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Not many posts cause small company

Posted By: just my opinion on 2007-03-30
In Reply to: I also would like to know about Axolotl, please.....sm - curious

You didn't say if you interviewed for acute care or clinic.  There is not much chatter on this board because Axolotl is a small company.  About 20 to 25 acute care and 20 to 25 clinic MTs. 


Your questions:


Platform: can be slow depending on your accounts


Incentives: none to speak of besides overtime


Benefits: comparable to good.  Depends on what you need


Communication:  Average


Flexibility:  If you comit to working 7 am to 3 pm you better be there are 7 am.  If you don't call in they might call you to find out where you are because they are so small and need everyone to be there when they say because of turn around time.   No timeclock to speak of so you can work as long as you want to get in your 1200 lines per day if there is work.  When there is no work you have to leave after your shift even if you have not gotten your minimum lines in. 


ESL:  If you are acute care you could get stuck on a couple of really nasty ESL accounts where you can go for several days getting mostly ESL and not enough others to average out the lines.  So if you are not real strong and love to do ESL getting lines in may be a problem during an 8 hour shift even after several months. 


Like any company everyone's experience is different.  What is great for one may be a disaster for another.  I have been with them less than 9 months and there seem to have been quite a few MTs whose names seem to suddenly disappear so it seems like Axolotl may not have been a good fit for those MTs.   


If you have other specific questions, you can E-Mail me. 


Good luck in whatever you decide. 


 




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Must be a small company. I have never talked to the owner of the company I work for. sm
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Must be a small company
It is a small company. Sorry if you're not impressed with my work. It works for me. I could do over 1,000 if I wanted to, but this suits me. I have another part time job that supplies me with income also.
Not MDI-MD - they are a small company
x
small company
has anyone ever left a national company to work for a small company?  just wondering if its a good choice to make. 
A small company usually can't
afford to lose the people they have, so you might want to speak to your manager about this and see what, if anything, can be done. It can be as easy as removing the MT's ability to reject the jobs they don't want to do. Great way to kill morale.
Small company GREAT COMPANY

Axolotl is a WONDERFUL company with great benefits and competitive pay.  We have maybe 100 MTs but are growing rapidly.


Same at small company in Ohio sm
I worked for. Owner did all the easy and templated work. I almost went broke working for them. Only paid 8 cpl and have awful accounts. You'd be lucky to get over $400 a week there. Expects people to work 15 to 18 hour days and both weekend days too.
Medtrans the best. Small company sm
but very professional, and pay is excellent & on time. Pay is by the minute or gross line - depends what account you are on.
Even if it is a legitimage company it is a small
company if they can't cover payroll.  Your bank isn't going to wait for your mortgage payment until you get paid and I think the majority of us work for the money, not just to give us something to do with our spare time.  Too big of a risk to take.   
I work as an IC for a small company and
I have worked for nationals and always hated having hundreds of different doctors and all the different account specifics, and above all searching for the demographics that I didn't get paid for.  Now I download from a FTP site, transcribe in Word and send it back within 24 to 48 hours (depending on the account).  I currently have 3 different doctors that I am very comfortable with and can breeze through.  I have no regrets about leaving the big nationals.
Big is Spheris, small is a company SM
with less than 10 accounts, mostly local to the company.
I also work as an IC for a small company
(without a contract too, so you are not alone, but working for me also). I just let my company know when I will be gone with plenty of notice (at least one month ahead of time), especially if I will be gone for an extended period such as a week or longer. Have never had any problems.
For a small company in NJ, not hiring right now though.
x
I'm trying to find out a company name. It is a small,

I think just an owner and IT person, company in Wyoming, I believe.   I can't remember the name of the company.  They offered me a position and I turned them down, but I need to make a list of all the companies I've turned down as many of them continue to contact me and I want to be able to say no right away instead of going through the interview again because I forgot.   I know there is a company in Cody, WY, but I don't think that is them.  They were extremely disorganized. 


Anyone have a clue who is may be?  I know I haven't given much info to work with. 


Should I go from national to small company?

Hello. I am sure many have asked this same thing before, just looking for a rooting section to feel better about this.  I currently work for a national.  With many changes, not feeling like a person, production sinking, morale gone, on and on and on... I decided to seek PT position with a smaller company.  So, I found a second company.  They are small, but growing. The director is a former MT.  They currently have about 100 MTs. The pay is very standard at 8 cents.  Their platform is slowing me down a bit, but they say they are working on upgradiing it.  Their communication and personal attention to me has been excellent.  I have 1 dictator. I see what work is coming in and have 20 hours to get it done. 


Is the small company too good to be true?  Being burnt from national, I am finding it hard to grasp that this really could be this good.  sure, the pay isn't as great..it is an IC position, rather than employee...but I am not stuck with God knows what work, changing all the time...and I am heard and appreciated.


Do I just bite the bullet and transition the small company into full-time and do the national PT?  Any comments, suggestions, etc would be appreciated!


Very small company in Florida.
There are only a handfull of us working for this company and so when other MTs cherrypick, it really affects the rest of us. I am constantly stuck working all the difficult doctors and trying to get the reports from going out of TAT while other MTs cherrypick the good doctors, even though their reports are no where near TAT.

This just started recently so I don't know if it is someone they just hired or not, but I am tired of it already. Since this has started happening, I have seen my pay drop as I can't get the same lines I could before with a mix of doctors. Now I regularly transcribe for the same three docs that no one wants to do and I am losing about $4 an hour. I am so tempted to just start cherrypicking myself, but that is not in my nature. I play by the rules, and I am getting dinged for it. Since my account manager could care less, I am looking elsewhere, which will be hard as I really love this account and the flexibility it provides, but I can't afford the loss in pay.
I agree on the small company.
I was my happiest when I was with a small company, but then they were acquired by a larger company and so I left.  I guess that's the point I was trying to make.  Working for a smaller American-owned MT company that doesn't overhire is a hard job to find simply because they don't overhire.  The MTs at that company don't want to leave.  The problem comes arises when a lot of larger companies pull the tactics mentioned before and then there are many, many MTs doing what you said...looking for another company.  That doesn't leave many smaller companies to chose from because most aren't hiring.  I think that's where the problem comes in with a lot of people being frustrated with going from company to company only to end up in the same boat a few years (or less) later.  There definitely is a downward trend in this field.  Some are fortunate to have the good jobs, but it's not the norm anymore like it used to be.
I work for a small company and
some of the clients have actually threatened to go with the larger companies that offshore to get cheaper rates. I've had to take a pay cut in order to keep the account from going to India. The clients will go where they get the better deal. Many of us will take a pay cut because of the competition regardless of how big the company is. I don't think anywhere is safe. You have to work harder to make up for the cpl loss.
Opinion: Small company vs. larger one?

Just looking for opinions on the positive side and/or negative side of a small company vs. a larger one.  Help me out here....please!


At home ideally. Small company
x
I start tomorrow with a small company exactly as you
Hope it works out but I've had good success in the past from companies who don't advertise.
D&L site is medicalreport.com small company
pay is real low
Can you share what small company you found (sm)
that offers benefits (even if it is more costly).  It seems that all I have talked to don't offer any and I can't afford to go without health insurance.  Thank you so much in advance.
Try PMTKentucy for a small good company
They are small, but they are growing rapidly. They will start you as an IC, but if you are a good MT, you will be made and employee. They have posted several job openingings in the jobseeker section.
It wouldn't be a small company in SW GA would it? If it is, consider yourself lucky you got away
X
I work for a small company in Iowa

The woman that owns the company is crazy.  She treats physical therapy like it's acute care.  They are office visit notes and she acts like they are Op notes and the doctor is breathing down her back waiting for them to be typed.  The physical therapist could care less ------- it's an exercise class lady - get over it.  At 6 cpl she wants a miracle. 


Must be a small company. 1000 lines/day is not that impressive. nm
nm
Do not be paranoid. I'm not with Shapin. Its a small company in Illinois.

Wow .. thanks for letting me know. They bill themselves as a small, caring company. sm
The pay isn't much, but I was just going to use it to supplement my income while work is light at my regular job.  So much for caring ... who needs their pitifully low offerings anyway?  Bah humbug ... LOL
Small but growing company, great to work for
Really sharp owner, great QA.
Started small; great company. Rapid growth; not so great company
First year I was there was like heaven. Then the big growth spurt when they hired managers from another company (that I had run away from before because of their bad management) and let them kind of take over. Although I have no proof it was as though I got 'bumped' by these new people when they came in and I lost a good account, good manager, etc. My paycheck went down every month lower and lower, and it became harder and harder to make my minimal lines. Having any kind of advocate was nonexistent.

It depends on you and what kind of MT you are. Seems to me there are pretty much 2 types...

Sports like basketball where you have the pros who play with finesse, and then you have street players who think it is all about physical strength, period. More and more the physical strength is winning but the art of the game gets lost more and more...

As in this country where there are almost 2 sides now, those with intellect and thoughtfulness, and those who think the only way to be strong and be a leader is to beat up everyone who does not agree with you...and force your will on others.

Suffice it to say in my opinion WMX changed its philosophy of the way it treated employees and lost its heart when it grew, and it was literally almost overnight...

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This is happening all throughout the what used to be called profession. Seems to happening all through everything these days. Humanity and heart are being pushed down to the bottom...
Has anyone heard of a small company called SRB in Florida. Curious.
:
Probably no "real" company name. I got the impression she was a private owner her own small bu
and..probably not a company we would have heard of before anyway. I applied so we shall see.
NO! Global Transcription in St. Louis is a small company that is slowing growing.
:}
Need good small company to work for with flexible schedule - e-mail me.nm
nm
Is Keystrokes a big company or small? I am thinking of applying. Time to leave the Q. nm
The sad thing is that I do not even think they would notice if I left. I am a high producer but not very vocal and they seem to have forgotten about me :(
but mgmt told me they outsourced some work to a small company at times.

There is no reason for me to lie about this.


I am NOT talking about offshoring, but the company whom they outsource to may offshore . . . I have no idea about that.  But straight from the horse's mouth, they have outsourced to a small MTSO before. 


You can notice how the work dries up all of a sudden when they turn it over to the service and we have no work.


TT mgmt may not tell that they outsource today, but they definitely told me about 9 months ago when I asked when the work was low.  From the way the jobs disappear occasionally, I think it happens quite often.


QT Medical is a wonderful small company. Very friendly and flexible with good dictators. sm
I have to be honest that I know nothing about the health insurance as I do not carry it. Anyway, they are an absolute wonder of a company. Apply at www.qtmedical.com
Awesome small company! Paid on time every 2 weeks. Plenty of work!
Owner is great. I would recommend this company to anyone who wanted to be paid what they are worth and paid on time!
There are bad posts about every company...

And for most companies, there are also good posts. 


There are a couple bad things to really listen to--late/no pay is one of them.  However, most have an opinion based on personal preferences.  Some people don't like OSi (or Spheris, or Medquist, or fill-in-the-blank), and some people do.  It's all based on a personal preference, and that's why many people say again and again that every company is good for some, bad for some.  No one company is going to be perfect for everyone.  The most balanced views acknowledge the good and bad of a company.


I currently work for OSi and have for almost 2 years.  I loved working for them as an MT and hated working as QA.  I am back to part-time MT, and while I'm generally happy and still would and do recommend them to MTs, there are some things I don't like.  Just as I assume there will be some things I will not like about the company I go to next.  But as far as OSi goes, they ALWAYS pay on time, the account coordinators are great, and most of the management are nice and try their best to be accommodating. 


The honest truth is that I would not recommend arguing with the QA department, or at least to pick your battles carefully.  However, mostly the QA dept leaves you alone unless you fail a review.  Just don't ever work for QA there... lol  The QA dept is seriously the only bad thing I would say about OSi.  And they're mostly good people, just very inept at QA sometimes. 


So all in all, I say OSi is a good place to work.  Despite my personal distaste for the QA dept, they are not terrible and do not really affect your day-to-day work.  I recommend them with all honesty and I think that MOST MTs would find them a good place to work.


They have great accounts, some very good line-makers.  I seldom run out of work, but cannot say that I never run out.  But when I do, I have the choice of going to a secondary account.  I really do like all of the accounts and the sound quality is never a problem (at least for me--and obviously there are times that docs dictate on cell phones that sound as though they are on a motorcycle, going 100 mph).  But the overall sound quality is great, and ExText is my favorite platform thus far. Again, the account coordinators are very good, very friendly, and very easy to talk with.


Lisha


There are also POSITIVE posts about this company!
The owners are not mean.  They are very friendly and caring. The company has a load of work.  They are having pay problems right now, but are working to solve the problem.  They are upfront and honest. One must remember that a poor attitude can affect any nice person.  This "viper pit" of a board is certainly proof of that.
Just because someone posts positives about a company....sm

doesn't mean they're in management, and you're presuming that someone who posts a positive is a manager is pretty ludicrious.  There are plenty of MTs out there happy with their employer... even some folks happy with MQ even with all of the legal problems that company has ongoing.


Unless someone makes a statement about someone in particular at a company that is completely false then there would be no reason for anyone to request a trace to find out who a poster is.  For example, on most internet boards anywhere you can say something like "XYZ company stinks" and be OK, but if you said something like "XYZ's payroll department paid me only a fraction of my earnings and failed to correct the problem" without proof to support your statement then you could be potentially held liable for posting false information.   If you did have proof of in this instance a payroll problem and proof of where it was attempted to be resolved then you'd be safe. 


Why is it that when anyone has anything good to say about a company, there are always the posts sm

turn the whole thread ugly.  Then the posts are all removed, and the company looks bad because the good was removed with the bad.  Yes, Keystrokes pays to have an ad on this forum but it is just an advertisement like the ones we have on other medical sites, in magazines, at trade shows and in other publications. 


I am going to set the record straight for those who are intersted.  If you are not, ignore the post. 


Keystrokes has grown from 5 to over 200 transcriptionists, from $50,000 in revenue to over $5 million dollars in revenue in 8 years, with the majority of the increase in the past 3 years.  This is public knowledge, available on the website, Inc Magazine site, Aspatore books, etc. so there is no reason to delete this. 


We have 100% account retention.  We recently declined meeting the price of an offshore company when a few of our radiology accounts went to voice recognition in the same health system.  We chose not to do voice recognition with them by not meeting an outragiously low price.  We do not outsource and stand firm on that regardless of what other do.


Keystrokes has been changing over the past three years, not disputed, but the changes benefit the MTs more than anyone.  Our rates are higher than many (not all) companies, our schedules have some flexibility, our managers are all MTs. 


We have caught a lot of grief on this board for various reasons, and a lot of it seems to be from the same few people.  Or from those who talk nonsense.  I truly hope that people reading these negative posts see sour grapes when they read them and understand.  Yes, there are some bitter people out there but they are ones that either did not make it through the initial period, have poor quality, have zero reliability, have made gross patient care errors or have breached HIPAA regulations.  Yes, there has been a turnover, but we have a great team in place and those who work at Keystrokes like/love working there.


We have heard that only a very small percentage of transcriptionists actually visit the MT websites for anything other than the job openings.  A big reason is the pettiness and ugliness that the posts seem to bring out.  Another is time.  A lot of MTs work on computers all day long and want to spend off work time off their computer. 


If you have questions about Keystrokes, go to the company for answers. 


I defend the company that I work for but have made a promise to myself to stop visiting here and two other sites because they really just take up time that should be spent on other things.  I hate that the bashers will still be bashers and that no one can defend a company (any company) without being attacked.  So the bashers are the only ones that post.  I wish you all the best and rest assured, Keystrokes will continue to grow as a national presence, and will continue to attract customers and MTs and will continue to make both very happy.


I have. The company I work for now posts when
they have openings, but I was hired before they started posting.  I'm going on 6 years now with this company.   I have also received 2 other offers from smaller companies that don't post. 
No company is able to remove posts. (SM)
Only the Administrator and moderators, such as myself, have the ability to do so.

Please take up your questions with the Administrator.

Goldbird

small to medium company that works in Word or Word-based program - email me. nm
nm
Absolutely not! I work for the best MTSO. I am have been so blessed to work for the small company I

I will share this about the MTSO I work for.  I called her late last Wednesday night after Church and told her I was compelled to help out with Hurricaine Katrina in some way and an opportunity arose for a small group from my Church to go to Louisianna this coming week.  Would she be able to cover my work.  She told me no problem without any hesitation and even donated money for the trip. 


And I am sure there are plenty of good companies out there to work for.  To compare us to migrant workers is just not right.


Anyone know a company that works with small pool of doctors? Tired of so many doctors nm
nm
When someone posts positive about a company it has to be a recruiter. sm
x
I think the less posts about a company, the better. It's the bad companies that get all the pres
:}
No MQ posts allowed on Company board. (NM)
x