Oh my. I just don't think you are very informed about IRS stuff.
Posted By: darlene on 2009-07-05
In Reply to: are we sheep or lamb? - just because they can or DO?
Let's say the standard deduction for your state is $5000. This means in order to claim deductions you need to come up with more than $5000 business deductions to take those deductions. Say you have DSL costs of roughly $273 a year. Do you think the average IC MT has that much to claim. If not, you swallow that $273 for DSL.
If you have your own small beans dictators and say you still have to pickup and deliver you have mileage to claim,maybe some ink and paper costs, but most other stuff like equipment has long ago been prorated or taken in lump sum.
I provide and I am sure many/most IC MTs provide most everything the standard stuff. (other than paying to use their software).
I still don't feel you are much informed, you think so, but not so. I can tell. I had my own small beans for about 20 years, did my own IRS stuff too.
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Informed MQ MT
Sorry, I pitched it out since it was the same as the email. Fromwhat I can remember, it was from Frank...telling us that they would be "informing" us of the new pay plan, etc that all the upper crust have worked so hard on "after" getting so much MT input.
Bottom line though, IMO, it was more to do about document preservation for the attorneys on all the legal issues...even had a note from the atty's on what is/is not important.
The snail mail came from corporate and again, I just got mine Saturday..so maybe yours will be there this week
Be Informed
The pros so far for me as an IC are setting my own schedule and no set times I have to work, just getting my lines in for the day
Please make sure what *YOU* think IC means is also what your service means. For many services it means- I can make you work like I need you to but don't have to incur headache or expense of withdrawing and submitting taxes.
If you are a TRUE IC, you go out and get your own CLIENTS, and make up your own schedule, etc. When you are working for an MT service you are NOT an IC. You're a statutory employee and still don't get to name your own hours apparently. Please see my post above.
Has anyone been informed of a pay cut in their MQ packet? nm
nm
Informed decisions
You're looking before you even get your info clear? Interesting.
The changes take place Jan 1. Your paperwork has to be submitted by 12/1.
The "firm" schedule is actually MUCH more flexible than any I've ever seen with MQ as you're looking at choosing from 24 hours in 7 days.
Count me in as one who would like to be informed! Thanks. nm
s
It took 3 weeks to get an ID, but they kept me informed. sm
I agree with the other poster. You should call or email.
The employee should be informed (sm)
it is overflow and not be told there would be plenty of work. Can't pay bills some weeks and not others. Work being offshored takes away from US line counts any way you slice it. No thanks.
After just being informed by Embarq that I was using my (sm)
unlimited long distance too much (they knew why I needed it when I signed up for it), I just called my digital provider and had it installed on my second line which will save me about $50 a month. And they said there were no restrictions!
Your "take" is ill-informed
MDI has never sent work to India, never will. It is an AMERICAN company that respects its AMERICAN workers.
Work has gone bye-bye since they informed us we ...sm
needed to be doing speech editing as part of our daily routine. I said fine to that but have heard nothing about it since. I never have work the last day of the pay period and end up being a few hours short and a couple hundred lines short for what is required for full-time and then accrue no time off during that pay period because of that 1 day. I gave my notice yesterday because I am not going to be jerked around anymore and go broke while they sit there and send out emails we must do speech editing and then cut my work load in half. I got a job at a local clinic part-time making the same amount at TT full-time!
Make informed decisions
I had worked for TransHealth and they did pay for the spaces/headers but I would advise to seek other opportunities. They kept changing mgmt staff and you did not know who was coming or going. A lot of ESL dictation; no incentive whatsoever working wknds or shift differential. They will pay you 10 cpl if you are willing to sacrifice every weekend. Also you might get condescending emails from couple of the QA staff and when there is a huge backlog they send their "panic" emails but when there is no work, you don't hear a peep out of them.
Not informed Professional MT Recruiting Service
As a student in a business law class and working on my AA in business administration, I can tell you this strange poster by Professional MT Recruiting Services is not well informed and smells of a troublemaker. Recently my law professor and another professor who is also a vice- president of a bank and deals with employees both discussed this topic a few months back. The current temperament and laws in most state make it very, very difficult for a former employer to say anything bad about a former employee because it makes that former employer open to big law suits. One would have to have committed a serious crime such as major theft from a company, and been convicted for a former employer to say anything negative about a former employee. In fact, both professors tell us that it is not worth the time or trouble to say negative things about a former employee for fear of law suits. Our law professor is a practicing attorney and a CPA who runs his own business, and if he is telling us he would not take the chance of saying something bad about a former employee who was less than an idea candidate, I am going to go with their expert advice. Both professors tell us it is better to be neutral and keep law suits at bay.
Diskriter off off offshores - and on some hospital accounts - they have not informed the hospital
x
stuff
you have to purchase about $1200 worth of their "proprietary" stuff.
What to do to get rid of that stuff:
Copy the URL address of the offending post then click CONTACT (on the bar on the right) and fill in the Admin email form. In the box, type what the problem is (cussing, vulgar language, blah, blah) and paste that URL. Ask them to remove it.
It's the cussing and vulgar stuff they want out of here.
Why do we put up with this stuff?
No paid holidays, and the list goes on. It feels like we should be '"greatful" that we get any PTO at all. Who are they kidding? Who do you know who works at home all the time, never done, and the beat goes on. I used to worry about voice recognition, now I think the best thing that could happen to me would be to have to find a "real" job, real bennies, real security (or reasonable facsimile), real paycheck, real time off, real paid holidays, real sick time, etc. We do way too much for way too little. I feel like the time I get at home because I work at home is not enough to pay back the every weekend, pressure, pressure, pressure, always behind, never type enough hassles. What pay is worth all that? Let's be reasonable, maybe 60K a year but I make half of that in a good year. And the more they tie me to the chair the slower I will be. So on it goes.....time to get real...
I have seen some really BAD stuff done by them yet they keep on going.
nm.
Most MTs already have this stuff except for maybe - sm
the C-phone which you can pick up for less than $200 on ebay. Also you can write off all these costs against your income and save a little in taxes which is better than nothing.
and T/U for doing the other stuff!
x
Bad Stuff?
Could it be that she was given multiple opportunities to improve her line counts?
I know for a fact that they will bend over backwards to help their employees and give them an ample amount of time to reach productivity standards. Yeah, giving someone 3 years is a bit much!!!
Why does one consider Axolotl a bad company because they require their MTs to produce 1200 lines during their shift, which is what is agreed upon at the time of interview and when the MT signs the employment offer letter? Because the MT does not hold up their end of the agreement, Axolotl is a bad company for not keeping them?
Again, if MTs want a job where they do not have to stick to a schedule and have a daily minimum that they have to produce, they need to go to a company and work IC. Axolotl is not the place for them.
If MTs want a job with awesome pay, great benefits, great editors, great platform and lots of work, then Axolotl might be for you. If the MT cannot type 1200 lines in a shift or maintain quality, it will not be a job for them. But I think this has been stated before in a lot of postings.
No bad stuff here
I really don't have anything bad to say about Transcend. they have been a great company for me, very flexible. In fact, any other company would probably not be as flexible as they have been. If you are struggling, they will work with you. They may outsource some work, but they are definitely not India. They are based out of Georgia. All of the team leads and managers are right here in the United States. IMO, one of the best and fairest transcription companies around.
I went through the same stuff
when training for Documed for a few days. they expected me to be 100% perfect on the first day with a 80%+ account. I was told to not do any more reports at this time. A week later no word, and I emailed back. ****, who is a real smart-aleck, emailed back and said we can't continue at this time. Well thanks for finally telling me, coward. Companies are real jerks sometimes when it comes to letting employees go. 
stuff
No HR department that I knew of. It's a husband/wife team, plus a couple lead supervisor/QA people, and a couple of other QA people. Husband rounds up clients, etc. Wife does initial interview. Lead supervisor trains for account specs. They use more than one platform, but the web-based one they pay a couple cents per line to that company to do the templates, etc.
They are really not worth all the hassle to try to get this resolved. I think this MT has already wasted more than enough time to account for the cost of the foot pedal or anything else. Call it even already.
I have not written any of this stuff
The secret to becoming a favorite at OSi will never be made publicly known, as there are plenty of people who consistently get at least 98%, 99%, or even 100% on audits, and are they rewarded for it? No. They aren't even told what they get because apparently their superiors would feel obligated to reward them. They just keep plugging away making the people "who hear it from the physician" look good while some of the QA team needs to be replaced for their holier-than-thou attitudes and their capacity to make crucial mistakes as well. The only way to grow and succeed with this company is not by being a model employee by being reliable and doing near perfect work without complaining - it is all in the hands of the powers that be, and what they look for, I sure as heck don't know, nor does anyone else not in the inner circle, 98% accurate or not. Why anyone would want to run a company this way is beyond me. Why not take the best assets you have - your employees - and use them to help your company grow, instead of playing these stupid games and giving people promotions simply because they have found a way to nudge into your circle? That is how companies succeed.
And to think, they get all of their stuff from CHINA!
whoa!
Same old stuff, same phrases. SM
Must be great to be able to blame the world for everything. You are a very angry person, you need to be on meds or something.
Yes, exactly. The picky nothing stuff
I have been reviewed now for 5 months; been in the "Exceeds Standards" percentage; and that is ridiculous anyway, 98-100%, etc.
I have been an MT for 25 years. Why am I being graded. We obviously do not know what we are doing. I thought I finished grade school along time ago.
If you would see how they do the QA and the nit picking stuff they take off for anyone would know
that they are going to do everything they can to make sure you dont meet that 98%.
weekends and stuff
Actually, when you get your little chart to fill in (24 hours, 7 days) it clearly has marked the hours where there is a shift differential. You could choose to work ONLY during those hours if you want. There will still be incentives and bonuses. The bottom line is, the jobs will still need transcribed and SOMEONE has to do it.
If you will notice, if you ignored the MQ stuff, there is nothing else other than that here.
x
Biotech stuff too, I think
nm
Most of their stuff goes to India (nm)
x
anyone can make that stuff up
...........
if that;s the stuff you want, DONT' GO THERE!
x
I found some stuff, but nothing really about -sm
their flexibility. I may leave an IC job to become an employee and I am really worried about it, not sure that I can do this with 1 child still at home (3-year-old boy). I know there is a BIG difference between IC and employee status. I just don't want to stress myself out too much on a day-to-day basis. By the way, I'm not the OP. I think I will pass though. Flexibility is extremely important to me, at least until my youngest goes to Kindergarten.
psych stuff
Does anyone know of any company hiring that does a lot of psych work? I have been specializing in psych the past two years and like it but need to make a change. Any ideas where to look? Thanks much for any help.
SICK of this stuff
About TransTech! They are the finest people in the business. They would never do anything in a suspicious or ill mannered method involving line counting or anything else! One might suggest if you work more and post less you would see a better line count. It takes time to build up to a good line count, i.e. becoming familiar with the facility, with the authors, with the work types, building your word expander, and working diligently towards obtaining your goals, doing what it takes to achieve the line count goals you set for yourself, turning every stone in effort to achieve those goals before suggesting the line counts are not correct. If the ESL are difficult, look at samples, invest in becoming more familiar with their way of speaking English. As far as EXTText for Word Client/Transnet/Dictaphone, I love the software. Again from time to time, there may be issues, but for the most part, the software if very geared to good production for the MT. I hope that all who read the posts about Transtech will be mature enough to make your decision by your own experience and not the experience of others. I have been with TransTech for 4 years, and I am not saying everything is wonderful, we have our ups and downs which are almost always me and not them........but in all honesty they are the finest company with the best group of people I have ever worked with and for! Thank you for reading my 2 cents on the line count saga!
There is a lot of stuff in the archives but
nothing good. They are an Indian company with just a store front in the US.
Just get all your stuff organized while
you wait to get set up. I like to have a ring binder to keep all the account specifics and company phone numbers in, etc. Use tab sheets and label them. If they send me a list of dictators, I print it out and tab that alphabetically too. It's just quicker for me and I can write in notes, like, sounds like Phillips, see Filipp or whatever. Plus new ones. Look on line for address lookups for the state of the account or accounts you get (whenever you find out). I use the State of __ Board of Medical Examiners' sites.
There was some talk here about that when the OSI stuff was
s
Do they ACTUALLY still send that stuff out ? sm
My goodness, I had a total of 9 full binders that I sent back when I quit. Two huge boxes with equipment, supplies, paper, binders,a total of over 250 pounds that I sent back. I felt like a big weight was off my shoulders when I left there and had no more QA issues with anyone.
SPi Managers Mtg and Stuff
OldTimer, are you a current SPi employee? Maybe you are and you have some inside information I don't have, or maybe you are a past employee with a grudge, it's hard to say. Your information doesn't seem current. I am a current employee. The managers did have a quarterly account manager's meeting in Nashville. I don't know who your AM is, but I have a great one and I trust that she discussed with the other AMs with regard to line counts and work availability, etc. I do know that it is not as you said at all, there is not a condition whereby only a few MTs are trying to do the work for a whole bunch. There are plenty of MTs who have worked for SPi who are not going anywhere in spite of the fact that things were slow getting back to normal after the holidays. Things will pick up. We are all sure of that, this is a big company with new accounts on the horizon. I am not going anywhere, I love my account, my account manager, and will work through the recent changes. No matter where you go, there is always going to be changes. You just have to ride them out.
Did you read the stuff that came up? SM
I didnt think there was enough info for what I was looking for. Maybe its just me.
I heard really bad stuff about SS nm
nm
I have 15 years in this stuff and sm
when I started, I made 6 cpl. After 3 years' experience, I made 9 cpl. It is 10 years ago that I made that 9 cents and today, with LOADS of verifiable experience I make 8.5 cpl at one job and 10 cpl at the other.
The difference is that at the 8.5 cpl line I have insurance and incentives. I usually make 9.5 there and have benefits. It does sometimes irk me that I am making less per line (base anyway) than 10 years ago, but that it is not a fair comparison. For one thing, 10 years ago I could do 125 lph and I am about 3 times that now thanks to my expander. I don't feel I work harder or longer, quite the contrary.
I have 3 platforms I LOVE and if I were offered 8 cpl on one of them, I'd probably take it because I know what I can do with them. The rest...I would not take 10 cpl to work on them because I can't manage a decent line count.
My 10 cpl is on an account that is 80% ESLs and a very tough account. The other is only about 20% ESLs and in Extext where I can make the big bucks. It is too bad I can't get more with all my experience, but that is life. I try to make the most of what is in front of me.
I just did tell you all the "bad stuff." If it's not enough, then
go ahead and work for them. The American MTs get the crap dictation for one. They just out of the blue fired a bunch of people, for no apparent reason.
I'm sorry but there are a bunch of companies out there that you could work for who do not offshore. If your skill level will only allow you to work for companies such as Focus, then you're not EVER going to make any money as an MT.
This isn't just about you needing work. It's about all American MTs needing work and a decent wage and not getting it because companies like Focus offshore! When MTs like you settle and take jobs with companies that offshore, you are hurting us all.
Yes, but that administrative stuff
There are calls made to me regarding fixing patient information that was incorrectly put on the patient sheet and incorrectly dictated. So, their mistake, but it takes time from me. I do have my own clients, and believe me it is more work. I don't like to work for free, so therefore, I set up fee schedules ahead of time. I charge $2.00 to fax a note that I've already dropped off and they've lost. It didn't take them long before they no longer were calling me to fax a note. Believe me, I think they got talked to.
Also, be ready when the office staff is hating on you because they are jealous you get to work from home. Be ready to hang out and be nice when they call with all their problems.
To anyone who thinks having your own accounts is just fun in the sun is wrongoooo! It takes work. It's all work, no matter what. And I don't work for free and neither do the doctors. 
I see the same stuff as the rest of you sm
I do have an MT who has a tenuous grasp on plain English grammar and punctuation. If I see 2-days time rather than 2 days' time one MORE TIME I think I will scream! I have sent loads of feedback and on about every thing else, she has seemed to listen, but this one thing...
Then you have the really good MTs whose work is outstanding, but they are the kind who won't show up every day.
I am still MTing quite a bit and have a reputation as being very fast and very accurate, but I doubt myself on both those things. I don't read my work all the time and I still have raves on audits. I attribute that to skill and to the fact that I CARE about my work. Why are there so few of us?
QA has taught me many things about the level of my skills and for that, I grateful. I wish I could be a better teacher as a QA person and help others get to where I am.
I wish we had no work. I am STILL doing stuff
x
Yep, bad stuff is sometimes good
and good stuff is sometimes bad. A couple of times I've really wished for things that eventually came true and they were definitely NOT in my best interests in the long run. (Thinking of one guy in particular.) It's hard to be philosophical when you miss out on something you felt you wanted or needed, but time often proves this was the best thing. Wish the best for you.
Landmark stuff
I never had an FOB to return to the company. I never returned their foot pedal. They never asked for it. Of course, maybe I actually paid for it (?). In any event, if you've received all compensation for work (or did you never get set up and never actually worked, I forget?), then keep the stupid foot pedal for all the aggravation. You might need it one day for another job. Then, I would ignore them. You'll save yourself a lot of time and stress. Good luck!
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