I agree- avoid TTS at all costs (yours)
Posted By: NM on 2007-10-24
In Reply to: TTS - Miss Willy
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Avoid DSG2 at all costs...don't know if it is rerecord or not
Who was this with? I am looking and want to avoid! nm
nm
Avoid them!!!!!
This is probably one of the worst MT companies out there. I worked for them a year ago for only a month. They are ALL in India, including account managers, QA and tech support. They treat their MTs horribly. When I was getting 98% and above QA scores, they kept telling me that I needed to improve or I would be off the account, and I know that I'm far from the only one who had that experience with them. After they told me that, I quit immediately. I have several years of experience and I had never been so insulted in my life! I could see them saying that if I was scoring below 98%, but I wasn't! Their software is horrible and it was always crashing, causing me to lose several reports that tech support was never able to help me get back. There are MUCH better companies out there. As someone else said, don't waste your time with this joke of a company.
Avoid them!!!
I worked for Focus about a year and a half ago for one month and ended up quitting. While their main office is in Massachusetts, you will be dealing directly with India. The QA, account managers, etc. are ALL in India and they treat their MTs HORRIBLY! I could never understand them when they were trying to train me, so I never learned how to use their software, and they would get annoyed with me if I ever asked for help. I never got below 98% on QA and they kept telling me that I needed to improve or I would be off the contract. I was always running out of work and they kept harassing me about why I was not getting many lines done..duh!!! Also, when I was there, they deducted pay for errors. I quit right away. I don't know if things have changed since I left, but that is how it was when I was there. Proceed with caution.
AVOID THEM!
I worked for Cymed for a year, and then they were bought out by SPI, which is a Phillipine phone company. A few months after CyMed was bought out by SPI, I quit. They don't care at all about their MTs in the US and treat them horribly. Communication there is horrible. A ton of people left, including everybody in management. They don't pay for spaces and lines are VERY hard to make in an 8 hour shift. Before I left, I was always running out of work. They were always screwing up on my pay checks and would never return my phone calls or e-mails. They are the worst company I have ever worked for and I am so glad to be out! The reason you probably got an e-mail from them is because so many people have quit and they are losing accounts and desperately need MTs. I would totally avoid them!
Exactly! There is no way to avoid them!
ESLs are everywhere and are on just about every single account anywhere you go! If you don't want to do ESLs at all, you may be in the wrong field! We all deal with ESLs almost every day!
AVOID TTS!!!!
 Awful company!!!!! Their manager I guess is what she was - ****- I went to the bathroom, made coffee and poured myself a refill and she fired me!! MY BREAKS ARE TOO LONG!! HELLO!!! WE WORK AT HOME TO AVOID CORPORATE SHACKLES AND CHAINS!!! I can only imagine what would have happened if I took extra minutes for a bowel movement!  What a sorry company!! They are nothing but a sweat shop that could care less about family, kids, bladders, colons and caffeine!!! AVOID THIS COIMPANY AT ALL COST!!!!111
******* DISCLAIMER *****************
Postings of this nature are the poster's personal opinion should not be considered as substantiated by MTStars. Under no circumstances will MTStars be liable for any loss or damage caused by a user’s reliance on information obtained from this message. MTStars.com cannot effectively monitor validity of material/information posted on its Message Boards and, therefore, makes no representation and warranty with respect thereto.
Any discussions regarding this situation should be handled via email. Contact/Reply OP (original poster) using the "Reply by Email" link below".
MTStars Team
AVOID Medware! (sm)
The recruiter will tell you anything you want to hear, but wait until the flakes start getting involved. Expect many delays in getting set up.
Medware is basically another MQ, a top-heavy company with levels and levels of Directors of this and Vice Presidents of that, all of whom are making thousands more per month than the people who are actually earning the income.
They also offshore extensively, but don't worry, you'll be offered the opportunity to proof the Indians' work at a fraction of your pay!
Tell her to avoid OSi like the plague
"Whether we think offshore labor is right or wrong, it has become a fact we cannot escape from. OSi will not actively pursue offshore labor contracts, but we have made the decision to experiment with using some offshore labor to save this large OSi client from going elsewhere. We believe this is the best decision for our employees assigned to this account and the company because this account is growing and we can assign the offshore part to the future increases and not have to reassign any OSi MTs. OSi is committed to continue using US MTs for the majority of their work and we will continue to resist going offshore."
Avoid mouse if possible
If your software gives you the option of using keyboard commands instead of picking up your hands to use the mouse, use them. Avoid doing anything that takes your hands off the keyboard and your eyes off the screen if at all possible. But it can be helpful to write down your new shortcuts and tape the list to your monitor until you can remember them. If you have internet, make use of OneLook Dictionary. Many common medical phrases are in there as well as single-word entries. It might be quicker than using even a specialty book.
Several reasons to avoid them
You start out great but after a while you may get bounced around on different accounts because they cherry pick to the MTs they like and you get left with harder work.
The owners are paranoid someone might say something negative about them. Ask them about their employee handbook and its contents. You cannot participate in organizing or join an MT union. You cannot communicate anything at all about them either in private email or pubically without the written consent of one of the owners.
You will get bombarded with emails to get work caught up and then even if you are a good producer, you will get the emails that chastise everyone for not being good workers.
QA is arbitrary and you may have to prove you did the right thing when you get your monthly score by providing them copies of their own emails. Of course this makes you look bad and you will be punished for standing up for yourself.
Your mileage may vary.
AVOID MEDQUIST AND SPi
I work for SPi and hate it. I keep running out of work, so they keep moving me around to so many accounts, I can't even remember them all. It sucks and I'm miserable. Am looking...
I WOULD AVOID TTS LIKE THE PLAGUE
Unless, of course, you like to work and not get paid
What company did this to you so I can avoid them
nm
avoid them like the plague
This used to be a fabulous company to work for, then suddenly it all went down the tubes - operation flush - they won't be around much longer...writing is on the wall
Avoid MQ and Spheris
I am sorry to hear you lost your job. My story is very similar to yours. I had worked for an HMO for over 20 years when they ended up outsourcing my job 3 years ago. Since then I have been working at home.
From what I hear Keystrokes might be worth a try. You will want to avoid MQ and Spheris though.
I hope things work out for you.
Avoid Lee Perfect - nm
Run as if you're running from the plague!
Avoid like the plague (sm)
I worked for this company full-time for 6 years, ending in 2001. Perhaps they've changed, but I googled the company just now and see it is owned by same person. On the up side, they paid right on time, never any problem. I had some great accounts too. However, I was charged $60 per pay period to rent their equipment. I had to provide a separate phone line and then pay the phone bill, to the tune of about $200 a month. I never felt the owner really cared about his employees. He lost my account to a competitor and then let me twist in the wind for 3 WEEKS waiting to be assigned a new account (yes, I put up a fuss, but to no avail). . He didn't believe in back-up accounts unless it suited his purposes. I kept asking for a back-up account and they just kept shining me on until one Christmas Eve morning his assistant called and said, Great news! We have that back-up account you've been wanting! We're really behind on it, lots of work for you, can you work extra? He installed it and I struggled for the rest of the day trying to learn this new account, plugging through horrendous dictators. Well, funny thing. That was the last I ever saw of that account and I realized they were just using me that one day, on false pretenses, because they were in panic mode. The real kicker was when I started, as a new employee, he refused to install an expansion program on my computer, stating that a few days before another Transcriptionist had made a very bad error while using the program and it hadn't been caught before it went to the client. Therefore, no more expansion programs for anybody. I really needed the job and didn't want to argue so I put up with this for about 18 months until a tech guy was working on my program and said, Hey, how come you don't have...? and he installed it. As I said, I really needed the job, so I put up with a lot. There's more but you get the idea. I work for a great company now (the professionalism has been refreshing, to say the least) and I would hold out for one of those. Good luck to you.
My method to avoid
buying foreign-made clothing - THRIFT/RESALE/CONSIGNMENT shops. It has been a very long time since I purchased any clothing new/retail, but I have managed to assemble a great professional wardrobe (in case I have to go get a ''real'' job - which is becoming a distinct possibility.) I hit several nearby thrift stores every Tuesday when they open after restocking. I don't keep up on where designer label clothes are actually made but I suspect that like most things they are assembled in third-world countries. However, I can own a guilt-free Ann Taylor suit by buying secondhand. I like to joke that I am not buying the clothing, only renting it. Because when I'm tired of it, the stuff usually goes back to the place I got it.
Avoid them like the plague (sm)
I worked there for more than a short time. They are disorganized (and they lie). They yank you around from account to account so that you never become proficient on a particular account. Different accounts are on different platforms. And every account has its own style requirements. You may or may not receive your paycheck on time. For a while they had direct deposit, then they didn't because apparently they couldn't keep the reserve funds in the bank to cover payroll. The owner sees to it that she takes care of herself first and foremost. Gets a brand new Mercedes every year while continually trying to find ways to squeeze some more blood out of her staff. Oh, and even though their website says something about they only hire American MTs, that's just for show to impress the clients. They absolutely outsource to India.
******* DISCLAIMER *****************
Postings of this nature are the poster's personal opinion should not be considered as substantiated by MTStars. Under no circumstances will MTStars be liable for any loss or damage caused by a user’s reliance on information obtained from this message. MTStars.com cannot effectively monitor validity of material/information posted on its Message Boards and, therefore, makes no representation and warranty with respect thereto.
Any discussions regarding this situation should be handled via email. Contact/Reply OP (original poster) using the "Reply by Email" link below".
MTStars Team
Costs
Single cost is low $40s per pay period. Employee + Child is almost $140 per pay period.
Costs
I thought this was a bogus post about costs involved. I had never heard of such. Why do people feel the need to just make up things that are not true? Is it because they don't like the positive feedback that Keystrokes is getting and they are trying to head people off to their place where nobody wants to work once they catch on? Keystrokes is a good honest place to work, please quit stirring the pot.
VR costs
What nobody seems to be talking about is the burgeoning IT department that VR creates. So you save money by paying your editors peanuts but you must hire a bunch of highly paid IT people to babysit the software.
go with Webmedx - avoid Diskriter if you can - sm
When I worked for DKR it was a nightmare. I would be overloaded with work and then nothing for days and I was supposed to sit around and wait for work to come in, back and forth it went. I also had problems getting responses to my questions and then when I would, they would respond in the snottiest tone in emails AND on the phone.
I liked my accounts at WEB, had steady work, steady income, occasionaly some difficult doctors and occasionally would have to wait a day or two for a response to an email I would send, but I really had no problems whatsoever.
I wouldn't have left WEB but when my family and I moved to another state, I happened upon a great local hospital job working at home.
One Company to Avoid Like The Plaque
(if you live in north Louisiana) is Answer-Med. It is run by two vindictive fools with no life that show favoritism towards a few select MT's and ride the ones that actually work are ridden hard and treated like crap. Thank goodness for MT's around the rest of the country, this company is local and not national. Some MT's screw around and don't do all their work (the pets) and either the supervisor that pets on them does it for them or another MT who isn't a pet gets it dumped on them. Before I quit they expected me to almost work every weekend. Thank goodness I grew a brain and told them where to put it, FINALLY. Anyone else have an experience with this place? If you haven't, again, AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE!!
I would totally avoid Focus
I worked for Focus about a year and a half ago for a very short time and ended up quitting. It is entirely run out of India. They treat their employees horribly and, as far as MTs, they deducted pay for errors. I quit right away and ended up at another company, which I have been at since I left Focus. I have now just accepted a full-time position with Keystrokes and can't wait to begin! At least they do not offshore at all and pay more.
Avoid this place like the plague - sm
slow pay, no pay, poor management and ownership
Please avoid reading between the lines.
Believe what Carlotta said here. MDI values its top-notch workers, and I highly doubt they would make any statement or decision rashly. It is rash when people read between the lines. Reading between the lines is just that, it is a person trying to guess the truth. Why not just read the e mails sent, and do what they ask? Is it really that hard. You say there is no game-plan. I see it written clearly on these e mails.
Why is it so difficult for people to do the best they can every day when they transcribe. If you are doing the best you can, then I believe there is nothing to worry about. I actually felt that what was said needed to be said.
In my world, what we type is as critical as what the doctor does. For instance, if a doc rushed through a procedure, did less than 100% quality, relied on someone to come in and clean up the mess for him, well he'd have malpractice suits and have his profession taken away.
Why are we any different? Don't you see that when you give less than your very best, you can be damaging very badly the patient.
How is it I rarely see patient care mentioned on these boards. I see at least 99% of the posts talking about the money, the bad accents, the lack of flexibility, etc. Well, if you were the patient, how would you feel that someone who took care of their very important medical record listing life threatening allergies and life saving medication dosages only cared about the money and was careless????
The hospitals do care. They see the patient and they get the lawsuits. They pay top dollar for us at MDI, we are supposedly the cream of the crop. So why not act that way.
If you have time to read between the lines, why not read the lines, and make a list of what you need to do to be more flexible to be there for the STATs, and be more caring about the drug dosages instead of rushing to the next report.
If you have an issue with lack of work why not call Carlotta on the phone and tell her instead of sitting there and griping here. Bottom line: The patient. Bottom line for MDI: The patient and their preserving OUR paycheck. Thanks for listening to my post.
Lori Boone...avoid...
TRX/Lori Boone infamous for not paying. She was a Transcriptionist in the department at OHSU and started a service TRAINING PEOPLE ON THE JOB (i.e. hiring inexperienced people and paying nothing/ endangering client product) and she shorted a lot of people, including the well-seasoned MTs, on pay. Some are still waiting to get paid. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
ADVANCED Transcription in Portland are awful too/do the same.
There are several good companies in Portland though, any of those not mentioned. =)
Can you say which company so we can avoid them like the plague?
x
insurance costs
Between $100.00 and $125.00 per month for medical for single coverage, with kids about $300.00 or so. Dental is extra, 401K, DISCOUNT eye program (not vision coverage)
Equipment costs?
They sent me a footpedal and give the license # to use the Expander program. I would never had accepted a position with them or any other company with this much of an investment, I don't think anybody else would have either. This is just ludicrious and I don't believe it.
Yes, I could get satellite but costs way too much
nm
That costs them money though
If you are offered bonuses or anything like that based on your production then if they let you have more work, they just might have to pay you more! Not to mention if your not getting full-time hours they don't have to pay full-time benefits. Unfortunately, its business, and it totally SUCKS!
The answer: CUT COSTS...
Some CFOs even request MTSOs that oursource because they charge lower rates.
"How to avoid your child while you work"
I had forgotten about that. I was so disgusted about the other OSi tactics but that little jewel was in the back of my mind. My baby means everything to me and I will avoid OSi while I work is the bottom line.
Thanks for the tips! Think I'll avoid them like the plague! :) nm
nm
start-up costs for equipment
What are the start-up costs (ballpark) for newly hired home transcribers?
A local cc (NC) costs about $1200. The
local state supported 4-year university now offers an on-line MT program too and I think it is about $1800.00. The cc arranges internships and helps with job placement, don't know about the 4-year school as it is a relatively new program and I am not familiar with it.
...or at least an email in appreciation. That costs nothing. (NM)
//
BBB - I think it costs $9.50 to make a claim now
Check the BBB internet site.
Deventure insurance costs
I think I read somewhere that Deventure has Blue Cross insurance? If so what is the cost for single and also family? What is their lpd requirement? TIA!
It costs the CMT megabucks to maintain sm
that certification that the regular MT does not have to incur. (I'm an ex-CMT, too.) Believe me, that extra money helped pay a fraction of those expenses.
Costs associated with accepting a position do not sm
include purchasing MS Word or medical spellchecker. Keystrokes provides the platfom for the account you are on and if you do not have Shorthand, they will provide it for you.
Some accounts do require unlimited long distance, but I have it anyway as I have 2 college students out of state and a teenager. I went with my local cable company and can call anywhere any time. It is less than my regular phone was.
I'm glad you are happy with your decision, but if you look in the future for another job, don't count KS out as they will work to help you get what you need and the account that best suits you.
MTSO Costs Are Not MT's Problem.
and at-home MTs have to pay mortgages, tuition, taxes, utility bills. We have to pay for our own computers in most cases, and we have to pay for our telephone bills and our internet connectivity. We have to pay for our foot pedals, our C-phones, our headphones, our ergonomical equipment to preserve a healthy workplace, printer ink, fax phone numbers and machines, electricity for our home offices, thousands of dollars worth of reference books and reference software, and Expander software . . .
need I go on? I don't think so.
Hospitals cutting their costs - where do
Don't kid yourself voices are not being heard.
It's not law, but it's usual general policy to avoid law suits. nm
nm
How is their benefit package? Insurance costs, etc?
//
I don't know how people can afford housing that costs that much!!! sm
My family lives in a 4-bedroom house with 3,000 square feet of living space (counting the basement, which is finished) and we paid $125,000 three years ago! Come to the Midwest, you can find a 2-bedroom house a heck of a lot cheaper than $600,000.
Do you know what the insurance costs are?? family or single?
Thanks. Looking for a new job.
Companies are putting more costs on us and paying us less nm
ww
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