a coffee break, going to the bathroom during a bathroom break or eating during a meal break). Bathroom breaks, unlike rest periods, are not privileges granted by the employer. In its Sanitation Standard, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration interpreted that employers must make toilet facilities available so employees can use them whenever they need to do so. Employers cannot impose unreasonable restrictions on employee use of these facilities. How long can a break be? For the most part, employers are prohibited from scheduling a break of more than one hour during the basic eight-hour workday. A lunch break may not be extended for more than one hour by allowing an employee to take a paid rest period prior to or immediately following the meal period. How are break policies determined? Employers often consider the following factors when creating or modifying policies for meal periods: Any provisions existing in a negotiated agreement The availability, convenience and distance of eating establishments Whether employees must be present at work to fulfill their work requirements Whether work must be performed on weekends, during overtime or at night What are the benefits of offering rest periods? The U.S. Department of Labor promotes rest periods as a benefit to the employer because they promote employee efficiency. In addition, extended or unusual shift periods may cause physical, mental and emotional stress, and rest periods help guard against fatigue, stress or a lack of concentration, potentially leading to operator errors, injuries and accidents. What does my state say about meal and rest periods? When the state laws differ from the Fair Labor Standards Act, the employer is required to comply with the standards that provide employees the greatest benefit. To avoid violating specific state or municipal laws, employers may require employees to take breaks. However, only 19 states require adults to be given meal or rest periods. To find out if your state requires you to give meal periods, visit the U.S. Department of Labor's Web site at http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/meal.htm. To find out if your state requires rest periods visit http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/rest.htm.

Not a job I would particularly want either (sm) [2008-02-19]
but at least their pay is consistent! They probably make more $ than I do when I am drowning in the pool!

That's because there are a lot of MTs who know the MQB truth. [2008-02-16]
They are suffering from MQ mismanagement and drowning in cesspool. I speak truth. Painful for some, but refreshing for others.

Lol--Agree. It has not increased my productivity at all. sm [2008-02-06]
Although, I will give it this....it makes a heck of a life raft while drowning. While floating in the abyss, the ASR comes up and I feel temporarily saved. It really does help me on those accounts I'm not familiar with at all, but in my primary (and back ups), all it does is slow me down and pay me less.

I have been notified before [2008-01-29]
It is not unusual for them to call and ask for assistance, or to ask if you are working your schedule. If you have a change in your schedule, however, you PS is to notify them of this, and sometimes that does not happen and then they will call you. I have been asked a lot to help out or come on early to work, and this has been going on for a few months now.

Unfamiliar accounts are hard, but [2008-01-24]
I feel confident there will only be occasional dips into the pool once dictation volumes pick back up sometime next month. This is not unusual for this time of the year. Jumping around to different accounts is better than one of us being out of work while there are other accounts with backlogs. Right? Once wehave our regular accounts coming in, I know we can improve on our quality, don't you?