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Thanks for your kind words. I will hang in there, and hope

Posted By: MTx1000 on 2008-07-09
In Reply to: ping-ponging - italia

I find a similar pot of gold. If not the fact that the odds become in our favor when we go through this enough, but for the fact you speak from experience. Your kindness is truly appreciated!


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Thank you so much for the kind words!
:-)
I want to thank you all for your kind words SM

and suggestions.  It means a lot to me.  I'm a pretty optimistic person, so I believe something better will come along...but it feels good to share my frustrations with those of you who have been there, done that, and got the T-shirt!


I better go to work!  Have a great weekend everyone and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.


Just Me


Thanks for your kind words
I have 25 years of experience, yet am only in my mid40s (started while in college). I am glad you got lots of offers. It is nice to know that it is possible we are not all thought of as old and crotchety, that is exactly the word I was thinking of LOL. And you are probably right I should not judge all of them just like I thought they judge all of us. Guess I was getting paranoid after speaking to that 1 MTSO.... shame on me! Thanks for your reply :)
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Needing some encouragement. Have been bouncing around without a good work home since before Christmas last year. I probably will not give up my IC position either. Congratulations and all the best to you starting Sept 8. Perhaps we will be working together some day! :) Thanks again for your input.
Thank you for your kind words! s/m
I just finally felt like it was time to share the other side of things with my company. As expected, I was met with talk to your STM (I have) and get another account (I have 4). I just felt like I needed to be honest. I do love Webmedx in most ways. Just yesterday i received praise for my work from my STM. I have NEVER had a manager take the time to do that before I worked here. They truly are nice people. My family just cannot survive with the no-work situation more than just the occasional seasonal lows. This has gone beyond that. I realize that they over hire to take care of upcoming accounts, etc. We received another mass email trying to explain the situation and how expensive it is for them these days. I totally understand that, but my family is feeling it. I have not jumped ship yet, and I might not if something better does not present itself, but I wanted to share my most recent experiences with this company. Isn't that what we are all here for? To be honest and help each other? I am not bashing this company at all, and if I DO ever leave, I will miss it--but I will not miss my ever-shrinking paycheck. I suppose it is the same everywhere these days. Thanks again for taking the time to acknowledge my post. I wish you the best of luck in this crazy MT world! :-)
Thank you for those kind words (nm)

Thank you for those kind words (nm)

thanks for the kind words :)
so I don't know their tax ID number or whatever.
Thank you for your kind words.

What I was trying to do with my original post was spark some healthy dialog, and boy did I!   It’s clear that few are without an opinion on this one, from those who took my fanciful VR language as a true and scary representation of what VR produces each and every time (yike!) to the more Borg-minded crowd (Resistance is futile.  You will be assimilated.)   My point – and I actually do have one – is in the title of  Judge Judy Sheindlin’s book:  Don’t Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It’s Raining.  I don’t necessarily see VR as an intentional move by our MTSOs to cheat us out of money, but I also don’t see them taking the 30-50% cut in profits they are expecting us to suffer. 


 


Somewhere between steeling ourselves for a career move that includes saying  *Do you want fries with that?* and allowing ourselves to get all borgified  by our employers’ switch to VR there must be a middle ground.  I just have not thought of it yet.   Anybody have an idea what that might be?  Instead of just bitching and catastrophizing about this, I would like some constructive suggestions for peaceful resistance, should employer tell me my account is switching next month. 


Thanks so much for your kind words.. You know I am
examining my heart today, and I think that I need to look to work elsewhere anyway. I really don't love being told that immediately I have to do this, even if it is a learning curve, and I need to be patient and it is a great company and all that.
I just don't like this vulnerable feeling when it comes to paying for my car and my rent and I guess that the fear is turning into disappointment and wanting to move on. I am having a delayed reaction the same people had last week. I need to move on now, my instinct says. When told that the industry is changing and I have to change with it, well, the bills stay the same and go up, so if the 2 don't meet then it's time for me to either work more hours doing straight transcription or get out of the industry altogether which takes time to do having done nothing but this my whole life.
I do believe I am going to spend today trying to get IC work for this payperiod so I can pay bills while I get a solid job with benefits for the next paycheck. Sometimes things like this make us examine our hearts to see what is important. To me providing for my kid is most important, and I am afraid that over-rides my loyalty to a particular place of employment. I never considered myself to give up, but I am tired of stressing and being uneasy. Need to take the control back, because nobody's gonna pay those bills but me!
Thank you for the kind words
It is MTs like yourself that make me think helping is worth the adversity.  Gourd painting is quite more profitable than MT these days.  Bird houses and different gourd art sell quite well at craft shows and flea markets.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
You know, that is EXACTLY what the Kentucky Derby rep said! 
Thank you for all of your kind words and thoughts!
Our lives will go on and we will get over this, but I will tell you, I have shed a few tears today. It was not only the job, but the friends and coworkers I was so fortunate to interact with while at Heartland.

Something has to be done about the US sending our jobs away! When is it going to end? So sad. A dark, dark day for us, but tomorrow will come, we will move on.
Thanks for your kind words, and being gracious...
is mostly because I have great respect for my team leader and don't want to leave her in the lurch. She has been wonderful to me, very supportive through some very difficult family problems, and that means a great deal to me. It is certainly not for the company!
Thans for your kind words. sm
I live in NC but am originally from Michigan. Been here 23 years. When I came here though I was working for TL/MQ and stayed with them 23 years until they went to employee status and it became such a mess. Worked for Future Net for 1.5 years but then decided to take a break totally. I know what you mean about the south paying less money. When I moved here I made money equivalent to what use to be paid up north and Future Net paid good also. But I am finding out the hard way it isn't so anymore. Thing that gets me is these places use to make you an offer if you had experience even if you didn't like the offer you got one. I have never had one tell me what they told me. There is something very fishy about all of this! 7 cpl for just OPs? I love to do OPs but not for 7 cpl all the time! Good grief!
Thanks for your kind words, it helps a lot.
It is so easy to succumb to worry and disaster. (To me worry is disasted b/c I cannot concentrate on my job, which means less lines, less money and more stress... etc.) I am going to look ahead to the future and stay on task at present... I sure hope many people here are with me with similar approach.. our line of work is difficult enough without allowing negativity to stop us from succeeding and from paying our bills!
Thanks for the kind words. See my Very Long Message

I've been in the profession a long time and I was actually surprised that I could not do the ESL and some of the other Docs at FN.  I've written twice about FN on this board, and I tried to give some of the positives, there were plenty of those too.  When I see how the MTs at some of the big nationals have to punch in and punch out, can't flex their time at the keyboard, have to use up PTO when there's no work available, get switched around without notice, I think FN is probably a whole other, superior culture to work in.  Experience is valued, consistency and regular production is appreciated, the line count as I have said in an earlier post is always correct, the checks are on time (so didn't really need direct deposit once I got used to waiting the few days it took to cut the checks.  My direct supervisor seemed to make assumptions about some situations without asking my version of who said what when, and that was a sore point with me.  They do assess a small monetary charge when certain mistakes are made, per employee handbook this is supposed to kick in after 90 days of employment, but I got my first official notice in my first month, while I was still learning the ropes. I did get quite a few calls about jobs that I never had in my queue being missing, when I never had them in the first place, resulting in having to do them and send them right away.  I kept daily written logs so I knew that I did not have these jobs in my queue. 


The quota is 1200 lines a day times 10 in the pay period to qualify for employee status and benefits, and there were quite a few days with no work available for the full 6-8 hours it would have taken to do the 1200 at my skill level,  and I never could get a straight answer about health insurance although it was a condition agreed upon when I was hired. 


I was sorry to leave, because although I really was unhappy with the quantity and quality of the dictation I hated to just give up.  Should say the sound quality was superb, it was just the actual Docs mumbling, snorting, whatever, that made doing the work so hard, and the general attitude seemed to be to just get used to it. 


My thought on the matter would be that I felt that it might have worked out and I might have stayed with FN because of the 90 percent great people, but only if it had been possible to work in-house for a while or at least to have instant message to some of the QA people so I could ask the questions BEFORE I had to send the report in, rather than getting a marked up report, or as more usual, just an e-mail with the missing words after the audio of the report was long gone.  I don't know about you but I am best at building my knowledge of any Doc's dictating style if I can research in my books, then on the net, then inquire of the QA in charge of my account, all BEFORE sending in a report, instead it went the other way around and I often had to send in what looked like it was not my best work, but in reality was my best effort. 


They DO load their LARGE program on your computer, and although I purchased a new XP computer with all the bells and whistles for the job, the platform had many wrinkles in it, seemed to cause problems with importing the demographics, and did lock up on 3 or 4 occasions, causing a 1/2 day loss of work. 


Well that's a long post all right, hope you'll forgive me if you've made it this far, but I decided I should put down all the bad AND the good in one post to see if it helps some people make up their mind.  I'm well aware that it may have been my problem all along and that I was just not suited to the particular matchup of company, platform, and accounts. 


Good luck to everyone searching, it is a frightening and tiring process.  Hope it works out great for you wherever you decide to work. 


You guys are awesome. Thanks for the kind words. nm
x
Definitely need the Sted's Derm&Immuno Words and a Path&Lab Words to do derm. Lots of weirdness!
s
Sted's Ortho Words, a lab words book, at least 1 drug book, and your AAMT BOS 2nd
s
Hang in there!!! After about 3 or 4

Tookie Williams


Just hang in there with DSG
I have been with DSG for about 4 years and it has changed quite a bit.  However, in spite of my dial-up issues, DSG has been a good company to work for.  Yes it has its ups and downs, but every company does.  Communication is the key for any transcriptin company and a successful MT.  Hang in there....this is a slow time since we are getting out of the flu/cold season.  The work will pick up.  Just be patient.  Maybe you could work for a second company part-time to cover for any slow DSG work.  Just a thought.
hang it up
they are NOT flexible.
It has nothing to do with being able to hang...sm
or not. If you are the main breadwinner in the family and now you have to look at training on a new account with smaller checks, as you have a learning curve especially when you are going from typing to VR,the pay is going to be less and the amount of lines you have to get is quite a bit different. So, those of us that have only ourselves to depend on as far as income are scrambling to figure out how we are going to keep the lights on and the house payment made. I really love people who think they can just make snap judgments about people without knowing where they are coming from. Let's see how well you chill when you know that for at least a month or so your check is going to be terrible until you can get up to speed on a new account and if you are even going to like the account they put you on. Good luck to you and I hope you are never put in a position where you are told to either hang or go on. Geez.
Hang in there
Well some of us can't 'hang in there' waiting for people to quit, I had that same idea and it worked for 2 or 3 weeks until the new hires came on, and then no work again. and besides, all these companies do when people quit is hire more people, so that is not a good idea either, they just put more 'warm bodies' in the chairs, one quits, oh opening, one more warm body, needed. That's all we are to these companies is 'warm bodies' in chairs. That's how they refer to us in meetings!
Hang on it will change
I am surprised to hear that FOCUS ICs are without jobs!!! I work for another company that provides services for them and we have so many jobs from FOCUS that we are asked to work extended shifts. I know that they have some accounts that are supposed to be VR editing but everyone working on them is mostly doing MT work until the VRE kicks in. We hear it is about 30-60 days from 90% VRE.
Hang in there, I had the same situation

It is hard to adjust to new rules, but you will catch on.  Reading over material/samples provided by the part-time employer is a great way to familiarize yourself with their ways of the trade.  Also, do not argue with QA.  Let it go.  If they let you go because of your QA score, then it was not meant to be.  There are plenty of others who would appreciate your intensity to learn.  Do not beat yourself up about it.  If you have a full-time job, then you know that you are worthy.  Keep trying, you are definitely playing it smart.  Never give up what you have until you find what you want. 


Hang on a minute...

I'd like to address something that's really bothering me as I see it expressed so frequently -- It's what I call THE GRATITUDE TRICK.


First, I am not trying to find fault with what you wrote.  You sound like a fabulous mom and a very dedicated MT.  I really admire you for the sacrifices you've made to accomplish what you have -- and that goes for everyone out there in the MT world who has done the same.  I mean this sincerely.  I am amazed at what some of you have managed to do and how you continue the struggle now.  Hats off to you all!!! 


But I have to question why do MTs have to make such sacrifices in the first place???  It sounds to me like this has been the case for many years now.  If we are the professionals we claim to be, we deserve the same standard of living that any other professional gets to have who works out of their home.  The perks go across the board for everyone who works from home, no matter what profession--gas savings, wardrobe, etc.  We are no different.  This aspect of what our job is worth income-wise is only a small part of the equation.  The difference for us is that we are not fairly compensated for our work as other professionals are for theirs.  THAT is what sets us apart, not the perks.  


I think this is a way the services have used to keep us in submission for years, and it's dirty playing.  I do not feel grateful to my employer to be able to work from home.  My gratitude goes to God for the technology that allows me to do this.  Heck, I'm saving them money in overhead from working from home, buying and maintaining my own equipment and reference materials, paying my own Internet service fee, etc.  No, THEY are making money OFF OF US.  Yes, businesses do that.  They have to earn a profit.  But it is wrong for them to tell us pretty much to go away and be quiet and count our blessings because they are so kind as to let us work from home, thus making us feel that we should be ashamed for wanting to be paid more.  This is nothing but a mind game.  They are using this way of responding to us to shut us up and we're falling for it.  Next, it will be but at least we hired you and didn't send the work to India!  Little by little we are being demeaned by them as they reduce benefits, demand more in production, etc. all the while telling us how lucky we are to be able to work from home and we're falling for it. 


If our profession (and I keep using the word profession because that is what it is) goes down the drain because of technology, etc. then we can't control that.  But let's not help it along by buying into a mindset that says we're not valuable.   Anyone who has the knowledge and skills to do this job well should see their worth reflected in their paychecks, bottom line.  All the other stuff is just icing on the the cake.  


I think we as a body of professionals and as individuals need to have a much greater sense of self-respect, self-worth to begin with.  We are not the cast-offs of the working world!  If you can do this job well, you are no idiot.  And all of us know, this is anything but an easy job.   Many of you have invested most if not all of your working lives doing transcription.  Companies should be grateful to YOU for working for them.  A qualified MT only increases the company's image. 


Now how to become fairly compensated is a whole 'nother can of worms given what we are up against today.  But I think we need to start valuing ourselves more before we expect to be valued by those for whom we work.  This gratitude to our employer trick they use on us has got to be exposed for the dirty trick that it is and it needs to go!! 


I think a lot of our frustration with this profession comes from such mind games.  If you can keep your employees confused, if you can keep them from feeling they have no right to complain, you've got it made as an employer.  They're under your control.  But in the end it weakens employee morale which results in frequent employee turnover which results in loss of production while new people learn the accounts, etc. so it really backfires on them and is a stupid (to put it nicely) way to run a business.   You can run it right into the ground this way.


Even the benefits packages are somewhat of a joke if you can't afford the insurance.  I'm sure the companies have ways to write off those expenses to their own benefit.  That's another trick they use on us.  My dental insurance won't pay the rent.  Pay me a decent enough salary and I'll get my own dental insurance!


If we have any hope of turning our situation around, we need to be able to see the tactics that are being used against us.  Just trying to point out some red flags here as I see them. 


 


I do too...took me a bit to get the hang of my ESLs...
but doing fine now, just took perseverance, dedication, and patience. My docs are all pretty good. Sometimes the volume is low, but that is to be expected, and I plan accordingly.
Tell them okay, hang up and forget it. Let them
x
That's a shame but hang in there

I'm do a different platform/client, but I also hired in this summer, and went through a rough time at first.  I talked to my supe, and after changing my schedule a bit and taking on two secondaries, things have become much better, and there's actually been OT on my accounts for the last few weeks.


Check the backlogs on the community page.  Some accounts regularly have OT approved (its in the little box at the top left, who's approved for OT and for how long).  Maybe you can get trained on some of those.  Are you willing to change your schedule at all?  My accounts consistently have certain heavier days than others, and before I was off during the heavy days.  My supe asked me to shift my schedule and it has made a very positive difference.


Hang in there - maybe they just haven't gotten through
all the resumes they received yet.
I actually was lucky to hang on to SM
an at-home hospital job with benefits for 11 cpl until 2001, but they cut us loose and I haven't seen that kind of pay since.
That sucks...all I can say is hang in there...
Things should pick back up this week, especially with Spring Break being over with..
Hang in there. There will be other opportunities after
Don't burn your bridge with this particular hospital, but giving up your passion and relocating might be worse on your mind and your pocket book than you originally thought. If your gut says no, go with no. Trust that there will be a better position out there soon. But be kind and keep the door open with this hospital in case they have something else. I cannot say what is good for you, but for me, I would not absolutely go against my gut and I have a feeling from your post your gut has doubts. Hang in there, keep up the faith, keep looking for jobs. The right one will come along where you can have both your happiness and the money too. Good luck to you whatever you choose. Let us know how it goes. Happy New Year!
Same experience but hang in there...
I also have 30 plus years' experience and in particular wanted to work second-shift hours. Back in February, I sent probably 30 resumes out and got maybe 5 phone calls, all told. I almost hired on at Transcend, then saw a brand new ad here on MT Stars at Diskriter. (I'd talked to them previously a few months back but was told because I didn't want VR, they didn't have anything for me right then). On a whim, I immediately applied again to the new ad at Diskriter and got a call within a day and accepted there; it just felt better and I was apparently just what they needed right then. I'm thinking that's part of the game now.
how long can they hang in there?...nm
nm
Yes they should hang their heads sm
and thank you for saying so. I have a phone interview at 2 p.m. today EST. I will never trust 100% anything a company says again and just as I did with this company, I will have my rear end covered in case this happens again. I don't have to work anymore and choose to work. I am not into retiring at 54. I can work part-time which is what I was classified at Milner. If it gets slow then I take it in stride. I just don't like the lying and I am especially ticked (as I have said) that I plain out asked them because I had another job offer and they told me things were ok. Matter of fact the job offer I had was from a lady with a company who found me, I didn't find her. She saw posts on MT stars and sent me an e-mail. That is so frustrating!
Hang on to your hat because you are in for a big change coming up.
:
She'll hang herself soon enough. It's MT Darwinism. nm
x
You have expressed how many of us feel. Hang
xx
I was just wondering last night if I should hang in there...
I have been really worried about the no work on training. Today there is absolutely zero. I am ready to go back to be an employee, after being so happy as an IC/SE... my DH says to hang in there because if this company is all they say, it will be worth it... but I have had a hard time with one highly-rated company here since I was hired in December (with everyone else too), and then went on LOA. Now I have been without a full paycheck for a very long time and I am lucky to have a second income around here. I long for the days of even bringing home 500 bucks a week (which I used to complain about). I will hang in there but not for long, because the harsh reality of the bills kicks in... I have 2 companies I could go to be an employee, one which runs out of work and I worry about that, and the other which does not but I have to have a schedule and worry about taking care of my kids. I know above someone said we should get over this complaining and be glad to have a job, but honestly I have skills of over 2 decades, and am flexible and mature and willing to put up with etc. But here with the other nat'l company not coming through since last year, and now being broke for so long, how much longer can I afford to be without a paycheck which can help out with bills? The bill collectors don't say hang in there. They send collection and later attorney notices. And that is the reality of the situation.
Hang in there. There are 2 more accounts going up on there in the next 3 weeks. sm
I also know that the account that started on DocuScribe only started with the H&Ps. The other work types are following starting this coming week and will give a better mix.

There are also other accounts. Talk to the recruiter (can't say names on here) and let her know.

I am a lead and know that sometimes one person loves an account that another person hates and vice versa.

There are a lot of new accounts that have started, a few that were partial outsource that went to total and a few that are going to go to total. Pretty much anything you would want.

The HR person in the office told me that they will need to hire at least 400 more transcriptionists over the next 6 to 12 months, if not more.
Wait it out, is my philosophy. They usually hang themselves. (nm)
dd
Hang in there...you must just have to wait until after the holidays...
good luck!!
thanks MEMT, hang in there honey...sm
I won't say it gets better, you just learn to trudge through it.  Some days are worse than others.  My husband and I were very close, and he was such a hands on Dad.  He cooked, cleaned, took the kids out so I could have a break, pick spats with me just to keep it a little crazy, etc., etc.  Because of the situation of his death, which was caused by someone who was supposed to be his friend, I do feel robbed and so do our kids, especially because everybody knows what the guy did, we just can't prove it.  So I am also telling you too, hang in there, it will all work out the way it is supposed too.  Just don't forget to be a mom to your kids, they still have a lot of learning to do.  When you feel like you cannot type another letter, think about those kids, they will get you through anything. 
Hang in there, it took me about 2 weeks to get 1st response, then...sm
a couple of days later a couple of more responses, and even over a month later I got another response, and I have a lot of years experience like you (15+).  It just takes time, especially the time of year it is.  Another thing you can do if you haven't yet is go on the websites and test.  I seemed to get faster responses from those companies.  I was able to finally change jobs and I am very happy with my choice, but it did take some time and weighing options to pick what was best for me.  If you are patient, you can really make the best choice for you from a variety.  I know patience doesn't pay the bills and I am not saying to not take whatever is offered for now, but it takes time to find a good match.  Hope you find a company you like. 
My advice: Hang on at MQ as long as you
can until you're set up & ready to go at another job. That way, you'll at least have *some* money coming in. Even though they're low on work, a little money is better than no money. Now that these companies have complicated the process with human resources, proprietary programs, etc., it takes a little longer to get started than it used to. Good luck to you!
you need to hang it up, she asked a simple
question and you get all bent out of shape and defensive and stressed.

Perhaps this is not the business for your.
Hang in there. Two hours is not enough time
to make a decision yet. You must train yourself just as you did when you first started out in transcription. Read the Editor manual. Use all the functions that are listed. It will get better, and yes you will make money. It does NOT take twice as long to do a report once you get the hang of it. It definitely takes less time to make a few corrections on a report than to type the whole thing. You cannot determine in two hours that you don't like doing it. Work on it for a month or two and get your speed up. Practice makes perfect and the speed will come, just like with anything else. Best luck to you, and don't give up!
This is good to hear. I am hoping that I can hang in
until the work picks up... I really don't want to find another situation, although have to admit I have my resume out already just in case... I wish today there were so much work I would work my fingers to the bone, and put some in savings. Been at this a long time and know that I should be doing that. Unfortunately, it has been a rocky 6 months working for another MTSO and promises not kept. So this is a long string of bad events for this MT. Perhaps will take on another IC and wait it out, just want to work, you know, an honest day's work for an honest day's pay sort of thing. :)