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Phone Interview [2008-12-03]
Hi All,
I have a phone interview scheduled this week. I have been out of the transcription field for 10 years. Platforms, expanders, etc. are all new to me. I would appreciate your time in sharing any advice or comments. Thanks!
I am telling you, we need to start (No message) [2008-12-02]
FYI This was already posted yesterday [2008-12-02]
go down the page a little bit where it says article about MQ presence in India.
I got that message too...I'm doing it for sure..nm [2008-12-02]
x
So sorry Moderator. (No message below) [2008-12-02]
my CCM is rarely available by phone [2008-12-01]
but I usually just call 888-DICTATE to get a ticket number, then e-mail the ticket number to CCM stating the hours I need PTO for, or if I'm going to make up my hours.
Where are you? No message [2008-11-28]
x
I had 16 new accounts yesterday and 11 today - [2008-11-28]
Today, one *CP* said to see the client profile for info. It was an op report. How idiotic!!
NO JOBS AVAILABLE. no message below [2008-11-26]
I thought it starts acting up (no message) [2008-11-25]
x
that interesting - 6 months & no one notices - nm [2008-11-24]
x
Yes - see message below - hope it helps - nm [2008-11-24]
x
After a post I saw yesterday [2008-11-23]
I checked the MQ financial report and sure enough, MQ has been losing money for the last 3 years - I did not check back any further. Just for kicks, I looked up Spheris - they have also been losing money. There is no way any company can stay in business if it continues to lose money year after year. They execs are not going to cut their own salaries; they are only going to cut ours. Don't expect any raises and do expect ASR to be lowered again to 50%. If you are young enough, get out of this field.
Also, I took the challenge as well and sent through the ASR without grammar or punctuation corrections. I fixed only incorrect terms. I managed about 300/hour total but my forearms ache as I type this and it just is not worth it to me to work this way. I see arthritis and carpal tunnel at a young age for anyone who follows Mr. 644's advice.
they wanted me to buy a C phone and have a phone line [2008-11-23]
x
The insurance that started in July is MUCH better and I do not use a c-phone. sm [2008-11-23]
I think it depends on the account. I am on a DEP/DQS account that is wonderful!
Message to MQs top producers...sm [2008-11-22]
If any of the top producers read this board and get anywhere near 600 lph, please respond. I'd just really like to know if there is any truth in that!
Interesting...... [2008-11-21]
You could very well be correct and probably are, but I just found it interesting. I just DO NOT trust Medquist any longer regarding anything.
If the company wants true quality (NO MESSAGE) [2008-11-21]
I guess they want the to do our work and so they will get that type of quality.
I find it interesting that....... [2008-11-20]
the account that I have typed on for the past several years is now being offered with two other transcription companies, one being Transtech and the other Focus Infomatics. MQ acquired this account in January several years ago. Do you think this means they are going to lose this account completely in January 2009?
I found it absolutely mind blowing when TransTech contacted me to work for them with the same exact schedule I have with MQ, the same exact account I have with MQ. What gives??????
oops! no message [2008-11-20]
OOPS
I NEED YOUR HELP. Please see message below. [2008-11-20]
1. How much money you may have lost from last year to this year.
2. How much money have you lost from the beginning of this year to now with this new 10-14.5% decrease.
The info I am seeking is to help me call my state to give examples of how muchMT's wages are being decreased to. From what I understand is that most companies can decrease wages by a certain amount and not to exceed a certain amount, just need to find that amount.Since a lot of us are paid from a scale of 4 cents to 12 cents a line, that is a huge difference in pay for some.
You can try contacting in your state these two offices (below) about the paying right wage and to seewhatthe prevailing wage or not is reduced by such amount. Hope this makes sense. So much info.
Two offices tocontact in your state that might help you. You tell them how much your pay is being deceased from last year to this year, what it was 3 years ago while working at the same company and what your wage is from beginning of this year to now. I pray you get someone on the phone who will help you and listen to you or refer you to the right person to talk to about this. Anyone know any lawyers who are in the family? Companies are not to reduce pay by a drastic amount and I call this drastic since 3 years ago or even more.Unfortunately our company might be on the list where it does not matter and they can screw us over, but then again, I am hoping it might be on the list.
Good Luck to you all. I am now calling these2 companies in my area andif I hear anything, Iwill post again.
1. Labor and WageClaims-Department of Labor.
2. Bureau of Labor and Industries.
professional is not getting on a message [2008-11-20]
board whining day in and day out. Think of how much money you could be making if you just redirected your spare time into typed words
interesting [2008-11-20]
a QA who doesn't know the difference between affect and effect?
Interesting indeed... MT who [2008-11-20]
spells fontanel instead of fontanelle.
It's interesting that MQ justified this decrease [2008-11-20]
They didn't say, hey our product is so efficient and productive, we have to lower your pay to even the playing ground. No, it's because other companies pay less. How do the VR platforms compare? Are the others as bad as ours? Is that what that little survey was about? (I don't participate in surveys, so if I'm alluding to something irrelevant, I apologize.).
Here's some number crunching. The average time it takes an MT to type a report is 3 times the minutes of dictation(just an average -- yours may differ ). So let's say you have a report that's 5 minutes long. If you type it straight, it will take you 15 minutes. Sixty percent of 15 minutes is 9 minutes. Therefore, in order to justify lowering the VR line rate, the standard should be a surveyand average of howlong it takes an MT to do an ASR report, not a comparison to other companieswho do not use the same program.Can you complete a 5-minute ASR report in 9 minutes?
Honest [2008-12-03]
I have been able to get my line count okay this week (Wed and Thurs are the worst days though) and have made my usual $$ both yesterday and today but only because I have altered my work style since we had another reduction in pay.
No one can really tell you what is the best company for you. I worked for another company that folks raved about online that I felt was worse than MQ and that was before the pay cut. Everyone is different. Hey, if you don't like it, look for another job.
Warning?? [2008-12-03]
QA wonders why MTs get ticked off? Nice tone in that message!! ASR does insert milligrams. If I'm editing 644 lines an hour, I don't have time to correct it. You're warning us? You cut it out!
Phone Interview [2008-12-03]
Hi All,
I have a phone interview scheduled this week. I have been out of the transcription field for 10 years. Platforms, expanders, etc. are all new to me. I would appreciate your time in sharing any advice or comments. Thanks!
Advice [2008-12-03]
Just do it. Then you will quickly get a phone call as to why you are working differently. This happened to me with the change and had to tell them over and over that I had changed from FT to PT right before and it had been approved.
Tired [2008-12-03]
I guess they think we can work miracles. Some of the audio is absolutely terrible, especially the ones who insist on dictating while driving with the traffic noise, cut outs, and obvious not speaking into the phone while looking up info. How in the world do they do that without running the car off the road?
I use a box, too (a HEAVY box)..... [2008-12-02]
so my foot pedal doesn't slip around. That used to bother me a lot before I figured that out. I'm short, so I have my foot pedal up on 2 encyclopedias (I knew they'd be good for something when I bought them for my daughter 15 years ago, lol). I use a phone book under my left foot. Plus, I have special typing shoes. Does anyone have those? Mine are old loafers. I don't know how I'd ever replace them.
Again unbelievable [2008-12-02]
Well again today I feel ill. Talked to sup yesterday regarding losing one of my primaries to cheaper vendor, not sure though what to believe but when log sent out this morning, found another primary reports going international labor partners and that we are doing the priority work. I am sooooooo sick of their stuff...insert another word if you like, I know I would. They are probably going to lose that account by doing that and then say it was due to cheaper vendors' prices losing the account.
Is anyone else attending a conference call this [2008-12-02]
I got a message last week about it. There will be three or four in the next couple weeks, if I remember correctly (first one tonight) where you can listen in to a question and answering session about ASR, but perhaps other topics will spill out.
Should be interesting . I'm going to try to go but if anyone else does, can you come here later and tell us what it was about? Thanks!
No, everyone seems to have the same issue... [2008-12-01]
I couldn't get mine on the phone or to answer email, so I emailed MT questions and asked them what I wanted to know. Interestingly, they are still being held responsible to some degree, as they contacted my CCM and immediately I got a response from them.
I got my questions answered. And I got what I wanted--which was to change my schedule. I told them I would go part-time if I didn't get the schedule I wanted (CCM before refused this change). I was asked please to stay full time and of course I could have my schedule.
The Q knew when they did this last pay cut that many would quit. They have a hard enough time getting help as it is. My suggestion is be a squeaky wheel, though a fairly polite one.
CNN announced 10 companies [2008-12-01]
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/12/01/cb.home.based.workers/index.html
MQ is not on the list, but Spheris is. Thought it was interesting since a few months back Good Morning America announced MQ was a good placeto work as an MT for retired or elderly workers.
nope [2008-12-01]
sent it anonymously from a different account. got a response quickly. here it is...
oh...and i also got an e-mail from mtquestions asking for my name and ADP number. i think i gave them all the info that matters, don't you? : )
**** Please do not post internal email addresses, phone numbers or communications for any company.****
unbelievable [2008-12-01]
By all means call the facility. That is how I landed the job with MQ years ago when I still worked for them. They were tickled pink to actually have a person experienced on the account. They hired me over the phone immediately.
Pet Peeve [2008-12-01]
I have to say just how much I really LOVE when the dictator gets interrupted while dictating, then they hit the hold button on the phone....all 3000 seconds of it.
I so agree. [2008-12-01]
and you could tell the facility you have been typing their accounts for 14 years and would like to stay with them and I am sure they would be very, very helpful to you. If you get someone that is not helpful on the phone, wait a day and call again and see if you can get another person who might direct you.
I'll bet it is from the ASR pay rate. [2008-11-30]
According to MQ central, they are up to 50% ASR of all dictation. I calculated my pay based on that (50% ASR + 50% typing), and that would result in an approximately 20% pay cut and put me at my state's minimum hourly wage if I only accomplished the 150 lph required minimum for full time.
It's so depressing. I worked so hard yesterday and barely made the minimum line count. I had almost 50% ASR according to my line count. None of the ASR was faster than straight typing.
singled out [2008-11-30]
Don't be discouraged with this. I have E-mailed, called, etc and when I have sent a message to MTquestions, they say this will be looked into so don't get discouraged it is their new way of doing things.
i know you are frustrated but I am laughing at the...sm [2008-11-30]
wonderful grammer used in the ad that was placed alongside your message. I pasted the ad below. Who talks like that?
Enjoy freedoms of working at home? Freedoms?
Was that written by an ESL???
Medical Transcription
Become a Medical Transcriptionist Enjoy Freedoms of Working at home
Me too [2008-11-29]
I got a report yesterday, evidently from the same facility. I wondered the same thing......what is the deal with the word shaved? I don't think I got one report from my primary, let alone from my entire district.
downtime pay depends on CCM. sm. [2008-11-29]
According to my new CCM, if we are released from work then there is no downtime pay given and she requires us to either make up time or use PTO. If she doesn't release us from work, then it's her discretion how much downtime she actually pays you if you have a ticket number. MQ's policies are SO vague and open to interpretation that it's ridiculous. In my case, I was given 1 hour of downtime pay yesterday and then was told to make up the time there was no work. So, if you aren't even more totally confused by now (ha-ha), it's up to your CCM and how they choose to handle it. I have had to use PTO in the past for downtime and sometimes I have received downtime pay. This confusion is driving me insane. Why isn't anything clear cut??
pay cuts, quality, etc. [2008-11-28]
Hi everyone, new here & not sure if replying where I intend, but here goes.
My head is spinning from all the Medquist changes, too. I loved this company so much for so long, but there is a limit to what anyone can take. Still, I'll keep at it as long as I can. Seems a sign of the times that the best company to work for has become this volatile.
I think the fact that MQ is officially recommending we speed all dictators up to chipmunk mode says it all. They, and apparently clients, are willing to sacrifice at least some degree of quality for cost.
I just upgraded ultra-slow dialup for ultra-fast broadband and to my stunned amazement it has made very little difference in my bottom line(??). Even though I no longer wait five or more minutes for each job to load. And now another pay cut. And I don't know what planet 600+ an hour MTs are on.
So...I am absolutely ensuring that critical information is accurate, but as far as narration...as long as it gets the point across, I'm Not Touching It. If an ESL says This was patient him present to emergency rooms, that is what they will get. And to be fair, if a clearly intelligible doc dictates a full-page run-on sentence, they will get that, too. I am not nitpicking ANYTHING that does not affect the bottom-line message. I used to punctuate, edit grammar and organize for ease of reading, etc. and took GREAT pride in doing so. It didn't subtract from my bottom line that much. Now the seconds add up fast and take money from my child's mouth. You get what you pay for.
As for outsourcing, I don't blame those poor folks who have been making pennies all their lives, it's not their fault. I actually welcome some hardship if it truly benefits people who haven't had a tenth of what we do here all their lives. People in India call centers have been publicly expressing tremendous sympathy for the Americans they talk to, and saying it's really opened their eyes about money, and saving, and spending. I think it would be quite something for us to communicate with MTs from other countries.
I do think global employment markets, transcription in particular, will eventually strike a balance between cost and quality. If the MT profession survives long enough.
Americans in American markets obviously have an advantage in terms of experience, native language, etc. But it's a competition, and we have to be BETTER.
ASR is far scarier to me than outsourcing or belt-tightening. Before I became an MT, I was a highly-skilled,well-paid typesetter. When PCs became available, honchos in the industry insisted nothing would EVER replace us. I told my employer I didn't believe it. He didn't believe me. His long-established family business closed about a month later. That profession is long dead.
My own PCP's office uses a template program to plug in pertinent changes for all their transcription. I receive copies of my homeschooled daughter's notes yearly to submit to the district. They include PARAGRAPHS of things that never happened. Nobody cares. (All personal information, interestingly enough. Never medical. Hmm.)
I have also been told by a knowledgeable MT exec from another company that the US is uniquely dependent on transcription in the world health care market, owing to our emphasis on insurance documentation. That could change overnight. It could also explain why so many skilled foreigners are available to do our work.
Oh, and by the way, I also see an advantage in settlement of the class-action suit. 1.5 mil wouldn't make a dent in paying back what we lost over the past however many years, and demanding more, well, it would have to come from somewhere. Guess whose pockets, ultimately. Rob yourself to pay yourself. The important thing is someone stuck their necks out to fix the problem and, hopefully, it's fixed. Unless I'm missing something.
We are all involved in a very complex situation that is bigger than how one company is treating us. I don't think it would be a bad idea for us to find supplemental incomes that may become full-time someday, or to pursue education that may pay off down the road. But for now, I think we need to use our heads, work as smart as we can, and stand up for ourselves intelligently, or we could help hasten the end of a profession that means more to most of us than just money. As important as money is.
I hope to hear others' further comments about all this.
I looked up the No Work policy and the way [2008-11-28]
I read it is that if they don't release us from work, then they are required to pay us minimum wage according to our home state wage scale. The IR is supposed to call after you open a ticket, but I haven't heard anything from anybody yesterday or today. I was short a little over an hour yesterday and am running about an hour short, so far, for today.
That's what I do too. [2008-11-28]
Didn't help me yesterday but after 20 minutes this morning it pulled 2 jobs and I've been steady since. By the time I finished getting a ticket # with the help desk, the jobs were ready for me so I clocked in and started working.
Just FYI. DQS's time is totally off. Just another way to screw us sm [2008-11-27]
I started my shift around midnight tonight (12 a.m. EST) to get an early start, about 2 hours, and then be done for the day. Well, here it is, 1:30 a.m., and ALL of my 200+ lines I've typed since midnight is still being calculated for 11/26, which was yesterday, not today, the 27th. I am so disgusted. I checked my line count for the 27th and it shows ZERO lines, even though I've been typing since midnight. Ooh, I'm so mad I could spit fire......this sucks BIG time. I could have been sleeping instead of typing this crap....So I went to MQCentral and there is NOTHING that states that time holiday lines start...apparently it's not midnight. So, what time is it? 6 a.m???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Sick up and fed! [2008-11-27]
I will NEVER understand the mentality of this company. Why cant we have holidays off like everyone else? My team was told at the beginning of the year that we had to work Thanksgiving andChristmas this year if we had it off last year, no exceptions. I even worked last Thanksgiving but still was told I could not have it off. So I get up at 5:30 this morning to work, actually was lucky to get two hours in and then, that wonderful sign comes up: NO JOBS AVAILABLE. I happen to have made Thanksgiving plans for AFTER my work shift today, and there is no way I am going to try to make up work all night, that is if there is any.
Anyone else peeved about this? And on top of that, got an email from the PS yesterday saying Dont ask me to change any of your schedules, as I will be on PTO until next Tuesday. Must be nice...the upper suits get the holidays off! Arrghhhh!
48, and QA could not hear them either. [2008-11-27]
If hospitals will not correct their phone problem, if doctors will not open their mouth and speak or learn how to speak English, will not find a quiet place to dictate rather than the operative clean up area with banging pans, I don't sweat it anymore.
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