Unbelieveable!
Posted By: Jumpin Flapjacks! on 2008-10-02
In Reply to: I agree with the above - McFingers
I would lay odds that the company you are talking about is the almighty MQ. It sounds like something they would say.
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unbelieveable
Bonnie didn't miss any points, you heard what you wanted to hear and kept yelling at her wantonly.
Are you all under the impression that there aren't any doctors or hospitals in Barbados (as some of you so ignorantly coined the jungle) and surrounding areas? Could it possibly be that the U.S. is more advanced in their healthcare documentation and people in other countries would like to learn from us so they can institute that in their own countries? Look around your homes and see where your appliances come from, where your computer came from, where your transcriber and headset came from. If those countries weren't kind enough to share technology with us, where would we be?
I have been in this industry for many years now, as an MT, an editor, a trainer, a mentor, even touched on tech support here and there. As such, I have the opportunity to give an objective opinion from all of those standpoints. What I can tell you is you all spend entirely too much time focusing on outsourcing and not enough time focusing on our own country. One of the BIG reasons our U.S. companies outsource is because it is incredibly difficult to find and retain quality U.S. MTs. I can say that with 100% confidence because of the amount of editing I have done over the years. Being an MT myself, I don't like to say these things, but some of the MTs I have seen, especially over the last few years, do not even surpass pathetic. I am often shocked and amazed that the people were hired to begin with, let alone made it through 100% review, but many of these companies have such a great need to deliver work in something close to a timely fashion, and have to take what they can get. As an Editor and trainer, I used to be proud to boast that I never ever recommended anyone for termination or disciplinary action because with cooperative focus and some work, I have been lucky enough to be a part of the development of many MTs' careers, for which I am very grateful, and watched MTs blossom into exemplary transcriptionists, and that is my favorite part of this field. However, the last year or two, there is no chance for some of these folks. There are some people that just don't belong in this field, and I regret to say there is an abundance of them running around.
Something you all fail to mention when you speak of India is how reliable they are. Do they produce low quality reports? Sure, but so can we. But one of the things that really makes them shine is that they show up. These people are so grateful to have work and they work for PENNIES, and still show up every single day and get the reports back to the client. I am not saying that getting low-quality reports back to a client faster than high-quality reports is a good thing, but in cases where our quality doesn't differ so much from theirs, and you would surely be surprised, these facilities are getting their work back fast and they like it. One of my very dear friends has a small operation of her own for the last few years and I actively transcribe for her still, and she was absolutely forced to outsource briefly because of people not showing up and having to terminate U.S. MT's for crap quality. It was either that or have reports sitting for days and days. She, unlike some companies, backs off the outsourcing when she has the appropriate staffing, but regardless, it is not a happy choice for her and not to make a buck. Try for a moment to look at it from the MTSO's perspective. If an MTSO is desperate enough to hire and keep a horrible MT, they are desperate enough to outsource.
Please understand that I am not insinuating in any way, shape, or form that any of you who have posted are not excellent MTs or that you don't show up for work. All I am trying to get across is there are other elements to consider. I have absolutely noticed our production pay scale going down, for both editing and transcribing, and it infuriates me. But because of my experience, I also realize that's largely in part because of the volume of work that requires editing and fixing after transcribing, the amount of training and re-training that is often necessary, the lack of quality U.S. MTs, (and I will certainly admit that part is largely due to the way companies treat and pay them, but that's another post altogether) etc., not just because outsourcing is available.
I am proud to be in this field and like to think that the majority of us are intelligent, kind, and astute people. All I ask is you take just a moment to think before posting hate mail on these boards, try just for a moment to be objective. I stopped coming to these boards because it seems to have become a haven for miserable, bitter people, and that really saddens me, and I don't think it has to be that way.
Wishing you all the very best.
unbelieveable
I cannot believe the only options are to EITHER outsource OR cut the MTs pay. Really, we MTs are not that naive. Is there any CEO, president, or upper level employee who is making 30,000? 40,000? 50,000? a year. Me thinks not. So, why would those people up top not first take a pay cut and truly show us that they feel we MTs are the backbone (the wind beneath their wings - anyone remember this classic comment by a CEO before he sold out?). Right. Not gonna happen. Get us all in an uproar and fearful of outsourcing to India, and gosh, we'll accept more pay cuts, crappy VR, and the line of BS that we should be happy for this wonderful opportunity to still have a job in this terrible economy. Ack. Pardon my sarcasm. Maybe today will be better.
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