Oh, yeah, they hang out around here and respond to some posts even n/m

• Can you imagine the 100s of applicants - Transtech is getting right now?
  • I'm one of those applicants! - Jennifer
  • All I know is.... - nickOFtime
    • Isn't it great to actually ENJOY your job again? - Happy@TT
      • Knowing that the only time work is slow is during - holidays and NOT being offshored
  • I wonder if they check these boards? - TTer
    • Oh, yeah, they hang out around here and respond to some posts even n/m - TT MTer
      • And even threaten you with their lawyers - if too much negative posted about them sm
        • Unless you giving specific details, not - JD
        • That's an absolutely false accusation.! - Newer TT'r
          • Not being hateful, it's true. - sm
            • Ah. Now I remember that. I got on - Newer TT'r
            • That's because there's nothing BAD to say - Not coerced into silence, lol!
      • Probably part of why they get such glowing responses. - wink wink
        • Good responses... - CP
          • Do they leave you alone to work? I personally - sm
            • Yes - CP
              • Plus they don't require you to be on instant - messenger, they don't use it NM
  • LOL - NM

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and I am sorry for being harsh.  I still have my opinion and will stand behind Transcend.  But my apology is to JMO.  He/she was the only civil one, debating more than fighting.  I cannot bring myself to apologize to the other attackers, however, who were just as unruly as myself while hiding their names from the public. 

I do agree with the above poster who said we should just let it go.  We all seem to feel strongly in our opinions but we've hashed it out as much as it should/could be. 

Sorry again.

Tookie Williams

It is hard to adjust to new rules, but you will catch on.  Reading over material/samples provided by the part-time employer is a great way to familiarize yourself with their ways of the trade.  Also, do not argue with QA.  Let it go.  If they let you go because of your QA score, then it was not meant to be.  There are plenty of others who would appreciate your intensity to learn.  Do not beat yourself up about it.  If you have a full-time job, then you know that you are worthy.  Keep trying, you are definitely playing it smart.  Never give up what you have until you find what you want. 

I'd like to address something that's really bothering me as I see it expressed so frequently -- It's what I call THE GRATITUDE TRICK.

First, I am not trying to find fault with what you wrote.  You sound like a fabulous mom and a very dedicated MT.  I really admire you for the sacrifices you've made to accomplish what you have -- and that goes for everyone out there in the MT world who has done the same.  I mean this sincerely.  I am amazed at what some of you have managed to do and how you continue the struggle now.  Hats off to you all!!! 

But I have to question why do MTs have to make such sacrifices in the first place???  It sounds to me like this has been the case for many years now.  If we are the professionals we claim to be, we deserve the same standard of living that any other professional gets to have who works out of their home.  The perks go across the board for everyone who works from home, no matter what profession--gas savings, wardrobe, etc.  We are no different.  This aspect of what our job is worth income-wise is only a small part of the equation.  The difference for us is that we are not fairly compensated for our work as other professionals are for theirs.  THAT is what sets us apart, not the perks.  

I think this is a way the services have used to keep us in submission for years, and it's dirty playing.  I do not feel grateful to my employer to be able to work from home.  My gratitude goes to God for the technology that allows me to do this.  Heck, I'm saving them money in overhead from working from home, buying and maintaining my own equipment and reference materials, paying my own Internet service fee, etc.  No, THEY are making money OFF OF US.  Yes, businesses do that.  They have to earn a profit.  But it is wrong for them to tell us pretty much to go away and be quiet and count our blessings because they are so kind as to let us work from home, thus making us feel that we should be ashamed for wanting to be paid more.  This is nothing but a mind game.  They are using this way of responding to us to shut us up and we're falling for it.  Next, it will be but at least we hired you and didn't send the work to India!  Little by little we are being demeaned by them as they reduce benefits, demand more in production, etc. all the while telling us how lucky we are to be able to work from home and we're falling for it. 

If our profession (and I keep using the word profession because that is what it is) goes down the drain because of technology, etc. then we can't control that.  But let's not help it along by buying into a mindset that says we're not valuable.   Anyone who has the knowledge and skills to do this job well should see their worth reflected in their paychecks, bottom line.  All the other stuff is just icing on the the cake.  

I think we as a body of professionals and as individuals need to have a much greater sense of self-respect, self-worth to begin with.  We are not the cast-offs of the working world!  If you can do this job well, you are no idiot.  And all of us know, this is anything but an easy job.   Many of you have invested most if not all of your working lives doing transcription.  Companies should be grateful to YOU for working for them.  A qualified MT only increases the company's image. 

Now how to become fairly compensated is a whole 'nother can of worms given what we are up against today.  But I think we need to start valuing ourselves more before we expect to be valued by those for whom we work.  This gratitude to our employer trick they use on us has got to be exposed for the dirty trick that it is and it needs to go!! 

I think a lot of our frustration with this profession comes from such mind games.  If you can keep your employees confused, if you can keep them from feeling they have no right to complain, you've got it made as an employer.  They're under your control.  But in the end it weakens employee morale which results in frequent employee turnover which results in loss of production while new people learn the accounts, etc. so it really backfires on them and is a stupid (to put it nicely) way to run a business.   You can run it right into the ground this way.

Even the benefits packages are somewhat of a joke if you can't afford the insurance.  I'm sure the companies have ways to write off those expenses to their own benefit.  That's another trick they use on us.  My dental insurance won't pay the rent.  Pay me a decent enough salary and I'll get my own dental insurance!

If we have any hope of turning our situation around, we need to be able to see the tactics that are being used against us.  Just trying to point out some red flags here as I see them. 

I'm do a different platform/client, but I also hired in this summer, and went through a rough time at first.  I talked to my supe, and after changing my schedule a bit and taking on two secondaries, things have become much better, and there's actually been OT on my accounts for the last few weeks.

Check the backlogs on the community page.  Some accounts regularly have OT approved (its in the little box at the top left, who's approved for OT and for how long).  Maybe you can get trained on some of those.  Are you willing to change your schedule at all?  My accounts consistently have certain heavier days than others, and before I was off during the heavy days.  My supe asked me to shift my schedule and it has made a very positive difference.

number of months . . . very stressful job now.  Part of the stress is due to not being able to pay my bills, and the other stressful part is HORRIBLE dictators left over from all the newbies recently hired (picking good dictators for newbies at first) and the HORRIBLE dictators left over from the speech machine kicking them aside to us.

Regrets . . .

So proud for you for taking a stand for yourself.

I do NOT find your reply rude or condescending.  I only wish I could shrug and deal with it as you apparently have.  Sure, I will give VR a try with it comes to my accounts. I am just dreading it because VR offers none of the things that I enjoy about transcription.  I do not think the humor potential is going to outweigh what I will be losing. 

It's not change, per se, that I resist because I certainly have had a lot of that over the years.  I've had to learn 7 or 8 transcription platforms (one loses count) with the loss in production that always means.  Three of these software changes were within the same company as some *suit* who did not transcribe decided to try out something new.  I have adjusted my schedule every which way to be accommodating.  I put in extra hours often, to help with TAT.  I'm not a total what's-in-it-for-me whiner.  But this is the change that just might do me in, because someone wants to cut my pay, capitalize on my knowledge and experience for less money, and call it progress.  Seriously, other than the chance to keep working, what IS in it for me?

One reason I have resisted offers to go into QA is that I enjoy the actual transcription so much.  Never have tried QA, I just do not feel I would enjoy finding and correcting the errors of others.  Not my thing.  I think VR would be so much worse.

I agree that MDI is a great company and I am glad to have found them after a few (okay, many) real loser companies. They have resisted offshore outsourcing and VR for a long time.  I am just sorry they have had to cave to the prevailing trend on VR.  Their client base expects high-quality work and I am hoping we can still give it to them with this transition.  But if a lot of us *seasoned* MTs choose to bail out, that may not happen.