Keystrokes for the past 2 years!! I plan on retiring with them !! nm
Posted By: RadMT on 2006-07-15
In Reply to: POLL: Best Company You Ever Worked For!! - Dixiegirl
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What I have done for the past 6 years - sm
For the first 4 years as an IC I paid quarterly to state and had hubby take out additional federal from his check. I now have him take out additional for both, which is far easier for me. The IRS does not care where it comes from, just that it gets paid. Not sure if this is an option for you, but it works for me.
Thanks for your posts. I've been in the plan for several years...sm
So I am very curious about how this pans out. I'm 100% vested and never NOTICED anything odd, but after this long...i probably wouldn't. We've also changed carries several times (prudential, metlife, etc.), I think 4 times since I've been with them, so I'm surprised there haven't been more errors. Or maybe there have been...how would we know?
Agree, but over the past five or so years, new MTs sm
have been relying on Google and the Internet as their only references. We know how reliable the Internet is(n't)!! The US MTs need to step up to the plate, too!!
I work there now, have for the past 2-1/2 years.
What feedback are you looking for?
I've been happy for the past 2 years
No problems at all for me, and only getting better now with our annual raise (I know it's small, but it is something), holiday pay, more PTO, etc.
just today - you're a little behind - that was for the past 3 years-
and ID thiefs are also overseas - did ya see Dateline this week? Another point you are missing - we can prosecute those here - try finding somebody in Pakistan right now.
In the past 4 years I have always been paid on time
x
I have been a recruiter for 4 different companies over the past 15 years. sm
This is more common than most realize. For every 20 resumes I receive, only 8 are qualified. Of those 8, only 6 will answer their phone or call back when a voice mail is left. That always amazes me, as why apply if you have no desire to talk to the company? Of those 6, only 4 actually are qualified. You would be surprised how many only want 1st shift, M-F, no weekends, no holidays, no ESL doctors, only internet accounts, only word-based, only op notes, no op notes, only long reports, only short reports, etc. The list goes on and on. We hear about every health ailment, how some are working althought they do not need the money, wish I could say that, about how their husbands do not like them to work when they are home. We hear about how they have to leave for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon because they have to drive their kids to school. Did I mention that they need off every other Wednesday for 3 hours for Cub Scouts and every Thursday for two hours at lunchtime to be lunch mom at the school. Oh, don't forget that they get their hair done every Friday morning from 8 until 10 and they may have to drive their mom to the doctor every Tuesday. I am not exaggerating. They all assure me that they want a lot of volume, but of the 4 that I actually hire, it is even scarier. One may be perfect in terms of volume, quality and actually showing up for work. One will work for an hour and disappear forever. One will beg for work but only take 10 minutes off the system at most. One will have an emergency the first day and never call back, never actually starting.
So to have 100 employees, you need to go through 3000 resumes, hire 500 of them and hope to get 100 good ones.
I was going to work for a large company that gets a few bad and many good posts here but decided that the pressure would be too great. It is hard to find 5 good MTs for a new account. I cannot even begin to think how impossible it would be to find 25 or 30, as they have advertised in the past.
This industry sees a lot of job hoppers. Yes, there are a lot of bad companies out there, but they job hop for no reason it seems, other than someone actually expected them to show up and produce.
I am personally against offshore transcription and will not work for a company that send work out of the U.S. but I know why they turn to other countries to do the work. They have a better work ethic. When they find a good job, they stay with it forever. They appreciate that have a job and food on the table. It is a way of life for them and there are no second chances. They cannot burn their bridges or no one will hire them.
Maybe MTSOs need to have higher standards and hold their employees to them. There are thousands of excellent MTs out there, we just have to weed through so many to get to them that they sometimes get overlooked.
Sorry for ranting, but I really enjoyed the OP's post and it struck a few nerves!!!
I have used it for the past 2 years through another company and love it!! nm
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I have mde over 60K doing MT for the past 5 years. Why are you so hesitant to post who you work sm
for? Yes, I think you are a fraud am I am no jealous in the least. At least I don't have to lie as a part of my daily business. You still, an no other recruiter responding, has had the integrity to post their company name. No surprise.
I have been there awhile. The good posts are because over the past few years sm
they have really worked hard to improve employee relationships and it has worked. There are no problems there anymore. They used to say they were growing pains and we all wondered how long they could say that. Now I am glad I stuck it out because all the old problems (and I mean old being over 2 years or more) are gone. Great company to work for.
I have had a credit report run for the 2 out of 2 MT jobs I have had over the past 10 years - nm
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Actually, it is not a MQ account. They have gotten dozens of MQ accounts over the past 5 years thou
The account that everyone is referring to is high ESL, very Hispanic, in Texas. It is not bad once you get used to the doctors. It is huge and difficult but not impossible and not bad.
They also have 4 other new accounts in acute care they are hiring for and 2 other excisting accounts that are growing.
With all I see on other companies not having enough work, I am grateful for Keystrokes. They keep growing and improving and were the best move I ever made!
Definitely not alone...I'd planned on retiring here
nm
Retiring early...
First, how do you know the year I was born?? I have already checked with Social Security, and I can retire at the age of 62, 66 or 70 (according to my year of birth). In addition, I have checked with my financial advisor/stock broker, and he advises me that, yes it would benefit me if I wait until I am 66, as I would get more money, but I do not HAVE to wait until then. Furthermore, he explained the whole scenario if I work while I am drawing SS. I can work, but I cannot make over 14,130/year. Whatever amount I do make over that, they will deduct it from my SS. This money is put aside for me (so to speak). Then, when I reach age 66, I will then be distributed any monies (on my SS check) that I made over and above that 14,130/year, over the rest of my lifetime. So I will kind of get a raise. If you go to the SS website it explains all of this. So, the question is, do I want to continue typing my brains out; I don't think so. I will probably retire at 64-65 and do something enjoyable with my life, but it won't have anything to do with typing, guaranteed! 
Here's the secret to retiring early --
Not taking SSI and Spheris (of course) doesn't have retirement pay.
What I did was work my behind off for 20 years, invested wisely, and will be retiring at 46. In a custom-built home sitting on 78 acres in a ski community. So, heck yeah, with that carrot in front of me I can put up with a dog of a job for seven more months. I encourage everyone on this board to work towards a GOAL, and not just slave away paycheck to paycheck.
Of course, I started in the heydey when a good MT brought home 60K without breaking a sweat, and I've refused to work for less over the years. Wouldn't have been possible if I'd settled for the paltry sum the companies are pawning off of newbies now adays.
I wish you as much success and looming happiness!!
Good luck with retiring in FL
I live in Miami - have to rent a furnished room per month -- and its getting worse here instead of BETTER!!!!
retiring from Spheris? Gonna get retirement pay from them or Social Security? nm
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Been with Keystrokes for 4+ years and not planning on going anywhere
I type Radiology and the Company is great just scroll down and you will find lots of info on Keystrokes.
I have been with Keystrokes for 2 years and can say the same as KSMT...
I have gotten a referral bonus, gift cards, et cetera....they are a really great company to work for and value their employees.
I left more than 2 years ago and went to Keystrokes...
I am way happier
I have been at Keystrokes for 2 years and I love it...
I have never experienced or heard of anything such as the OP is claiming...all I know is that Keystrokes is a great place to work for and you were unhappy there let it go and move on...I truly hope you found a better fit for you...and to those that do not like working for Keystrokes, find another job...
Been at Keystrokes for 2-1/2 years and LOVE it!
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I have also been at Keystrokes 2-1/2 years and love it...
Great company.
Well, I left MQ after 8 years last summer to go to Keystrokes (sm)
so I would have to say Keystrokes. I have plenty of work and love my account and Keystrokes gave me primarily what I asked for as far as what specialty I wanted to type. I work in Meditech but there are other platforms there, it just depends on your account. MedQuist was a great place to work for about the first 7 years. In January 2006 they introduced what they called the Rewards Plan and after that my work dried up in a hurry and I lost a LOT of money by staying there. But there are still people at MQ who have plenty of work and like it there, the way I felt about it in the old days. Both places have positive qualities but I am happier now at Keystrokes. It also depends on what you are looking for as far as how large of a company you want to work for...MQ is a big national, KS is much smaller and more personalized. Good Luck!
After 8 years at MQ I went to Keystrokes in September 2006..and (sm)
I don't regret it. For the most part my account doesn't run out of work. I wish I had a backup but I haven't been able to get one. But my main account is swamped a good part of the time so when they do run out of work it doesn't usually last long. Good Luck!
I agree 100%...I have been at Keystrokes for 2 years doing Ortho
and I love it...best company I have worked for...
Keystrokes is not as large as Transcend but they might be in the next few years. sm
Transcend has grown because they keep buying other companies, and Keystrokes does not do that. They have grown every year and still do because of getting new accounts and keeping the accounts they have.
Keystrokes is not in the $50M range; last I heard they were at $15M and will be in the $25M this year due to new accounts. They are very open about this, and also about the fact that they do not take on too much at once just for the sake of growing. They make sure that they are ready first.
Are they the perfect company? No, but they are better than any I have worked at since YOG. I have been at Keystrokes for 3 years. They continue to improve every year and have really worked through the issues they used to have including the insurance. The first year I worked for them, they were an OK company, the second year they were good, and this third year, they are great.
I am impressed with them because they still treat their employees as if they are a small company; we are not just a number to them. I am also impressed that they give more to their employees every year instead of taking things away, like a lot of other companies are doing.
I am happy at Keystrokes, as are over 400 of us. For those that are not or did not like working there in the past, I hope you find the company that works best for you.
Different strokes for different folks, but I have found the company that is best for me and plan on staying!
Keystrokes does. I have worked on ortho only for them for 2 years. sm
I have my own docs and my supervisor is great. She leaves me alone to do my work and as long as I do it well and on time, she leaves me alone. I prefer this, so it is a great job for me. I average 14,000 lines a pay period and make 0.09 per line. I do use their insurance, which costs me $204 per month, but it's only me. So far, so good with the new insurance!
I'm not sure if they are hiring but it would be worth trying.
I worked for Keystrokes for a couple of years...
I was very happy with the company. I didn't have a problem with them, just needed to take a leave for a while and ended up starting with another company a few months later. It's been about a year and a half since I worked for them, but at that time there was plenty of work. I had no problems with supervision. I really don't have anything negative, but again it's been a while, so I don't know what the workload is like these days. Hope that helps - good luck!
Don't worry just find out and then have a plan A and plan B
I have gone through something like this but not with that company. I too am the insurance provider for my family and there are preexisting conditions, so a private policy is no good.
First of all, I work elsewhere but had the same situation. I fell short of line count, but not because of me, because they did not have enough work, and I like many others cannot make quota because of the way they count lines. Then, on last paycheck there was a negative on insurance money taken out of check. I thought I lost insurance, but found out at the end of the year, they did an audit and found out that I overpaid all year and so I actually was owed money that check.
In the meantime, I found another job but have to wait 90 days for insurance. Can't find a policy to bridge the 2 jobs, insurance is on my mind all the time. My heart is with you. Personally I am getting the 90 day meds, working on my second job which will become my real job and if I lose the insurance, Cobra will kick in in case of disaster so that is like major medical.
Sorry such a long post, but I suggest: Not to panic. You probably did not lose insurance. Call the benefit provider to see you are still covered, not the employer. If you are not still covered, get 90 days of Rx if your plan covers by mail and be billed, immediately get another job which is a better place to work anyway (I found one) and in 90 days you will be okay. Some places like Disriter cover the first of the following month, but I would not necessarily suggest you work somewhere which is not so great just for insurance. You can consider TransTech. That would be my suggestion. Sorry for such a long post. But this hit a nerve and I wanted you to understand some options, as I have gone through it. Good Luck.
Over 9 years ortho experience and not even a callback from Keystrokes..
I can assume that they were swamped with applications or maybe I was just not want they were looking for. Oh well....other ortho accounts out there. I have enough acute care that I should find something.
Agree with LTMT about Keystrokes..I've been there nearly 3 years (sm)
I had a bumpy patchy for a while with no work but the owner herself and some of the office staff worked with me to find a good secondary account that I couldn't be happier with.
For radiology, Keystrokes is the best. I worked at MQ for 8 years and left in January. sm
Wish I had done it two years ago. Lots of work, easy accounts, great team leads! I am making less per report but more each check because of better account with more work available!
I worked for Keystrokes a few years back. There were some problems but was told they were working on
I had heard that before, too many times to count, so I left.
I came back 2 years ago and it was like night and day.
All of the old problems are gone. They blamed them on growing pains and never denied them. Instead they fixed them. They have my vote!
Did Keystrokes sell to Transcend? I thought Keystrokes was buying up companies sm
but I heard from another service owner that they sold out to Transcend. Anyone know if that happened?
keystrokes ad..can someone tell keystrokes their banner ad needs a hyphen...quality-minded
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Did Keystrokes sell to Transcend? I thought Keystrokes was buying sm
small companies but another service owner told me that she heard that Keystrokes sold to Transcend. Is this true?
I posted this down below but meant to post it as a new thread. Before I apply with them, I would like to know as I left Transcend a few months ago and do NOT want to get back into that mess.
new MQ pay plan
It's been in QNews, snail mail and on MQ's home page under the QNET as promised by Frank for the last six mths.
What do you like about this new MQ plan?
I would just love to know what people like about this new plan because the way I see it they are not paying for your internet service anymore which is essential to getting this job done and they are not offering any kind of weekend incentives which is when they are always begging people to work and also, the part that really is laughable is even if you are part time and say work 15 hours a week and want to work 20 instead one week you have to get that approved. Now, they are always begging people to work so why do we have to get approval to work extra. I can understand over 40 hours but if you are part time what is the big deal. As long as you put your hours in that you are supposed to, why do we have to go through the trouble of calling our supervisors and asking to work an extra hour or so.
I don't see much of any kind of incentives in this new plan. I mean if you type over 1200 - you get a small increase. Say you type 1500 well you would make an extra $1.50 that day. What kind of incentive is that?
I just don't get it. Maybe I am missing something and people can explain to me what they like about it. I would LOVE to hear it.
new plan
There is nothing to like
well i DO like the new plan
It adds up to a lot of $ to have 18 days PTO at production rate vs. 10 days, plus now the 6 holidays at time and one-half. The difficulty premium adds another level of fairness and compensation to the skill tier.
As far as part-timers having to ask to work an extra hour or two -- where do you read that? i went back and looked and see that your option is to work between 8-39 hr a week -- if it requires permission, i guess i missed it. I can see where it would help in scheduling and TATs though.
As far as the lack of I/N payment now, that's not a plus, BUT you CAN claim it on your taxes along with your books, etc.
It may not be an exciting plan for those who have limited skills and just can do the easy stuff, but for me, it works well enough.
Better than MQ's new plan. sm
You would need to check with their recruiter for what you would make. They have the MQ-type quarterly bonus and shift bonus for night, which allows one to make good money.
TRS pay plan help!!!
I have been working at TRS almost a month now and still cannot undestand the pay scale. I thought I did,but I am lost. I am on a difficult account and I am having trouble making line count. My first pay check is coming up soon, and I need to get another job. Should I hold out, or run for the hills? I hate to jump ship, but I don't want to stay too long if I cannot make any MONEY!!!!!!! thanks
Pay Plan
Well I am one of the MTs who does like the pay plan. I've done quite well on it. I would suggest that you talk to your supervisor and ask for a better explanation of it and be sure you understand it. Once you have a good grasp on it, it's not that tough. Good luck and I hope you stick it out!
The plan is this
IMHO: Hire good typists to transcribe for peanuts; then hire qualified MTs to QA for peanuts.
Ain't globalization fun?
Thank you - I may have a plan now!
Thank you all for your comments...
I am still racking my brain (which is not helping my production by the way)...but I may have just brewed up a plan!!!
Since I was meeting double the LPH requirements, I am just going to slow way down and meet the required production - they require set hours...they are going to get it...they will still get quality work, but I am not going to stick my neck out anymore...
Instead, I am going to focus on the smaller company and pray it turns out good. I will take the extra time from the national and even out the line count I need with the smaller company..and hopefully, it will all fall into place and I will decide the smaller company is my answer...
In the meantime, I am keeping my foot in both doors and looking out for myself for once!!! Staying more and more loyal to the one who actually appreciates me....yup, the smaller company
Thanks!!!
What new plan?
xx
But it isn't quite going according to plan.
I like how you stated that the benefits SHOULD flow into our countries when companies are allowed to compete better. Unfortunately SHOULD and ARE are two different things. So far the only things happening is that the companies are getting huge, billion-dollar tax breaks that are benefitting other countries. The profits that the companies are making are not benefitting the US workers, they are lining the pockets of shareholders and CEOs. They're not creating jobs here and they're not benefitting this country. Whereas, look at India and China and all the news reports of how their economy is growing at an unprecedented rate. This theory can only work if other countries cooperate and the American companies use profits to grow their businesses, instead of lining the pockets of their CEOs.
Having a plan
is always a good idea but no one should have to try to juggle 2 jobs just in hopes of staying employed. I personally think the best strategy would be to find some way to become self-employed. Everyone has some marketable skill or talent, even me. I wouldn't recommend anyone to get into the field of MT as it appears to me with all the changes, offshoring, no work, etc. ect. etc. it is a pretty poor way to make a living. I know that many people swear they are doing great in the business although how is beyond my comprehension. I'm more inclined to believe those who say they spend 24/7 praying for a job to pop up. I know my own income toward the end of my career went way down and I'm one of those who can do anything that is thrown at me. THAT didn't make an iota of difference, I got the same no available work that the majority seem to be getting. I could think of half a dozen ways just off the top of my head that I could start and operate an at-home business outside of MT. No one should have to hold 2 jobs unless they just want to.
Have heard nothing about the pay plan,
SE possible health insurance, or anything else that is being talked about by certain MQ MT's.
I have had the web-based email since "day 1", and did not need 800 DICTATE to set it up for me. It was simple! Just not getting any of the emails that some are speaking of receiving. Get PLENTY from my supervisor. Guess having no problem receiving emails . . . so where are all these other emails I did not get???
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