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You, my friend, are the exception, not the rule.

Posted By: You're out of touch on 2009-08-12
In Reply to: Of a MT who has almost 40 years in this business - So wrong

There are very few people making that kind of money in transcription anymore.  Have you even read the ads posted recently?  Fewer and fewer MTSOs are even hiring employees and when they do advertise, their IC compensation is 7, 8, or 9 cpl.  Even those companies that are hiring employees are doing so at extremely low rates, at the same time overhiring to make sure that their *contract enticements* will be met on the backs of the MTs.  Have you noticed the postings from MTs of, not 1, not 2, not 3, but SEVERAL different companies stating that there is no work??  When an IC is working for 8 or 9 cpl or an employee for even less, and there is no work available, how is that person supposed to make $50-60K annually?


People like yourself will criticize others for their opinions and will brag about your own situation, but when push comes to shove do you state what company you work for that allows such a wonderful wage with your abundant work load?  What is your fear?  That others will jump on board and soon you will be facing the same situation??  Until you have experienced what the *majority* of MTs in this field have been facing, you really have no valid facts to make such a request that other MTs be fired because their situation forces their loss of employment (if they quit because of it), their loss of compensation (if they are docked), or the loss of quality (which will certainly occur) due to the punitive compensation policies in place. 




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You seem to be the exception, not the rule. nm
..
You are the exception rather than the rule. ....
Most companies pay nothing, or next to nothing. Then you have to consider that you have to deal with the very personal fact that AAMT loves its Indian MTs more than you, and you are just funding their growth...it's just not worth it. I've been on thier boards, I have been a CMT, and I'm more than happy to shred AAMT's pleas to have me maintain their lifestyle. NO SOUP FOR AAMT!

AAMT Nazi.
You are an exception rather than the rule....
I learned on the job too, but that was a LONG time ago. It has been my experience nowadays that you have to pass testing for most nationals to get hired. Those who can pass testing with no experience are few and far between and you are to be commended. This particular person already has acknowledged that she could not pass testing and does not have the knowledge required, and was asking how to gain that knowledge.
Then it must the the exception, not the rule. sm
According to everything I've heard and seen, the offshore work is garbage. That doesn't mean there may not be a service or two in other countries that hires educated MTs, who are proficient in English and conscientious at their jobs. I have worked with people from other countries that did as well as I do. But they are few and far between, and if every company let their offshore work stand on its own, or had it being QA'd offshore, most of the accounts would be back on shore in a short time. JMO
The exception to the rule.
x
exception to the rule
I agree with you completely, but yesterday I had to delete an entire report and retype it. After I downloaded it, I noticed it was totally nonsensical. As I began listening to the audio, I found out why. There was a TV in the background that was actually louder than the dictator and VR was trying to pick up what the person on TV was saying. It made a total mess of it and of course had nothing at all to do with the patient's report, so this was a case of having no choice. Luckily these are few and far between. This morning I had a report with absolutely no corrections needed and it was wonderful! But then I thought, Whoa! If they all get this perfect, I'll be history! So I'll gladly make a few corrections!
Allstate is definitely an exception to that rule
I know who each of those persons were that posted. I also know that Allstate believes in their ICs working as a team and helping each other. There are no secrets -- in fact, just the opposite. Interactions amongst MTs and QAs is encouraged. Names, email addresses and phone numbers are openly shared (with permission) if it means making help more readily available to other MTs when they need it. Everyone on the company is provided a direct number to reach even the owner/CEO at any time. And by the way, yes all those MTs do work for Allstate, and no they are NOT the same person. I know all of them.
You my dear are most certainly the exception to the rule because MQ does not pay that base rate to
start people and give them 11.5 cents after 16,000 lines.
Maybe you are an exception
Still, editing does pay less than standard transcription lines. You know that. If you make that kind of money doing this, obviously you have a good account with good speakers. That is not the average fare. Hang on to that job, if you should ever fall into a cesspool of editing cruddy VR, you might be singing our song. Lines, however you make them, ultimately is what counts in the end. No newbie is going to jump on any ship making $24 an hour.
I think I must be an exception...
but I don't have any real complaints with Cornerstone and SR. I do think the change they just made where the lookup for authors and cc's comes in first name first instead of last name first, which is totally unproductive, was the stupidst think they could have done, but the system as a whole works pretty good for me.

The spell check on the fly would have been helpful if they had made it like HITS where you could right click and look for corrections. As it is, it is totally useless, so mine is turned off.

And this last change where you can turn off headers was really a good change. That has saved me a lot of hassle since all my headings are in IT.

I've never really suspected them of cheating us out of character/lines, but maybe I'm just too trusting and naive about those sorts of things.
LOL ... well, that is the exception, not the norm. sm
I wasn't trying to brag at all.  I'm older and simply cannot do that on a daily basis (wish I could!).  My only point was that if they were cheating me, it would not be possible.  I agree with the poster above -- if people think they are being cheated, then they should just move on.  This using several line counters and checking and double checking and so on and so forth seems a huge waste of time.
With the exception of the Leads SM
Always seem to have plenty of work when work load is light/low.  Pretty unfair advantage, if you ask me. 
Tell MTSO et al, 400-500 lph MT is the exception
CANNOT do that level of lines, just as most swimmers will never be a MIchael Phelps, no matter how hard they try.
I love them with the exception of payroll
seriously.
Not true; there's an exception written right into the handbook sm
You are expected to TRY to get 40 hours but in times of low / no work, you have the option of using PTO or UNPAID TIME.
some are the exception while some just don't care to take the time to research anything nor learn
i believe the not getting it is what the OP is referring to. you can teach and help only those willing to learn. some don't have the care to learn and will never look anything up, will not listen and learn from the mistakes you correct for them over and over day in and day out of the same old mistakes! those are the ones who need to find a new profession because with our profession, working from home, etc. you have to be willing to learn, take the time to look things up, and not guess at anything. it doesn't matter if they are given 200 reference books, some will never pick them up. you wouldn't believe some of the reports that come through and the errors on them just plain on not making sense and english/grammar mistakes. it is ridiculous. you may be one of the few who care and respect your quality of work, but not all do.
Yes! I have plenty of work 99% of the time with the exception of a very few days sm
when it was slow everywhere but nothing that has ever affected my check drastically. I have been there for 6 years.
Not saying this is the rule, but (sm)
It could be a regional thing. I used to do a lot of accounts in S FL and it was pretty ESL-intensive. I then did some N FL accounts and it was the opposite, but believe it or not, the dictators were MUCH worse.

Regions of California, Florida, Texas, and NY probably have more ESLs than other states. I could be wrong on this and probably a gross generalization, but I'm only speaking from experience.
My new rule
With rare exception, I don't do any test without the courtesy of verbal communication in advance with the company advertising. If they can't or won't even speak to you via phone to answer a few simple questions, how do you know if you even want the job?

I don't have *any* problem testing, but if the management can't or won't even speak to you first, it can be a sign of under-staffing/poor organization.


is that a rule on the website or something?
If so, sorry....didn't know
As a general rule....

75% is a pretty heavy figure on terms of ESL.  That sounds like an account no one else wants to do. 


What concerns me is that the rule is
Unless you like being banned, then keep on having laughs over the job seeker's board posts.  It happened to me, so I like to tell people that I was instantly banned for pointing something out on a job post.  It is not acceptable no matter what the forum or nature of the job posting.  It is not really up to you or I to decide what is just having a laugh!  The moderator has posted this in the past.  NO MAKING FUN OF THE JOB POSTS.  Someone may want to apply, do you think that there are only American MTs in America?  Do you think only foreign MTs stay in their country?  Even if the job was foreign in nature, that doesn't give anyone the right to poke fun or have a laugh at someone else's expense especially someone who is offering jobs!!!!!!!!!   
There is no set rule. A lot of it depends
on your bank as to when they will accept the money and let you have access to it. If you know in advance that they will hold your check if date falls on a Saturday until Monday, then you just have to adjust to that.
I think you should rule the world
with that attitude. I tell them, I do this, I do that, well goody for you.
First rule: DON'T assume
Can see you are frustrated but don't assume people who *might* have answered your original post saw it.

If you were going to take the time and effort to write a second post - why choose such an off-putting tone?

How about: I know you all are very busy trying to work 24/7 to make HALF of what you used to make - but my first post went unanswered. Would someone KINDLY please point me in the right direction?


Rule #1 about job-seeking: Never, EVER, pay
'background check', NADA. The company should always pay for those things. If not, look elsewhere. I learned that one the hard way a long time ago.
Well, don't look at me, I didn't set the rule. :)
I just tried to 'splain it.

Just another minion here.
Ladies we rule the MT world!!! nm
a
That is what happens when corporations rule our government. sm
In a global economy, quality of life will have to readjust to the lowest common denominator because there are always third world countries that will do it cheaper.

Welcome to the New World Order that Bush told us about!

That was the rule when the site was owned
by Sheri..guess it doesn't apply anymore.
I don't know about Stentel, but a good rule of thumb seems to be SM
that if you are an extremely fast MT, you will likely not make as many lph doing VR.  However, if you are pretty average speed at transcribing, you may be able to increase your lph significantly with the VR once the system has been trained pretty well.  Just something to think about....
I think they changed that rule a year or so ago. They can post.
nm
Who needs it? We don't. Just don't buy anymore with their silly rule changing.
nm
If I knew the answer, I could rule the world. Too
x
Was always told a general rule of thumb...
60 minutes equals 600 lines, 80 minutes, 800 lines and so on.  The formula did pan out for me.  I was always able to figure out how many lines I would get by how many minutes I pulled from the system. 
General rule is 3-5 minutes transcription/1 min of dictation.(nm)
x
I betcha it IS HIPAA regs that rule out wireless
Doctors etc. cannot use cell phones to dictate their reports, right? If this is true, I bet the use of wireless to deliver their dictations to at-home transcriptionists is considered potentially not secure. Well, two modems it is for me and I am really glad I asked this question. Thank you all for your feedback.
My thoughts exactly. Need an IC job so can deduct equipment, etc without having to meet 7.5% rule.
My normal company gives garbage as equipment, and I can't meet the rule for unreimbursed employee expense because I'm a high producer and don't have the other expenses that you can add to it.
Maybe it's a "pick and choose" rule.. depends on who is being talked about
I see a couple of names in that post, but haven't seen it deleted yet. Hmmm. Wonder why?
Agree. It' hard to use that as a rule-out factor nowadays.

First rule, never work for a company who says "I'll pay you when I get paid." sm
This is unacceptable. Any company with a decent client base gets paid at least net 30 days. I previously operated a small service and paid my subcontractors twice monthly despite being paid net 30 days by my physician groups. Yes, it was a hardship for me, but I brought those who worked hard to help me maintain my service first. Any company who pays their workers when they get paid, does not deserve to employ others. Plain and simple there is no excuse for this. Please, please find a company who values your work instead of using you.
General rule of thumb is multiple length of dictation by 3.
.
Tell your friend to RUN (and I do mean RUN)
The best way to describe that place is great money, but job insecurity. They routinely fire MTs without any warning whatsoever for trumped up reasons, and there is a lot of office politics and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes. They just fired the president of the company a few months ago, and wouldn't even allow him back into the building to get his things. Now if they will treat the president of the company like that, just imagine what they would do to your friend.
friend
r u eleena sylvia wallang...???
Your friend might be able to
contact her local law enforcement agency.  There is such a thing as theft of services which might apply.  SInce she works at home, the crime happened in her county.  It would be worth a try if she has documentation. 
My best friend
works for them and loves it there. I am applying for a job there soon. I don't think they give out the equipment anymore but I'm not sure.
I have a friend who had that twice. sm
Her hubby's insurance covered it both times and with 2 different policies.
Your friend needs to go to your
county/local courthouse and sign a complaint for the bad check.  Depending on what state you live in, sometimes checks are collectable up to 3x the face amount plus court costs.  It's no different than paying the plumber with a bad check.  It's a shame one has to go through that to get paid, but she has to do what she has to do, right? 
Me, too, my friend....
Me, too.

I found the email an insult to my intelligence.
I could use a friend also.
E-mail me if you wish.
Notice is a courtesy, not a rule and they don't give you notice when they fire you
Giving a 2-week notice is common courtesy, and in most all my jobs, I have given them that courtesy; however, a company never gives someone notice when they are firing them. In my opinion, if a company does not treat their employees right, they do not deserve to get any notice at all.

As a matter of fact, I just left a company without notice. I felt horrible about doing it to my team but not to the company. While they never messed up on my pay, I was under constant stress. They treated several other people horribly and also changed all the terms of my employment contract within months of hiring me, which was going to cost me $800 a paycheck. I am the major breadwinner for a family of five and couldn't hang around a second longer losing that kind of money.

The only reason you would not want to quit without notice is if you want to use them as a reference and/or want the chance to go back to them in the future. I was advised by a recruiter that you should never put anything on your resume that is less than a year, so you really don't want to use them as a reference anyway, and you certainly don't want to go back to them.

Messing with someone's money is a big NO-NO, especially when they are costing you $400 for a second time. Heck no, I wouldn't give these people notice. There are some great companies out there hiring right now.

Feel free to contact me by email if you would like some more detailed information about the companies I narrowed my search down to. I was very sceptical about trusting another company with the bad luck I've had (just as you have) in the last few years, but I think I finally found somewhere I can be happy at for a long, long time (of course only time will tell, but I'm feeling very optimistic).

:) Best of luck to you!