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Had top of the line new computer...... they apologized

Posted By: all the time for the slowness......nm on 2009-05-06
In Reply to: don't know about everything else you said. - mttoo

nn


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Michelle never apologized. She only said she was sorry JMO had a bad experience
The only one who apologized out of it all was JMO and I don't think he/she really had anything to apologize for in the first place. He/she was the only one out of all of them that kept it civil. .
I wanted to use my own computer and get rid of the RENT on TT computer, but Vista is not compatible.
Good way to make them money.  Not have to upgrade software so that Vista is compatible with Vista.  Huh?
One more computer question. I got my computer today and
trying to set it up.  Man unpacking the box and setting everything up is a major undertaking; more so for me because I used a laptop before and my desk isn't tower friendly.   Anyway, no info came with the tower and I don't yet have the password to get in (paperwork says to call M-F).  Is the tower WiFi compatible?   My DSL is hooked to a different computer and I wanted to know if I can setup new computer as WiFi or if I need to move modem to new computer and set other computer up as WiFi. 
A line is a line is a line. Doesn't matter if we are talking about radiology or acute care.

1600 is not a fair minimum requirement.  Sure you can achieve 1600, it shouldn't be the required minimum.


Means a line is a line is a line, even if it only has one word on the line
it is considered a line. 
"a line is a line" means gross line.
Gross line is a line, no matter how long or short.
Yes to old reports! Their ExText has all the regular functions except line counts are done on line
s
Thanks for the info! Do you *feel* like you make more with a gross line v. character line? (nm)

Oh, they make money off us. Line rate is 17 cents a gross line.nm
z
Keystrokes has very few accts on line using ExText. Most use Cphones/2nd line. Lots of Rad
s
Could someone help me with the figuring out of gross line versus character line? sm
I have generally been paid by character line, 65-character line.  Now, I have had job opportunities offering to pay gross line but it like 3 cents cheaper than what I am being paid now.  A few places I have read that gross line is MUCH better, but is it much better if the pay is so much lower?  Please explain how it works or equals out.  This position has offered me 6 cents per gross line - what would that equal out to in character lines?  Thanks...so confused...
Spaces are not taken into account with gross lines....a line is a line...sm

if there seven words on a line.


or two


one


or a full line of typing...all of the companies that I have worked for define a gross line as 1 inch margins, 12 pt courier font....does not matter what we type in margins or font.....we convert all reports to the 1 inch margins and courier 12 font and then count the lines.  not the blank spaces between the lines.


Hope this helps.


I left MQ for TT. The base line rate was less at TT, but overall I make more per line with the
shift differential (I work second shift) and the incentive plan (I have never once failed to make at least an extra half cent per line on incentives - most of the time a penny). I was scared to death to make that move, as I had been with MQ since back in the Transcriptions Limited days. I have to say, though, that it was the best career move I have ever made and I have never, not once, regretted it.

I hope that was of some help.
15 years ago, I charged .22 per line to big accounts. Now I have been forced down to .13 per line.
This is in part due to offshore companies, in part due to newbies coming in and underbidding to get an account but not being able to service it and then the account expecting everyone else to meet that price. The market is being driven down by many forces, and it is not pretty. I used to pay .14 per line (gross line too) and now pay my subs 0.08. It is not something I wanted to do, but something that was necessary. With only 15 MTs, I feel the squeeze more than some of the big companies out there, but cannot grow and keep up the same standards.

Healthcare in general is not the money-maker it once was, and transcription has taken a hard hit over the years.
Line counts - the lower the line count requirements
the harder the account and problems with trying to get production off the platform the company uses.
I see they pay on a VBC line. Isn't that a huge paycut from a 65-char. line with spaces? nm
x
No, I had to use their computer. Yes,
the accounts were full of ESLs.  I was off QA really quickly, though.  My team leader wasn't strict about the time schedules, but I always felt as if "big brother" was watching me.  If I had to pick the kids up early from school, I had to make up my time.  Understandable.  It's not a bad place to work.
If you are using your own computer,
you can have on it what you want and have attached to it what you please. Only if you are using their computers can they ask this.
buy computer
You have to have $300.00 deducted from your pay checks in increments and if you stay with them for 3 years they will refund the money; that is what I was told when I was thinking about working for them
Do you still have their computer?
It is my understanding that when computers are sent out, the understanding is that if MT leaves final paycheck is held until equipment is returned. Which does not seem unreasonable to me.
Do you have to have their computer? Can you use your own? nm
nm
use own computer, or theirs?
I was wondering if you get a company computer...I don't think Extext works on my computer, but If I had theirs, I could hook up my keyboard/monitor/mouse with a KVM switch to their towr
computer
thanks!  I get the drift!  I won't be downloading anything. 
What is the RAM. on your computer.
I was told when I first started that if I did not have 512 RAM on my computer it would cause the programs to lock up.  I tried updating my computer to 512 RAM so I bought memory card after memory card  but my computer is stubborn and won't go for it.  So I have been typing on Merit on 384 RAM and so far so good.  I was just thinking maybe that statement was for the Dictaphone. 
you have to use their computer - sm
A lot of companies want you to use their computers because you will be transcribing directly into the hospital system. There are other reasons that companies want you to use their equipment only, i.e. virus protections, spyware, etc. If you take the position with Diskriter, please note that you cannot do anything personal on their equipment. They do monitor it. This means no personal emails or looking at sites that are not work related. I'm not sure if they emphasize that any more, but they did when I worked for them. And yes, they definitely monitor it.
yes, you need your own computer.
I've only been there about 6 months.
No. Take a look at your computer and see sm
if maybe you have too much running in the background. That definitely slows everything down. I only have my virus scan running, nothing else, in my startup group. Works fine. It's not always the company server at fault.
Why would you need to buy a computer?
ouldnt you just upgrade if you needed to?
TT Computer

I can answer the question about the computer.  You can either use your own computer or rent one from them.  If you use their computer, the cost was around $9 a pay period (every 2 weeks).  It comes with everything you need. 


TT computer
You have to pay a rental fee, approx 9.00 a pay period.
No you don't have to use their computer
.
Using Mac computer
Does anyone out there know if new Mac computers will work on Word accounts?  I am told by the Apple store that they have Word you can install so will it work?  I'm getting tired of viruses and am told Macs do not get them.  Any info would be greatly appreciated!
Can you use your own computer? sm
They say they provide equipment at no charge, does this mean they provide a computer that you have to use? 
ANY new computer?
/
use your computer you have now
and once you start for them, you can buy a new one.
TT computer
It costs approx 9.80 or so a pay period to rent theirs
Computer
Gloria...you didn't step on my toes and I will be happy to answer your question. TT will lease you equipment for under $10 a pay period. It's okay equipment, too. Has all the programs they use downloaded in it. I rented mine for a while. Never had a problem. Got my own though and use mine now. TT is an excellent company to work for. These message boards are full of negativity and the negative comments are usually posted by those who are not good workers anyway. They complain about what they're being paid, cost of insurance, hard to meet line counts, QA, everything. I take into consideration EVERYTHING. I have worked for TT over a year now and it's simply the best company I've ever worked for. They are kind and treat you like a human being, they DO expect a quality product and you WILL go through QA in the beginning and periodically throughout the year. It's only reasonable to know that you will consistently be graded. I know personally a QA person and I know how rigid they are in demanding a perfect report. Luckily I never have more than 2 blanks in any of mine and even 1-2 blanks is rare for me. She has told me of people sending in reports with 5, 10, 12 blanks. To me if a person has to leave 5 blanks they are not a qualified Transcriptionist and I would never even consider keeping them on. When I look at the amount I am being paid per line (currently 8.5) I also take into consideration that they pay my internet when I consistently make my line count, I don't have to drive in rush hour traffic back and forth to go and come from my job, I save money in make-up, work clothing, I don't miss an average of 1.5 hours a day commuting to my job, I am not constantly hammered by the office to make MORE lines than what is asked of me to begin with and I receive little extras from TT throughout the year recognizing me as a human being (Christmas AmEx Gift Cheque for 25 bucks and MT Week 25 gift Cheque) not to mention being treated professionally. Yeah, the group insurance went up, but EVERYONES did. My husband had a BIGGER increase than I did and a few friends who work for other companies had a larger increase than ours did. It all turns out that I am making MORE money when I consider ALL things. I love working from home and I work well independently without someone peering over my shoulder every minute of the day. THAT in itself is worth countless $$$. TT is a good move...the best I've ever made and I would recommend them to anyone who is willing to work and not complain and moan all the time. Oh yeah, plus you don't have to deal with all the gossip that a hospital or in-house/office transcription position has. Women are constant bellyachers and most of them on this board that complain and spread negative thoughts about TT are simply the ones that would do it irregardless of the company they worked for. You work hard for TT and give them the lines they/you agree upon when you are hired and you will be richly rewarded, not only monetarily, but mentally as well. I love it and would not change for anything in the world right now. All the best and good luck!
MDI-MD, you use your own computer. nm
xx
Computer

Don't let the others get you down.  If you want to work for MDI, then do so. I have just cleared QA myself and started working on it at full throttle all week.  I must say that I have had work all day long Sun through Thursday.  I have been working mostly in the afternoons, evenings and into the night and when I finish my two weeks with my old company I will make it just nights again with some afternoon work.  They started me with just one account and when I could not finish the five jobs each day due to lack of work, 06/02/2008 through 06/06/2008, they immediately set me up with two other accounts to get work in.  They are serious about making sure you have enough work.  I have had work all week, 10 hours worth easy.  So, even if this is a sparse time in some accounts, it may be that others are needing help.  They will try to put you where you will fit the best, based on your experience and skills. 


As for the computer (I bought one for this job), I got one with XP in it.  Vista still has to many bugs in it and XP just seems really easy to use.  I bought a computer so that I could work for more than one company, if needed, on the same computer.  Can do that with a company provided computer.  If you want particulars, you can e-mail me.


 


Good luck in you search for a computer and/or job.


Anyone know if JLG provides computer? nm
;
No computer, no PT
 
OSI provides a computer nm
nm
Actually, SBC does allow it. I had my line changed to a business line and talked with a sm
supervisor who okayed it.  As long as I am listening to voice files, and not one computer talking to another, faxing, etc., it is within their guidelines.  :-)
Ask what is a line. I was offered 6 clp for a 42 black character line sm
that seemed to strange, but really it was not so bad.  Came out pretty close to a 65 k/s line at 8.5 to 9.
In their ad it says 7.4-8.5 cpl, 1200 lpd, and you use their computer. Don't know more. nm
,
Returning computer

There is nothing in their handbook about paying $125 to return their computer.  I'm not sure where that came from.   


 


Precyse MT's: Can you use your own lap top computer? nm
nm
computer does what it is told...
I used to do QA on the DQS system. The system can be programed to count characters every way you can think of. With a single click they can set it up where periods count 20 or 0, and the same for every other character or number on the keyboard. It can be set up to chart extra for bold type, caps, you name it. Just FYI, it is all in the programming and not particular to MQ or any other company.
You use your own computer, FT is considered
6000 lines per week, 1200 lines a day and part-time, I forget? Call and ask would be your best bet!
It is a WORK computer sm

It is their property.  They have a right to make sure you are not looking for another job, surfing the web and chatting, or looking at porn or stupid stuff like that. 


They have to maintain a HIPAA guidelines and make sure you aren't breaching confidential information.


I really doubt they are looking over your shoulder as often as you think, they are very busy doing other things for clients too, not just the MTs.  If you are doing nothing wrong, then it shouldn't bother you, it just proves you are an honest employee when you do what your supposed to when they do check.


 


It's not just stealing the computer...sm
They want employees to take the work use only seriously. Some have used company computer to download s/w or visit questionable sites, or allowed children to use it, and this can result in viruses, spyware, adware. In addition, some legitimate s/w (like for keyboards) can cause issues with company s/w and require a lot of time of the tech department or crash the computer entirely.

Makes sense to me, at least.