I too was pretty burned out. A couple sm
Posted By: MT30+ on 2009-05-08
In Reply to: Keeping it fresh - elliottgoodfellow
years ago my mom got very sick and I had to take time off to take care of her until she died. After that I didn't work for about 18 months, (I know everybody can't do that) and I found that when I did go back it was like starting fresh! So a long vacation away from MT (don't even go in your office during that time) probably will help tremendously.
Also I don't know of any other profession where I can have the freedom I have and make the hourly salary I do (even with wages being lower) so I choose to stay in MT. Have at least 10 more years to work anyway.
Good luck.
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- Keeping it fresh - elliottgoodfellow
- I too was pretty burned out. A couple sm - MT30+
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Pretty funny. OSI gripers burned up the board with sm
their complaints. None of the posts match when you click into them.
Burned out
Take a break, take some vacation time. It happens to all of us at one time or another.
I have a particular issue with this comment - Quality - HA! It is a tool used to keep MTs down mostly, even when it starts out as a tool to help MTs. You are not fooling anybody. This is about money, it is about QA making more money than the MT who is doing all the actual work...
This is not true. I do QA and I can assure you nothing I do is down to put anybody down. I feel that it is my responsibility to educate, not to put down. Yet many people like yourself do not take it like that. I can assure you I am not making the money MTs used to make. Honey, I used to make anywhere from $25-$28/hr typing back in the good ole days, do you think they pay QA anywhere close to that? MTs are still by far making more money. I cannot type now due to a physical condition. If not for that I would be typing just like everybody else. If you don't like where you are now, move on. These jobs are a dime a dozen, no sense in suffering. If you don't want to move, talk to your manager, your QA, or maybe even someone who can be a support to you. Calm down and see what you can do to make your life or your job better. We are all experiencing these changes together, you are not alone. If you don't mind me asking where are you now that is causing you so much stress? You don't have to answer here if you don't want to, send me an email.
Must be why we keep getting burned.:)
xxx
Just got burned and quit...
after many months of no pay. Not worth it!
I too got burned by this company
She owes me 2 paychecks also and that was 2 months ago...I know I'll never see that money :'( She is very unprofessional and yes she never returns any messages, unless she wants to tell you off, which she does quite often to a lot of people. That's okay that company is going down, she's already lost a major money making account and it won't be long, I'm sure, before she loses the rest of her accounts and then she'll get what she deserves and is coming to her!!!
No, I have not been burned. I have been with same company SM
for many years. Not MQ. I have every reason to believe all the excited TTs around here are recruiters. If you were MTs, you would be working away on your accounts. Also, strange that former TT people posting literally anything negative are promptly put down. If company is so great, why must you resort to that behavior?
I have never worked for TT and have nothing to do with it. I am just an observer and what I observe about Transtech posts is people saying exactly the same thing all the time. Robotic, if you will. No offense, please and, do not attack me, as I am not attacking your or TT, but of course you will take it as such.
No, not R. Just someone else who was burned by Focus.
There's a lot of us out there.
Re: Burned to a crisp
I dealt with it by GETTING OUT. It isn't going to get better, only worse. I started a business which I'm enjoying. An MT friend got out and took a job as photographer for a small newspaper. Life is short.......too short to waste being miserable.
burned to a crisp
I am completely with you. Been doing this for 30 years. Making $800 less a month than when I worked at the hospital and doctor's offices. Where do these MTs work that are making $50, 000/year?. I would really like to know.
Your 1st paragraph should be burned into
THIS PARAGRAPH SAYS IT ALL:
I also questioned line rates for a handful of MTSOs and flat out said too low of a rate for me. I have 20+ years of experience. They'd be getting my 100% effort and 100% knowledge, but only want to pay for about 50% of what that's worth.
In a nutshell, this is EXACTLY the problem with the MT field. We should all burn this paragraph into our brains, carve in into our desks, write it on our forearms in indelible ink.
The MTSO's should memorize this paragraph, as well. Maybe we should print it out in flowery Gothic script, and put in on their desks when we go for job interviews.
If you reward a worker with fair pay and decent treatment, they'll put out 110-120% in effort. Pay the worker only half of what they're worth, and that's all you're going to receive from them.
LOW WAGES BREED DISGRUNTLED CLOCK-WATCHERS AND CHEATERS!
Same thing here. Tired of 24/7. Burned out
and going back to QA.
If I am burned out, it is by this attitude inside...
I think MTs should actually take a professional attitude to heart. All of the message boards are full of the most hateful, catty, snotty, judgemental, whining people but they want to be recognized as professionals. We don't appear to be a professional group because we are not acting that way, speaking that way...
Then, We have to learn to adapt, change, and make ourselves necessary for the future. Doing the swollen chest/head routine won't get it. Complaining won't get it. Threatening to quit or unionize won't get it. Making a dedicated effort to be better at our work, difficult dictators and all, WILL get it.
That is belittling, to incorporate all MTs as complainers, whiners, unable to change or adapt.
Mostly I see QA whining and complaining about MTs -
I also do not care to be called burned-out because I have certain opinions...that is condenscending (Assuming a tone of superiority, or a patronizing attitude).
Where I work there are mostly (or used to be as they are now transitioning to the trends of utilizing QA to lower pay/benefits) awesome QA, who keep their comments to themselves and are 'professional.'
I have, however, been subject to comments over the years from people who appear sadistic when they approach MTs. Unfortunately, these more than outweigh the people who keep it business and to the point.
Constructive criticism? You bet I welcome it, and appreciate it, and learn from it, as do most MTs I believe. What is difficult is to get comments like above, and the general attitude than can infiltrate throughout a company that the MT is not professional or worthy.
The divide is wrong. QA should be no better than an MT, and my comments about MTs - bottom line, QA would not have jobs without us, period. What would you have to critique?
How easy it is to sit through and listen to an already typed report, and make corrections. That does not even take a lot of skill, if you ask me. Even re-reading my own reports I can find minor errors every time. That is why I try to quickly do a once-over before I send a report, if time allows and I am not pressed to get my lines or hours in so that I do not lose my benefits...
Maybe it is different where you work, and it used to be where I work, but it is quickly changing.
Another one burned by Four Seasons Transcription
I was a current employee of Robin Hall's that still hung on thinking and believing she would pay me. My paycheck was 5 weeks late when I finally said enough is enough. I told her I quit as of 02/01/08. Since that time she does not show online, does't answer her home phone, cell phone, or e-mail. This woman is a very very good con artist and apparently has been operating this way for a long time. I even called on her business number listed on her business webpage... guess what... that number has been disconnected with no forwarding number. I still have yet to be paid and she owes me over $800. The part I feel the worst about, I referred a friend to her shortly after I started. She owes my friend over $900 and can't get a hold of Robin either. I know there's probably not much I can do about what she did to me but I hate that fact that she will continue to cheat honest, hard working MT's. I've posted on just about every site I can think of from Guru (where she found me) to Freelance.com. If anyone can think of any other sites I'll post on them too. I can't stress enough, please before you accept a position IC or employee status with ANY company..... check them out in any way possible.
Becka
I've been burned so many times
I don't understand what is happening in the MT world today. I've worked as an IC for years, paid my own health insurance, paid my own taxes. I've chosen to work as an IC because I want the flexibility to decide my own schedule. It has always worked for me in the past. Today, however, that is not happening. Companies today who hire ICs as well as employee status are requiring that an IC commit to working a 5-day schedule, Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday through Thursday, specific shift hours, something without doubt beyond the limits of IRS guidelines. If I wanted a schedule such as mentioned, I would sign on as employee status. Let the employee status MTs commit to their shifts. If I make my 1000 or 1200 lines per day, the days I do it, the hours I do it are totally my decision, but I am receiving contracts that require me to work a schedule on a company's dictates, or I am turning down offers as IC status because in the interviewing process I am asked to commit to a schedule as mentioned when the entire purpose of my being an IC is flexibility. Why are they producing these contracts that are totally against IRS guidelines in order to work for them? Sure, they need to know what I will produce, but as an IC, they cannot dictate when and how I will do that.
TIA for your comments. I know I cannot be the only one who is scratching their heads, wondering why be an IC today if the IRS guidelines are ignored. Of course, I don't have to sign any contract, but I'm telling you, this is happening over and over again.
I hear ya about being burned, cant be too careful. nm
xxx
Then go with TT...you will be just as burned out at KS trying to get a decent check. (nm)
xxx
A good MT leaving with no burned bridges, will likely
x
Lots of people have been burned by them..be careful, very careful. NM
xx
A couple
Lee Perfect I believe and TTS. Try putting your resume up as well. I got a ton of hits off of here and another transcription job board and another job website. Not allowed to give you names of the sites though.
There are a couple of ways....
You can either use Alt+tab and that will switch you toggle you between programs or you can just keep a notebook and write down the acc#. I thought this was going to really hurt my production but after you get use to doing it, it doesn't really seem to be a big deal at all. Good luck!
It took me a couple of weeks...
had to get all those shortcuts in but once you get used to it, it is okay. I always keep track of how many reports I do and I don't look at line count until I do so many. I can get my required line count in 6 hours or less and when I first started it was a lot longer than that. So, it does get better. 
A couple questions
Do they hire part-time? Do you need a C-phone or are they internet based?
Thanks
...couple more questions if you can...
Tested for radiology, but I can do acute care. Can you tell me about the rotating weekends? How many weekends do you actually end up working over about a 3-month period? Does the software have a built-in expander?
Thanks!
I have a couple questions
Do they hire part time? The website mentions Word 2000. Does it have to be Word 2000 or will a newer version work, i.e. Word 2002?
a couple more questions
What is the minimum line count you need with them for part-time and if you need to work outside of your schedule or type earlier/later in the day, how flexible are they with that? Thanks for the info!
Just a couple questions
How is the platform?
Is rigid schedule required for full-time?
Are there production bonuses?
Thank you!
Yup. Same here. Just started a couple
of months ago with promises of good accounts, never run out of work, etc. I really regret going with them. Now looking for something else. What a disappointment! Same thing with Medware in the past. So don't look there either. These companies over-hire and offshore, and this is what happens. Ugh. 
A couple of questions for you...
What do you mean by acquired 3 private accounts through them? They are your accounts? You bill them, collect the money? Or they are small accounts that only you do? Not sure what you meant there.
If you have no benefits, are you an IC? If you are an employee with no benefits, I'd be looking elsewhere. If you're not being paid what an IC would make, you're getting the short end of the stick.
If you are an IC, you'd need to rewrite your contract at the end of the contract period.
If you're an employee, go for it. Ask for what you feel you deserve. If they value what you do enough, they should be able to meet your needs (especially if they're getting away with not paying benefits!).
Best of luck!
I used it a couple of times and liked it. nm
x
Thanks-couple more questions
This helped some. What is their line count requirement and is it pretty attainable? Also, is 40 hours considered full time or can you work less than that for full time? Again, thanks.
There's only a couple of accounts that way....sm
the majority of them don't have that type of set-up with the client and there's generally plenty of work available between a primary and secondary account to keep you busy.
As far as communication goes, I've received at least 1 e-mail a day on my account advising what the status of it was and any additional information that needed to be passed along. If you use an e-mail service such as hotmail you have to check your junk folder as sometimes your e-mail system will think their valid e-mails are junk mail and filter them out.
A couple reasons
Their VR software isn't as good as eScription, which is what I really like. It doesn't put in any punctuation unless the doctor dictates it. While you train, you get 2 cpl with a max pay between 3 and 4 cpl after training. It sounded way too labor intensive for that pay.
A couple of questions
TTS does this to all of ICs. She literally will call MTs and threaten your job because you are not on the schedule for your hours. I was let go because of not working my set hours, yet I did my line count on a daily basis that I said I would do. Who would you report this to? Would you report to the DOL or the IRS?
I did this a couple of years ago--SM
Hospital benefits were great. Acct managed by Diskriter staff. I had a decent acct manager but I have heard some of them have not been that good (the person I worked for has since left). I used Chartscript, I like that platform, but the lines were tough to come by. I normally would do a good 1500-1600 lines a day at my previous job (and at jobs I have had since Diskriter) with about 6 good hours of working and for some reason it took a full 8-hour day to get 1300 lines with Diskriter. That is why I left.
It has been a couple of years since I was there
.
Yes and no. Went through this a couple of weeks ago.,
Hired for new account that didn't come on-line as projected. Extended training/staging time that at least we got paid for, but half of what I make transcribing and then when we went live there was no little work for week we were lucky to get 4 reports a day. Other accounts were low so couldn't give us a backup, but looks like most accounts are back to producing again and lots of OT now.
My situation isn't quite the same, but the result was the same and I sympathize with you. When you have bills to pay you need to be making the lines.
It took a couple of months
I got behind on bills and had to move on.
Couple things (SM)
#1 -- All caps is considered shouting.
#2 -- Spheris has been discussed here extensively. Do a search first -- you might find all the info. you need.
Couple of advantages
No harm in doing your own - but I have been audited and it was not fun. This fellow is my new accountant I do believe. If after 20 years of IRS management he has no clue how to do my taxes, then I am dead in the water. You might have a CPA do your taxes one year and then use it as your guide. I just feel far and away safer from my own experience than having to worry about it. He also said to save all records for 6 years. The IRS can go 3 years back on one audit.
I did a couple of years ago.
If it is the same company, they pay weekly (nice), and are such nice people. Everyone in the office was readily available to answer questions. The only downside was they did not have a platform at that time. Work was received and sent via FTP files, and I prefer to work on an actual platform.
Yes, a couple of ways (sm)
The reason you are being told that is because ExText (WordClient) must be installed in the C directory. There are a couple of ways around this. You can have your computer set up to dual boot or you can set up a virtual machine on your computer. As long as it thinks it is C it will allow a second install (or more) on one computer.
a couple questions
Also, how do they calculate VR lines, and can you get a good line count?
I have been with them for a couple of years-sm
and I say they are great. Don't know anything at all about bait and switch - could be happening but it did not happen to me. I am with Shirley on the 9/10 because come on- it is a job. Probably account, account managers, things like that make a lot of difference but I say the management right up to the owner of this company are top of the line. Every issue I have ever had with them has been addressed fairly and settled fairly. I say talk to them.
A couple of years ago...sm
I had KU as a back-up account when I worked for MedQuist. I don't know if they outsourced all or their work to MQ or not.
Diskriter does, or at least did a couple
xx
I agree with QA. There is no way a couple of sm
commas are dragging your score down that low. As a matter of fact, on normal QA scoring, you're not actually deducted the full amount for each instance of punctuation. You'll have the full amount for the first one or two (and it's not a hefty amount of points) and the others will be repeat errors. For a score that low, you're either omitting dictation or have incorrect/misuse of terminology. Those are the items that drag your score down.
Couple More Thoughts
i choose as an ic to have my own set schedule for my work hours and tell a company when i am available, which is a lot different than agreeing to remain there if there's no work. of course, i usually do just that, keep checking for work, but there is a very subtle difference between saying i will work these hours on these days and saying this is when i'm available. along with that comes the mental shift in informing people of one's days off/vacation time, etc. as an ic, you don't request the time, you say that's what you'll be taking off (i might offer to help find coverage, but no guarantees). you don't ask for a raise; you propose a line rate increase b/c your business expenses have risen. likewise, if you carry it to the extreme and are never available, a company might not need your services! but yes, IC vs. employee status is a subtle distinction and mind set, but an important one!
whether IC or employee, what you do is worthwhile and for me, i've truly found my occupational bliss, even with all the downsides to the profession and how it's evolved in the past couple decades.
a nice day and weekend ahead to everyone :)
-t
You have a couple of problems..
...If you deposit a bad check, you own bank will probably charge you a service fee for having to handle it. I was charged a $38.00 (same as their bounced check fee) fee when I deposited somebody's bad check. This is one of the reasons stores have a policy of charging you a fee if you pay with an NSF (insufficient funds) personal check. They get charged a fee by their bank for depositing it. The banks get cranky about the bookkeeping involved, posting the amount, debiting it out again, etc.
Second, I am assuming you work at home and the company is not in your home town. Therefore, the crime of writing bad check will probably be considered to have occurred where the company is located. Good luck dealing with a bad check across state lines.
I'm assuming the check is for a few hundred dollars. In my city, there is something called night court which is an after-hours service of the city prosecutor's office. It basically is a small-claims/arbitration court and you can go talk to an assistant prosecutor about the problem. They may send a summons to the check writer, but it really will not require them to appear. Some people are frightened to get such a notice, but if they are in another state, what can be done to them for a relatively small check?
You might have a mail fraud angle on this, since they mailed the check to you. I don't suppose you saved the envelope? Postal inspector might be someone to contact. Just a thought.
Here are a couple more you might find useful
I had saved these links in my Favorites in case there ever came a time to present our case.
Here are 2 other links where you might find some useful information for your article.
1. http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/17/1548054.aspx
2. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/10/22/MNGCO2FN8G1.DTL
The second link is about the Pakistani MT who was trying to blackmail UCSF with personal information.
A couple of days
You should hear back in just a couple of days. Be ready for a long telephone interview.
This was a couple of years ago
and I really am over it. Went through a false start with a company that looked like it would be a long-term home for me, but wasn't. (This time, I was the one who said good-bye after a year.) Now I'm with a company that I really like.
Have you not noticed that the trend with employers nowadays is to fire you and have security escort you off the premises? They do this so that discgruntled soon-to-be-ex employees have no time to mess things up on their way out rhe door. Sure, SPi (a Philippine-owned company) knew that the plan was to dump all of us when they acquired CyMed, but it was just 'good business' to play their hand close to the vest until they were ready. They wanted us to want them, until they no longer needed us. They needed us to work during the transition to offshore. Then they were through with us. At least I got unemployment.
This happened to the employees of the local branch of a national restaurant chain. It was my favorite breakfast place and the company was closing restaurants all over the country, but the locals were assured that this was a profitable shop (it was always crowded) and they would be okay. Right up until the morning they reported to work to find a sign on the door that the place had closed. Had the corporate office given them notice, many would have found other positions prior to the closing. What would the company have done then? They weren't quite ready to close and needed those people to keep the place staffed until they were ready. Dog eat dog world.
So I'm a lot more proactive now and at the first rumblings of a problem my resume goes out there. This is what happened with my last job. Things started to seem 'just not right' and so I found my current job. But if I become uncomfortable here, I'll start looking again immediately.
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