Trying to figure out this no work issue
Posted By: Still with MDI for now on 2009-09-08
In Reply to:
What I'm about to say may be unpopular, but I feel I have to say it - hopefully it will be taken as encouragement for those who stay at MDI, or by MTs in general. I have not experienced this No Work Thing to the extent everyone seems to be at MDI. Of course I have seen accounts get slower and to a screeching halt of nothing. But, I get all of the lines I need every pay period because I have cross-trained on numerous accounts. The way MDI cross trains now, after you train on the account, you have to do a few reports on that new account for some 30 days so that you actually learn it. Now, I know this smacks of the MQ cesspool, but it is nothing like it, actually. MDI accounts are, for the most part, really good. Yes, when work is slow, switching accounts with different requirements, some totally opposite, is never easy and my productivity decreases. But, the point is, I am working and getting lines in, even if it takes me longer time in the day, during the famine that is the nature of the beast for the 25 yrs I have been MT-ing. Anyway, from my experience, 2 or 3 accounts is NOT enough. Go for more if you truly want to have work all of the time. I have not once not got my lines in and I do not EVER sit waiting for work to trickle in, and cross training is the only way I have found that this can be accomplished. This is a strategy I chose long ago that protects ME and enables me to get the lines I need. And, to top it off, MDI and all places I've ever worked value having MTs cross trained. I have never been turned down on requesting to cross train, but I do realize some of you have. That one, I can't respond to other than keep asking, as that is what C and D encourage us to do.
Just fyi...
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Lots of work here too. I cannot figure out which accounts have no work.
I'm on the Escription platform
Lots of work - I have NEVER had this issue
x
Looks like they require everyone to work Saturday also. Not an issue for me but maybe for some.
Work schedules:
Full time: 1) Tuesday - Saturday
2) Monday-Thursday, and Saturday
Part time: To be determined but must include Friday or Saturday
As you can see from the above schedules, the transcription work increases at the end of each week.
Monday is our slowest day, and Friday and Saturday are our busiest days.
My hospital is swamped also - too much work! Can't figure out these companies either. nm
x
I didin't specifically address the no work issue....sm
but I do agree with you that it is impossible to make a living when there is no work available. Perhaps it is anticipatory hiring, as you stated, or perhaps it is the normal ebb and flow of MT work, i.e., no work around holidays, etc. Whatever the reason, and I am not saying you are being unreasonable, we MTs know that this is sometimes the case with some of the companies. This is a feast or famine profession and we must make hay while the sun shines and anticipate the slow periods such as holidays and summer vacations. If a company truly has overhired, though, there is not much we can do about it unfortunately.
How do you figure work on your shift is YOUR work . sm
The MTs working on your shift are instructed or given the green light to do so because there was no/low work on their own scheduled shift. But you don't want to work outside of your shift to make up lines, while they do -- even though no one should have to -- and I DO blame the MTSOs for overhiring to set themselves up nicely, have extra MTs in their back pockets in case of extra work -- at our expense. But it is unfair to blame an MT to work on what you consider your schedule. I have had to do this many times when my own schedule was no/low work and I have had it done to work on my shift.
I know how to figure it,
how do you qualify for it? The account I work on never offers that, the most they offer is an additional 0.05 per line when they are behind.
Let's figure this out. sm
I am currently working for 10.5 cents per line, equipment furnished, and I get two weeks PTO per year, plus health insurance for $21.00 a payday and that insurance includes health/dental/vision/life, and direct deposit. Compare that to FN, no insurance, no bennies, no direct deposit and, at most, 10 cents per line. There are several small MTSOs out there who provide benefits and pay as I am describing here. Why in the world would you work for a company who provides no benefits at all, not even direct deposit, for 10 cents a line? I just don't get it.
I don't think anybody has been able to figure that out yet
You'll find a few people posting that it didn't affect their line count, but the majority of posters did lose big going to the platform.
Nothing to figure out, really. sm
They no longer pay for demographic info, headers (client letterhead), footers (signature line and DD/DT block/initials), CCs, etc. Add that all up times each page and that is a lot of lost lines, possibly hundreds of lines per day.
That is so odd to me. I have never had an issue
making the line count and there has always been an overabundance of work since I've been there and they even ask regularly for us to work more if possible because there's so much work, and I don't work on C-phone accounts at all.
GO FIGURE!!! That is what is
what is wrong with our society, no one wants responsibility for there own actions. If you screwed up, and I know for a fact that some of you were not doing your work, because i am the MT that turned you in, then take responsibilty for your screw up. Quit blaming everyone at Shapin for your laziness. And now that your gone, I have your job and I absolutely love it. So I guess I owe you a thank you.
she had an issue with ...sm
anyone who had a brain because she was intimidated by truth and intelligence. She is driving that company into the ground. I feel bad for the blind eyes of the owner. That was a great company in its day, now all I see is a company that is going to sell or go belly up.
Not sure how you figure that one
Never heard this one before - trying to convert minutes to lines!
.9/line is not a bad rate, depending of course on the specifics of the work (type, difficulty of dictators, TAT, etc.
200 minutes could actually be very few lines if the dictator is a pauser... or a lot of work if they dictate like Robin Williams talks...
Ask for more details.
Do you have some issue?
Or do you just like to jab at anybody who has something positive to say?
I don't get it.
How do you figure your cpl?
How do you figure your cpl for editing? I don't get it.
D&L - go figure
Poor them, to hear them tell it, every body is lying on them and telling stories. I do not understand how they have Transcriptionist working for them. I have not heard a one that has gotten a check on time and one that they know will clear. Living from paycheck to paycheck and fearing a bounced check would scare me off for sure. Yes they have client's - they do not know what is going on - but I say let the owners type the reports, for sure the clients would not last a week with her skills. Everybody complains, but they remain there - can I just ask why - i would rather work for less than work and worry about a check.
here's the way I figure it
Okay, so 45 minutes of dictation equal 2700 seconds, say 1 hour per 1000-1200 seconds on average typing between 150 to 200 lph, counting referencing time and proofing time, I would say about 2-2-1/2 hours average of actual transcribing time.
If I may, what is the issue
with the pay? Are they not standard paydays?
It would seem that if you can't figure sm
out correctly how to calculate $25 an hour, you're not going to be able to reach that. 
I think the issue is
that what started as a simple inquiry as to whether or not other people were also out of work quickly turned to bashing the company and personal bashing of management personnel. From what I gathered, half of the people doing the bashing were never employees. I honestly feel for the OP as I went 4 months making $25 a week if I was lucky at the end of my time with MQ (that was the longest holiday slow down in history). However, I have not had the same experience at MDI and actually am lucky enough to have an abundance of work at the moment. I don't know how Carlotta found out about the comments on here, nor do I care. I would imagine that since it is a public forum she may have run across it herself without an MT blabbing. I believe Carlotta's response was generally saying the issues/slamming in the subsequent posts were things that should be discussed with her, the liasons, and/or Dorothy.
how do you figure that? If i'm doing less
the company makes less off of me as well.
Cheating out of money would more likely come from charging the client by the line and paying the Transcriptionist per report, among other ways.
Hon, if you can't figure out how to
do that, you need to work on your computer skills - LOL.
QA issue
I went full through full QA and was released with above 99%. Additionally, I asked my QA for help regularly for help on some difficult dictators (for the future) and she always commented how throrough I was.
That was before the company changed hands, however, and all QA personnel changed.
I figure...
...NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS! I would assume that I am doing such a good job that they have no reason to contact me.
how do you figure that?
Just curious
what I can't figure out is why any sm
interviewer/supervisor/owner or whatever would even tell that story to an employee much less a new-hire. I sometimes wonder if folks just do that to make themselves sound important. Personally I could not care less what goes on with other employees. I do my work, do it well and expect a paycheck. If that doesn't happen, then I am outta there.
you can figure that one out. Just figure sm
out what you make working at home and the number of hours your put in to make it. Compare that with the hourly wage in a facility. Most facilities still pay hourly and some have incentive plans.
pay issue
My pay has actually went up, not because of the VR necessarily, but because of DH getting laid off, and the need to work harder, not just meet line requirements (which was my goal prior to lay off). That is the reason I worked so hard at learning VR. I didn't want to starve (starvation is great motivator)
I figure around
30-35% for all taxes.. For myself, I figure I'm saving gas, clothes, time, and car repairs by being an IC at home.
Well, I'm sure you'll get over your issue with me
and you should stop adding the fuel, I think you are enjoying yourself 
don't fret over the OT issue yet
You may find that OT is offered (and sometimes begged for) more often than you think. If you keep a good line of open communication going with your PS, then I really don't think you'll be as bad off as you are projecting.
Something else, too, is that it's always good if you need >40 hours to have a part time company to supplement.
Trying to figure out why you would come here with those problems.
nm
This is not an EXText issue (SM)
It is a company issue. Not all companies that use EXText deduct 30% of your line count. There are several companies that use EXText. Don't get in a panic! Find out what the company's policy is on headers and footers, what they pay for, what they don't etc.
I can figure out the percentage, but...
How does one go about figuring their estimated tax?
According to what I've read on the IRS site, we have to pay estimated taxes. Well, great. I can estimate my income at what I'm making now, just starting out, but I don't see my income staying this low, so I would eventually be underpaying. I could estimate it at a higher amount, but what if I don't make as much as I think or hope I will? I can see where getting a refund is a good thing, but I'm more worried about underpaying.
Do you pay the tax on what you've ACTUALLY made in a quarter (it kind of sounds like it) or do you go about estimating your income, say you figure you'll make $20k a year, and put 25% of that away?
Confused.
Just figure out average of how much (sm)
you have made per hour for the last, say 24 weeks. If you consistently make under $15, I'd go for the salary. If I was over most of the time, I'd go for production. Figure out what would be a fair amount of time to go back. Good luck.
Yes, I contacted HR, this is not an issue
with my paperwork. It is that they have not sent my contributions to MetLife - not one cent all year, and I am having 10% withheld. That is a lot of money the company has been using. Almost seems like stealing, doesn't it?
You WHAT???? That's your paycheck. You should figure it out on your own. sm
Do they hold your hand all day too?
Figure this, if you did 300 lph, it would be a whopping
300 x 1.5 equals $4.50, less than minimum wage and many times when you have Filipino MTs as well as offshore MTs, everything is 100% listen so it might be difficult to get more than 300 lines an hour, but let's say you could do 400 lines an hour, that is 3200 lines a day, that would be a whopping $47
QA editors are specialists in our field and this stinks to say the least
easy way to figure
An easy way to figure would be to type a document and count it with spaces and then without -- even use MS Word -- and that will tell you the difference. Even if your line count program sounds double for caps, underlines, bold, this will at least tell you the difference between the two.
I don't think the comma is the issue.
Looking at other people's work is a violation and perhaps, just perhaps, the attitude is more the problem that was being brought up. I QA all day as well and I am appalled at the lack of care taken with records and have to agree with the MTSO above. To do this dance properly, you have to understand the steps. I live in fear of becoming ill and ever having the opportunity to see my chart and read what it contains. I will take 1,000 lines of good clean work over 2,00 lines per day of typing for dollars transcription any day. I do not think that you should be made to feel like you do not know anything .. but I do think that there is a responsibility to point out errors and expect compliance.
The quality only became an issue when
the offshoring began. I don't understand why they wouldn't QA 100% of the work knowing there were quality issues.
I know we're not the only MTs to go through this, but many of us have a long history with QT and unless you've been on the inside you don't truly understand all the emotions we're going through. I feel like my best friend has just stabbed me in the back.
Your attitude is exactly what I have an issue with...
Healthcare should be about humanity, in my opinion. It should not be a business.
The only thing QA is for, is a place to go in between management for MTs to make more money.
You are making the salaries MTs used to make.
If I am burned out, it is from your kind of attitude that it is happening everywhere and we just have to deal with it.
I know better, I know I am a worthwhile human being and not just a grunt for some corporation who makes millions off my hard work, and then expects me (as you echo) to just shut up and type, and be ever so thankful I have a job.
You sound burned out to me. You sound like you do not care a bit about humanity or people. You are only interested in yourself, and you found a way to make more money rather than just do MT.
Some day the trend will change, and people will matter again. Your little digs to me do not bother me. It only shows your character.
Speed is a big issue
10 cpl is more than I make, but I'm pretty fast. My base rate is 7.5 to 8 cpl depending on which of my 2 accounts I'm on, but since I do enough lines daily to qualify for bonus, I acutally make 9 to 9.5 cpl per line. I average about 1500 lines per day. Production is what drives pay, so that's why I'm making what I do. I think it's unfortunate that years of experience isn't really compensated in this business, but years of experience doesn't always equal what the employer wants, which is speed and low error rate. Everyone brings a different set of skills to the job. In the end it's what you produce and not how many years you have behind you that the employer cares about. Fair or not, that's the nature of this business.
What do you mean by a spacing issue? (sm)
Why would you use the ShortHand for your normals? It is so very slow playing out, wouldn't you be better off to use the built-in ESP? I have Shorthand in my computer, but am gradually changing everything over to ESP and it has helped my count greatly. You can put your normals in the ESP (at least on my account you can) and it is so much faster than the SH. 
Well, I think you are right and it is strange that no one can figure it out. I am also considering
not working for anymore companies that use it. I think I lose about 75 lph at least. That adds up especially at todays rates or MTs.
and I'm not saying this is your issue, but I know personally
my company will make things not so nice for an MT hoping they'll quit rather than firing them. If quality continues to be poor, not meeting TAT, etc., then there may not be enough work, only the horrible dictators, etc. If things are slow and you are a new hire maybe the old-timers are getting the work. If a new account went VR that might also explain the work load too. If you are otherwise happy at KS I'd call and be firm in that you need more work.
I feel like companies should offer some explanation if work is low. I know they can't give you what they don't have, but if you are a FT MT, there is a reason you are and you have obligations to meet and it isn't fair that they can't provide the work you need and not give you some feedback.
Six figure income??? sm
Billers and Coders post says six figure income......yea, right!!! Same post several times.......looks suspicious to me. Maybe if you owned the company, you could get six figures....
lol It's a punctuation issue!
MTs ... plural ...more than one
MT's ... possessive ... something belonging to one MT
MTs' ... plural possessive ... something belonging to more than one MT
You're too funny with your holier than thou crap! LOL
They really need to address this issue because
they will find all the good MTs bailing out. This has gone on long enough, they enabled ctrl I, but that is not the real issue. If they want to keep us, they better come straight. I think many are on the verge of leaving, I know that goes for me and I've been with them well before they signed on all these new accounts.
Then she can intellectually figure out how to
do it herself! Sorry, but it does not work that way. Its the expansion system of MQ, not her intellectual property! Nice try, though. LOL
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