How can you compete with the big-company price-wars? - nm
Posted By: NOT a 'McTypist' on 2007-11-19
In Reply to: I'll have to disagree with that one.. - Lab Lover
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I worked for an all US MT company, we lost to offshore. Couldn't compete with their bids, and th
:(
Personal wars and cyber bullying
Thanks so much, Moderater, for this post. In my opinion, it should be posted on every board. I hesitate to come to this web site now because of all the negativity that I see on it on a regular basis. People posting cannot even ask a simple question anymore without being attacked by some other poster. And I am really weary of seeing posters correcting spelling whenever they see a mistake that is quite often, and obviously, simply a typo. There is not one of us who is perfect and who absolutely never makes a mistake, and I really don't care how long one has been in the business. I have been a transcriber for close to 20 years; I take great pride in my work and I have a great reputation, but I think I would be quite foolish to think I never, ever make an error or a typo, that I know more than the doctors know about medicine (and that is not to say that I do not question something if I think there has been a mistake made by a doctor), or that I know every possible thing there is to know about medicine.
We should be helping each other out on this site rather than taking all the bad feelings we have about our own jobs and life situations and turning them against others who are in the same profession and working just as hard, for just as many hours, and for just as little pay. You are exactly right, Moderator, about the cyber-bullies who pretend to have some inside information on other posters and who claim to know more than anyone else. The bickering back and forth on these boards is simply out of control. What I don't understand is how these cyber-bullies have the time to jump all over every poster they don't like or whom they feel the need to ridicule. I cannot imagine having the time to have a cyber argument over a petty matter where I would have to keep posting my nasty comments to someone I do not even know. For me to take the time to write this post is difficult and cutting into my transcribing time, but I am doing it because I think it is important to support you, Moderator, in this instance because I think this site could be so much more useful to many of us if there were not all of these personal issues popping up. However, would I have the time to stop and correct someone's typo or to insult someone I don't even know? I don't think so. I am way to busy for that.
I think that the majority of people who use this site have something positive and constructive to contribute and it really bothers me when I see some of these people abused for no reason at all.
So, again, thank you for your post, Moderator. It's about time someone pointed this out.
they have to compete with the
I guess that is whats happening?
Non compete
Normally a noncompete clause pertains to an employee leaving a company and either going to work for one of their clients or taking the account for herself.
It should not keep you from working for a competing transcription company just should keep you from taking one of theirs clients for yourself or to another company.
Check the fine print a little closer
No compete
I do not think I would sign this, but also wondering if any of this affects your right to unemployment. When the hospital outsourced us we got a severence and then they denied unemployment for the time of the severence. We did not have to sign a noncompete though. I think this can vary state to state though as far as unemployment laws. On a funny note though, the hospital assumed we would all jump at the chance to work for the company they contracted with to outsource the work. Not one of the 35 MTs went to work for this heavily Indian-based company with a bad rep of hiring the MTs for the transition, then firing them once things were in place in India. The HR person at the hospital told me they were shocked and never expected to have to pay out the severence or have the unemployment claims they ended up with. Oh well!
Non-compete
If you are in a specialized business, such as medical transcription, you can claim hardship and a court will not hold you to said non-compete.
You have a right to reasonable opportunity to support yourself and a non-compete signed with a transcription service isn't worth a whole lot.
And if you work for someone and go after their clients, then ya just hope Karma doesn't pay you a visit.
Need to know the wording. Non-compete does not mean you ....
cannot work for another company. It usually means you cannot actively persue work from any of their accounts. They don't care about other MTSOs or if you have an accout of your own. This is especially true if it is IC.
You need to read it over again. Non-compete isn't about your time...its about their clients.......
No-Compete Clause
I need help making a decision and I don't know who to ask. My company recently had a layoff, and in order to receive my severance, they are asking that I sign a form that states that I will not work for a competitor for the next 12 months--basically stating that I will not begin to work for any company in the MT business and that I will not try to start my own business. The severance pay only equals a very, very, very small fraction of 12 months of pay, so the compensation of this request is inadequate.
I have contacted to local attorneys. They both said that it is legal of them to request this. One lawyer said that I just simply should not accept the severance and that I should just try to find another job. The second lawyer said to sign the agreement, accept the severance, and still try to find another job because the no-compete clause is just too vague and asking me to give up my career for 12 months is not something that would be supported in a court of law if my previous employer decided to prosecute.
Has anyone ever been in this situation? What did you do or what is your advice to me?
Some places have no-compete clauses with
s
Are you sure the non-compete clause prevents you from working elsewhere?
Oftentimes, what the non-compete clause in an MT contract means is that the MT cannot solicite work from the clients of the MTSO, not that the MT can't also work elsewhere. In fact, for an IC contract, stating you can only work for that MTSO is a big no-no (since one of the IRS definitions of an IC is that they provide their services to more than one client).
Yes, its simply called a No Compete contract.
in our industry. MTs and management alike are bound by them, so really should be no hard feelings or a big deal. Its a very understandable clause and common in all industries, not just ours. If you don't like the clause, you don't have to sign or work for the company. Its not a biggie, really, and very common.
Non-compete clauses in contracts. Has anyone refused to sign this and still got the job? nm
nm
for that price?
so if they were to pay you what you thought would be worth it, you would write an MT training program for people in India? That's nice. Don't complain that we are being treated as professionals and that our career has gone downhill when people like you are contributing factors to all of it.
we need to set our price
Upon looking at the job boards, I notice they want us to have 10 years' experience but want to pay only 7-8 cents a line.
It's time we decide on OUR bottom line.
What is the least we will accept as a group for transcription and ASR?
I say no LESS than 8.5 cents a line for transcription and no LESS than 5.5 cents for voice. We do not need to go any lower than that, if maybe that it even too low for some of you out there? I want to hear from you.
We MUST follow this up with action, or nonaction as it were, by not accepting any job for less than our bottom line.
Let's set a new standard for ourselves.
I agree. Three months and the best move I made. For radiology, I do not think anyone can compete.
nm
Where did she mention a price?
I didn't see a line rate posted. Usually a rate like 7 cpl is a temporary rate just to see if the person has the experience they claim (9 times out of 10 they don't) or it's temporary rate to offset the cost of editing of new hires.
Price fixing
It seems that ever since AAMT suggested that the line count should be characters divided by 65 (which cut our gross line pay by 1/3), clients have been insisting that we count that way. So now Escription comes along and tells the client the same thing and they want us to change the way we count. It seems to be there are some antitrust issues lurking here to be plumbed. Isn't that called price fixing? And wouldn't one think that we should check on it like with the attorney general?
price point?
Is that a nice way of saying cheap?
I think you are wrong. Everyone has a price. I think she would be sick of all of this by now. xx
xx
This is the price of doing business. If there weren't
something in it for you, you wouldn't be doing it - whether it be money, ego, prestinge, etc.
she didn't mention a price, i said
If you send a professional resume, go through the trouble of testing, passing it with flying colors, 7 cpl should not be anywhere in the offer. Pay a professional what a profession is worth from day one.
You can make more -- negotiate your price. sm
Dorothy is one of the few that pays MTs for their experience and quality.
Good luck!
The competition is in the price NOT quality.
Editors clean up American MTs and Indian MTs. Bottom line is COST!!! DUH! It is just like everything else being made overseas in China, Mexico...IT IS CHEAPER THERE!
Contact me for good price
$60.00 plus shipping for StartStop foot pedal. I got it when I worked for SoftScript before, so know it works well with their program.
Just remember.....everything/anything is for sale for the right price sm
No matter what, everything and anything has a price tag. Good luck to all KS MTs.
Price fixing does not need to be accepted and should not
I see, 5, 6, 7, 8 and should not be accepted. Get your calculater out. Figure out what that would be per hour. Com'on this is a highly highly skilled profession, not just anybody can do it, takes year YEARS and you never know it all, never.
It seems like price fixing in t this industry.
They all pay the same unlivable wages. Anybody know a lawyer? Ask about a price-fixing lawsuit.
I'm beginning to believe its price fixing
Seems like reps from all the major MTSOs sat down, came up with a so-called competitive rate, and decided to all cut wages at approximately the same time - so there's really nowhere else to go when MTs want to leave! Greed! Plain and simple!
Forgot to say that I value accuracy over speed...sure I could go fasther but at what price? NM
xx
You're forgetting the Consumer Price Index has gone up 30% since the 90s
And as for doing well in VR, see this old post about why some people do well and some do not...just because you lucked out doesn't mean others didn't get screwed, and they DO have a right to complain.
http://forum.mtstars.com/main/v/1/131001.html
To quote: *In any of these usually extensive discussions about VR, most complain about how broke they are, and there are always one or two who say they're doing well with VR.
Well, the reason is not that one group is exaggerating or the other group is lying. It's because there are good systems and bad systems, and it's a crapshoot as to which one any of us ends up with.*
So enjoy your $16/hour. With your dearth of sympathy for those less fortunate than you, I'm guessing you'd also step over a homeless man in the street without a second thought.
yeah and the MTSO still charging full price for the work
Most physicians/hospitals don't even know they're dictating into VR so still paying full-on transcription prices while the nationals/MTSOs cut the MT's salary in half. Nice huh?
ALSO, the plumber sets the price. So this plumber/MT analogy
x
I've been with the company almost 10 years. I know the truth. Hawaii was a company-paid vacation.
.
They do not offshore. The owner's original company was bought by MQ; started a new company, whic
That's about all I know. I would give them a try. They sounded good!
Great company. I've been recommending this company for a long time.
x
Must be a small company. I have never talked to the owner of the company I work for. sm
He wouldn't have time. Why would someone talk directly to the MTSO? Most do not know (or care) about the details just the big picture.
I hope my company flies under the radar. This is horrible what happens to one company sm
after another on this board. The owners must have very thick skin. First TT, then Amphion, now Keystrokes. No one is safe. I hope everyone takes all they read with a grain of salt. I have met a few of the owners of the some of the bigger services, and they are all very nice, including those that own Webmedx, Keystrokes, Execuscribe, Medware, MDI and Transcend. I hate to think how they feel when they read things on here, even though they all say they don't read the posts here and advise against it. I don't know how they don't read them; I look just to make sure that no one mentions mine.
Maybe QA made the decision, not the company, and the company managers are not aware of it. sm
I started with a company that did the same thing. When I went to the manager outside of QA, she fixed it right away. Turns out that the QA manager had made a decision to do that and had not told anyone else.
It does make sense to do that though. Find out if it is a few days or longer and base your decision on that.
Can we ask which company or at least which state they're out of?
Unfortunately, I am going to be looking AGAIN due to offshore.
or maybe it's really a good company. Give me a break. If a company isn't talked about sm
on here, good or bad, it's probably too small to matter and does not offer benefits or anything at all.
Ask insider if her company is in position to take on MTs from other company who are familiar
:+
Loyalty has nothing to do with it until you find the company for you. Be loyal to THAT company.
:p
Let me know if you pursue this company. I would like to work for a MN company as an employee?
Let me know! Thanks!
Chasing work from company to company - Have any of you ever watched (sm)
5 year olds learning to play soccer? The ball is in play and no matter what the coahes say ALL the kids go running for the ball. Maybe we are like that, masses of us going from company to company in search of work. This company has a new account BOOM here we go. Now it is out. Let's go here.
Yep, I think it is a big game someone is playing with us. Not a particularly funny one either.
Why would you want to work for a company with no QA? Anyways the only company that comes to mind is
I worked for in the past which is Medquist NJ Radiology.
Love this company - want to retire with this company...sm
Been with them for nearly 2 years now and absolutely love them. I make my living with them - I don't do this for fun money. I think the dictators are pretty decent - you will always have your good and bad ones. You just have to get used to them. I love the account I am on - been with the same one since I started. They are a VERY fair company to work for.
They are not a Fortune 500 company. They are a past INC 500 company. There is a
HUGE difference.
Just FYI ... the article was in the Rochester Business News. It notes that the person charged with everything was the owner's husband, not Linda herself. It was something that was done at the company that he worked for, not Execuscribe. If their biggest client is going to fill-in reports, I am sure they will bounce back and get something else. I doubt they do not know that it is happening. Any MTSO worth her/his salt keeps an ear to the ground AND has enough contact with their accounts to be up-to-date on changes about to happen, good and bad.
Perhaps you should not be so smug and instead focus your energies on figuring out WHY your customers were able to be taken from you. I hardly doubt that a good business person could be an ex-MTSO because of another service. There is too much work out there.
You can' ask a question directly TO a company. About them, yes. The company isn't going to ans
xxxxxxxxxx
company going to service company or India?
That is a hard thing to be cut back after you are used to that position. We have a couple of hospitals near here who have turned over all of their work to a Service Company, and one eliminated their department and turned over to India. I am afraid that the service company may be taking over our work also. Understand the others kept same pay, but lost most benefits. Anyone else have this happen to them?
It matters more on the company than the method. Go with a company that does a lot of sm
radiology or it won't matter because you won't have a big check no matter what. Ask them how many radiology accounts they have, if they are overflow or complete department, how long they have had them and do you get a back-up account.
There are very few out there that have good radiology accounts. Stick with the ones that do. I am with Keystrokes for that reason after going with 4 others that kept running out of work.
Small company GREAT COMPANY
Axolotl is a WONDERFUL company with great benefits and competitive pay. We have maybe 100 MTs but are growing rapidly.
Exactly..company recruiters and/or company owners (sm)
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