Agree 100%, Fatcat - It's out of character
Posted By: MDIer on 2009-07-23
In Reply to: MDIer - fatcat
You're right about that, Fatcat. As I said, the silence on their part is deafening and that, in my experience, is totally out of character for the management at MDI-MD.
To me, the thing that really piques my concern is the fact that it's not just one account that has apparently dried up. You and I are on totally different accounts, and both of ours are without work. At first, I thought perhaps they had lost one of the accounts, but I doubt they would have lost two major accounts at the same time; that puts me back to square 1 in trying to figure out what's really going on and holding out hope for things to improve.
I also notice our posts are starting to read very similarly to the initial posts of our fellow MTs at the Q when their work started to inexplicably disappear, the confusion and uncertainty and hoping for the best.
At this point, I don't think I'll feel secure even if given a backup account. IMO, with things drying up, shuffling us to another account would just be taking work away from the MTs already on that account and would soon place that account into famine territory, too. If there's not enough work, there's just not enough work. I don't mind having one backup account, but I really don't care to have to juggle 3-4 accounts every shift with fingers crossed hoping to make my line count.
At this point, to coin an old expression, I am hoping for the best but proactively preparing for the worst.
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Whoops! I meant to address this TO fatcat, not FROM fatcat. Sorry Fatcat!
x
I agree with fatcat.
I am not about to participate in offshoring! I also would like an answer to this question!
I totally agree with fatcat!!!!!!
That's why I'm looking for a different job - not in the MT field if I can help it. My company is small, has lost several accounts in the past year because larger companies are getting them to OUTSOURCE a percentage of the work load. I don't care if it's 1% or 99% - the point is THEY ARE TAKING WORK AWAY FROM AMERICANS.
Fatcat correcting fatcat
I meant to say THEIR face, not THERE face. Have been up since early morning working and it shows. Sorry.
The Above is for a 65-character line.
Sorry...I left that part out. Thanks.
8.5 for 70 character line
That is what I thought. The guy I talked to said this was the same as 9 cents per 65 character line or a little more.
It is not 65 character line. It probably would come out to 75-
zz
They also pay on a 55 character line rather than 65.
x
When they say 62 character line or sm
68 character line, or 55 or 65. What is better for the MT? I am dense. Thanks.
Has anyone done a character count/65? Just cause
x
55-character line
Is a program that measures on a 55-character line good or bad? Don't they generally do 65-character? I know this is dumb, but which is better?
How can they sue for "defamation of character", when
.
If it is a 65 character line and being
counted by VBC, then soneone on another post said you cpl should go up 2 cents to equal out the difference in pay.
Fatcat
I do not do homework for others unless they want to pay me. I am too busy makin my lines, and apparently you could be makin more lines too by getting off your high horse on this board and spending more time making your lines!!! You are so funny....
Fatcat ......... sm
Not sure where you live, but my local YMCA offers kickboxing classes, free with membership. Also, i just recently bought a Kathy Smith Kickboxing DVD for $2.99 from eBay. I haven't tried it yet because I'm afraid I might destroy the apartment -- coordination is not my strong suit! (ha) The class at the Y is fun ... I'm sure you'd enjoy it! Plus, if you're like me, after sitting all day, it is nice to get up and move the legs and get some circulation going.
Fatcat
She is a known troublemaker on this board.
Well said, fatcat (NM)
.
Tell me where fatcat.
I need part-time, 24 to 32 hours per week. No one wants to hire part-time.
I have applied at 15 or more places. Pass every test, get offered a job for 7 cpl or when I give my schedule, they say NOPE.
The stress is killing me. I think I have an ulcer. The migraines are back and I spend the better part of my shift crying.
Looking for Fatcat
I would like to ask you some questions through email. Thanks.
fatcat
The first letter of the company i work for is T
To fatcat:
I'm just wondering if you could tell me anything about your company: things you like/don't like, pay, platform, etc. I am also interested in this company. Thanks for any info you can give!
Thanks you so much, fatcat. It does seem
like most companies require you to have your own computer. I guess I worked for MQ too long....They provide the computer but too many other down sides to working for them. I think I will see if I can pick up a used computer to start with.
Thanks for the info about the statutory status, too! I was thinking it meant you were sort of on-call employee. I get it now. THANKS again!
Thanks to all and Fatcat ...
I awoke with basically the same feeling. I work for a wonderful company, have a wonderful husband, kids and grand babies so I have a lot to be thankful for. I know that there are many of our fellow MTs who are struggling out there right now, I wish with everything in me that I could change that for them but since I cannot, I was hoping that a positive post would help to uplift everyone at least someone. Like you and probably most on this board, I have had some pretty horrible experiences but seem to be on the right path, which I hope continues. Hopefully I have kissed the right frog this time, lolol.
For those of you out there who are struggling I wish you the very best and lots of luck!
Fatcat
I'm not sure if this explains anything, but I remember a few weeks ago getting an email telling us they had a new account coming on and had hired about 30 MTs to cover it. Unfortunately, the account didn't start when expected and those MTs were training on the other accounts. I thought the account started last week, but I'm not 100% sure about that.
There was also a lot of talk in the last few months about adjusting our schedules to accommodate the evening/late night and early morning work flow. They may have ended up hiring more MTs to cover if the work wasn't getting done. Unfortunately, I think that SE/IC companies are forced to hire more MTs than needed sometimes because they can't enforce a work schedule like the employee status companies ('cept for MQ; they overhire and then send all the work overseas. I think the Indians just like to watch the Americans scramble).
I think the work flow also ebbs and flows more in the summer months due to holidays, vacations, etc. My accounts have been low also, but I don't really mind. I like an unexpected day off. I expect things to pick up again soon.
Fatcat
After being brainwashed for so many years by the Q, MDI has been a breath of fresh air! I wouldn't think of changing companies, either, and since I'm not the breadwinner in our house and I have a second income myself, I won't fight for the lines. If the work is there when I'm available, so be it, but if not, then I don't worry about it. I check back throughout the day, but I won't sit and wait for the work. I know there are others not as fortunate and I'd really rather see them get the work.
LOL, Fatcat!
Your friend had it rough too, lol! I'm about an hour north of Bakersfield, more in Fresno territory, but I certainly relate to his difficulties with that two years. I believe Fresno and Bakersfield are cut from the same cloth. I had to move back from this area from a gorgeous northern coastal town (Pacific Grove, if you're familiar with it), about 6 years as my mother was ill, and I think I'm still in the throes of culture shock!
I just don't understand what's going on with MDI-MD at all, Fatcat. Normally when one of their MTs reports having no work, they bend over backwards (and IMMEDIATELY) to rectify the situation. This time the pleas are met with silence. It arouses my suspicions that something is going on behind the scenes of which we are unaware.
I might be WAY off base here, but you know D pretty well. Do think there's any conceivable possibility that perhaps they're brokering a deal to sell MDI-MD? I hate to even think that it's just one of a few unpleasant possibilities that has crossed my mind during this disheartening time.
FATCAT...
Your email went to my spam folder. I found it and just now replied (and made sure to mark your emails as NOT spam, lol!).
Fatcat -
Grab those lines while you can, because I'm sure they'll mysteriously disappear VERY quickly!!!
Fatcat -
In the case of the Q, I do hope that is followed by the old addage:
The bigger they are...
The harder they fall.
And I truly hope MDI hasn't fallen into the evil clutches of the Q!!!
Fatcat, if it were me, I would definitely keep the second job. It would help my
peace of mind tremendously to know I had a second job to fill in the financial gaps if my workload dried up again. As long as having both jobs doesn't overtax you, I'd definitely keep it, at the very least for a few months to see what the ebb and flow turns out to be at your MDI job. Just my humble opinion.
Fatcat:
Yep, we actually do work together, in a manner of speaking.
FATCAT?
Hey, has anyone heard from Fatcat lately? Unless I've missed her posts, she's been absent. I know her account had seemed to pick up, but then it apparently dried up again.
I'm an MDI-er too. I checked my account earlier and, again, only a handful of jobs availabe on there.
I've seen a few post that they've emailed D and the other powers-that-be at MDI.
Has anyone heard anything back?
I know what you mean, fatcat
With so many of us sitting with no work, I just can't understand why these new accounts aren't staffed by the current ICs and hire on new ones to train only a few days before the account goes live. I'd gladly work a little extra to be sure the new accounts are properly staffed while judging the need for additional MTs on a live basis. I guess what's worse is that there is no communication. Just because we're ICs we still work our tails off when the need is there to keep the jobs within TAT. But yet don't we deserve the decency of some communication so that we can make advance planning on what *we* need as well? Isn't that what makes a company successful? The happier the workers, the better the company runs...the more successful the company is. At least that's the way I always looked at things.
FATCAT
Um, yeah, no kidding!
Wait until Transcend drops the ball in about 2-3 months (when everyone's comfortable, thinking there will be no changes) that they ARE going to VR, there WILL be massive paycuts, and they find themselves another statistic, just like those dedicated MTs over at MQ.
Sorry, but we were betrayed by MDI-MD. If not by the sell-out (hey, it's D's company, she can donate it to charity if she wants to).
IT WAS THE WAY THEIR LOYAL, DEDICATED MTS WERE TREATED AND ALLOWED TO UNDERGO ALL OF THE STRESS OF THE PAST FEW MONTHS WITH NO WORK.
And, I don't know about you, Fatcat, but my money says that's whwere all that work has been going, over to Transcend to be fed into their VR system in preparation. The reason you got that windfall of work one night (ONE WHOLE NIGHT, lol!) must have been because the Transcend system was down.
You and I were most assuredly on the right track a month ago, as discussed via our emails. We saw this coming. We KNOW what the end result will be.
While I applaud the loyalty of those trying to '15% isn't that much' and ATTEMPTING to remain loyal to MDI-MD at this point, I also pity them, because they are now ducks in a row, getting ready to be FORCED into VR, FORCED to take paycuts, FORCED to adhere to a RIGID schedule.
Their lives as they know them have just irreversibly changed and sadly I don't think the realization has sunk in for some of them.
I'd high-five you for you and I being SO on target (although our guess was 1 week off, it's still AMAZING how accurate we were), but sadly I don't feel it's time for a high-five. It's time for an MDI-MD group hug as we all part ways.
Fatcat -- I wonder...
I wonder if the rest of MDI mgmt supports this merge. I know when everything went down at MQ, it seemed mgmt supported the changes at first, but then one by one, they began dropping like flies. They just quietly left, not to be heard from again. I wonder if this is how it will go with this merge.
Another thing that cracks me up -- everything that was stated in the conference call was followed by the statement until January. I don't think I'm going to stick around to find out what all that entails.
My husband and I have been discussing me returning to the real world for a full-time job for the last several months (since April or May when we got the first State of the Union address) and up until now, I've been very reticent to do so. This seems to be a sign that maybe that would be the best option for us. I have a few opportunities to pursue, outside of the world of MT. It might be kind of nice to work a straight 8-4, M-F, holidays off, kind of job again.
Wherever I end up, I wish you well. This just feels all too similar to the way things went at the Q. But this time, I'm not going to hang on as long. I'm looking at this until January thing as my window to search other avenues of employment.
You tell it Fatcat!!!!!!
Thanks fatcat!! sm
That sure is nice. If you were here I would take you up on it too!! It will be ok. I am ok right now and a job will come!
65 character lines with spaces
I don't think so. You're going to do a lot of typing to get all those lines. They don't pay spaces, no way!
what is a 65 character-defined line?
what is a 65 character defined line?
Question, what does 65 character B/W line mean? I'm not sure what the B/W is??(nm)
Hmm, exactly what is a 65-character gross line?
x
0.09 per 65-character IC status with schedule.....nm
;
Gross or character lines
In word, under properties they do not count headers that occur on every page. You have to add that in by the numer of pages, i.e. if you are doing a long psych report that is 9 to 15 pages and have a headed on every page. I could be wrong and if so let me know. I just did a count with a header and those lines were not counted. But if you are doing a cpl you can count characters with and without spaces. But again in word they do not count extra characters for capitalization, bold, underline, etc where as in line counting program, Sylcount, they do. So will you be using your program or theirs to count lines? Gross or per 65 cpl.
But if they are saying per character are they including spaces?
I'd ask if a space = a character. ;)
starting at .001575 per character???
What does that mean? So what's that translated into lines and isn't this strange to pay per character?
TIA.
37-character line without spaces much better...SM
Hi! I just checked an OP note I did yesterday. Characters with spaces was 5935. I get paid on a 65-character line with spaces, so that came out to 91.3 lines.
Characters without spaces was 4999. So, if you divide that by 37, you get 135.1 lines.
In the first scenario, I would get paid $8.22.
In the second scenario, I would get paid $12.16. (If both pay the same per line...9 cents in this example).
So, you would definitely do better to accept the 37-character line withOUT spaces! :)
Chickadee
Visual black character perhaps
You might want to check to see if they have switched to no spaces and are paying the VBC method. That could account for such a drastic cut. It would not be surprising to me at all. I am always more than appalled when companies do this on their own without notification or at client request without feeling the need to inform the MTs. Do they think that we do not notice that we are working harder than previously for less?
*readable character lines*
Hey, y'all. Is this subterfuge-speak for we don't pay for spaces? (Because one does not *read* spaces?)
If so, should I opt out?
*readable character lines*
Hey, y'all. Is this subterfuge-speak for we don't pay for spaces? (Because one does not *read* spaces?)
If so, should I opt out?
SoftScript's Character Line
I am interested in SoftScript's pay rate.
I heard they pay by a 65 character line? What do they use as their words per line rate?
I am working for a company who uses 8 words per line and am curious as to how this would compare to SoftScript? Any information would be helpful!
Thanks!
Is it lines = character count/65 maybe?
me
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