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Is man at the top of the food chain? Thought it was the lion.

Posted By: Man could survive as a vegetarian on 2005-09-28
In Reply to: the natural order in the would does not - include mankind?huh??

Unlike carnivorous (sp)


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I would go to someone higher on the food chain. SM

Here's the thing, you are a business providing them a service.  You don't have to care or hear about their personal issues that keep you from getting paid.  They need to do their jobs.  So if the person who usually cuts the checks is out because she just got married and the person who is now cutting the checks is not reliable, not your problem!  You should go to someone above them and say "listen this is business and I want to be paid!"  I wouldn't type a keystroke until they pay you what you are owed.


Then from this point on, I would let them know in no uncertain terms that you expect to be paid within say 5 business days of receipt of your invoice, or you will charge them a late fee.  Type it on your invoice.


It's tempting to be friends with the office staff and to treat them like friends instead of customers or clients and cut them slack and feel sorry for them when they tell their sad stories, but in the business world a person's personal crap doesn't matter.  Business is business!  You have bills, kids, etc.  You provided a service and you need to be paid on time!  Your paycheck should not depend upon Susie Q's wedding or boyfriend problems or anything else.  Susie Q should be doing her job period!


 


Thanks for the food for thought

It helps to hear all of the good and bad.


Right now it comes down to $$$ for me.  I need more money and I want to keep my work life apart from my home life at this point.  Every time I walk by my computer I feel like I should log on and I hate that feeling. I feel like I should log on because I really do need more money, but at this point, I can see myself burning out from living a life that way.  I need more life in my life and I like the idea of working 8 hours and being done.  I also like the idea of being paid for holidays. Where I work now we don't get paid for holidays, you can use your vacation time when you take the holiday off, but the company does not pay for your holiday.  You get many sick days also, although, of course, you hopefully don't need them!  The insurance is really good, and we need that as we are no spring chickens.  The deductable at my present employer is outrageously high, more than we spend all year at a physician, so we don't participate in their insurance program.  On the other hand,  we don't have young kids at home anymore and that makes a big difference.  When I first went home to work it was a blessing to be able to be there for them when they got home from school, etc., or to be home if they were sick.  At this point, I want to be able to make enough to continue to put money away for our retirement and I find I can't really do that working at home for a national--I use the money that I make to pay the bills and there isn't much left for investments, etc.


food for thought...
I had a client like this. I didn't have a vacation for 9 years, and that includes national holidays and many weekends, because they'd dump a pile of dictation on me precisely at those times and then take off and have fun.

I mentioned I was going to be hiring a subcontractor, and they hit the ceiling. They didn't trust anyone else to do the work for me, and claimed I was going to be in violation of privacy of info (this was pre HIPAA). They threw every reason in the book at me.

I finally said, "well, this is my medical transcription business. I have the right to hire competent people to improve my level of service to you and my ability to have a balanced life as well, which will ultimately make me even more productive. If you don't find that acceptable, then maybe we aren't a good fit for each other."

The relationship didn't last a lot longer.

No love lost.

Now, I also had a client that was quite nice, understood I needed time off, and was more than willing to work with me.

Both kinds do exist, though it seems the former is far more common. Why? Well, ostensibly they can get away with it. Think about THAT! ;-) I mean that in a kind way... don't let these people boss you around, and don't let them think they can treat MTs this way.

Yes, the work needs done. Definitely. But you've attempted to be more than reasonable in finding another person to help, and they recoiled. It's on them, not on you. They're unreasonable. Plain and simple.

I know it's hard to let go of a client, but sometimes these crappy situations, when we feel like sweatshop workers, are a swift kick that we sorely need to find a better path.

I myself am leaving the business, but if you choose to stay, I hope you can find a viable solution and more reasonable clientele. I'm sorry you are going through this. But let it motivate you to do something good for all involved. :-)

Good luck. And don't let anyone tell you that you don't deserve to be good to yourself.
Food for Thought

I have worked 2 jobs for many years now.  My full-time job is with one of the nationals.  My second job is for a local specialist's office.  It is the second job that I want to talk about.


I have worked for these 3 physicians for 14 years now.  I started out typing from tapes and bringing in the work daily on "sticky back" paper.  We have progressed over the last year to having the work put on the internet and having the office staff download the work each day.  It is working very well for all of us.


I am paid a very generous hourly wage.  I am on the company's payroll.  I get benefits, such as paid holidays, AFLAC, sick days, bonuses, personal days, etc.  I am quite satisfied with the arrangement.


My thought is, can we somehow appeal to our local providers to once again give the work to those of us who work at home as employees rather than farming out work to the big nationals?  This would eliminate the middle man and our wages would hopefully once again go up. 


I am most interested in others' opinions.  Are you happy working for a big MTSO, or would you prefer working, once again, as an at-home employee for a local company.  If so, can we somehow solicit this work back where it used to be?  I have been doing this for 25 years now, and I remember when most local health care providers did have their own employees,either in house or at home, doing their transcription.  Guess all the recent discussions on this board have got me to thinking how I (we) can improve out current situation!


Thanks in advance for any replies I may receive on this post.


Food for thought
The "all-in-one" offers sound like a great savings, BUT...

If you're like many folks who don't have a large financial cushion, and you have to put off a bill or two now and again, remember that you'll lose phone, TV, internet, and cell phone all in one fell swoop! If you keep them separate, at least you can keep your phone line if you have to let your TV go.
Food for thought

Here is a link discussing noncompete clause enforcement in California.  Depending on what state you are in and if it imposes unreasonable restrictions on your income a court of law might find it void and enforceable.  I doubt it would get that far anyway.  What does contract say about notice to quit?  What state are you in? What state is company in?  Have you told them you are unhappy?  Ask them how much notice they need.  A lot of times these services make up their own contracts and sprinkle in a few clauses that sound good and are unilateral (one-sided in their benefit).  Bottom line:  They are not always enforceable.


 


http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/laborlaws/l/aa042202_2.htm


 


 


food for thought
Just out of curiousity.....with all the wage wars in this business, has anyone ever thought about a union for MTs.  For what is expected from us, don't you think we should have a standarized pay scale that we will not go under.  It seems over the past 5-6 years instead of making more money the companies are taking away from us.  For example, many companies are now hiring IC versus employees so they do not have to offer benefits.  They make whatever benefits they do offer horrible and we pay all the cost instead of the way it used to be that they pay for our benefits for what we make for them.  Many companies no longer offer short term or long term disability.  In this business that benefit is much needed.  Just a thought... any responses on forming a union.  My thought... if all of us that know what we are doing decided to stick together.... what choice would a company have but to offer what is necessary to have a good employee.
Hmm...that's food for thought. I don't do op notes
because I have a weak stomach. Thank you for pointing that out.
Lots of food (pardon the pun) for thought! THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE!!
Thanks!
Link inside provided as food for thought
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/320/RipOff0320581.htm
The lion pose (yoga) is EXCELLENT for...sm
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/1705.cfm
CONGRATS to WINNER Debbie L. of Red Lion, PA who won the $50 American Express
/
Food stamps, WIC, food banks, churches, family...
There are many answers to that problem.

No one has the right to steal and writing a dishonorable check is stealing. It is called "theft of property".

My tax dollars support government programs to prevent people from going hungry and to provide for women, infants, and children. I make donations to food banks and churches, etc., for those who just need help as well.
Food for the staff and doctors, if you can afford it. Food is always a big hit in a doctor's off

One of the biggest perks I can remember when I worked in a doctor's office was when the drug reps or orthopedic equipment reps would cater lunch for the whole office just so they could meet with the docs.  The whole office would get so jazzed at the idea of free lunch.


If you can't afford to cater lunch, then I would do something like a muffin basket and bagels always go over well.  But food is your best bet.


didn't mention boys or girls - but what about Dorothy, scarecrow, tin man and the lion from SM
Wizard of Oz.  I
Really???? I miss 'burgh food. Philly food is okay, but it
x
The food is resturant quality food and very good
XX
They chain U to ur desk!

It's like the chain letters you may have
received where there is a numbered list of people included and you add your name to the list, subtract a name from the list, all names on the list now are shifted and thus have a different number on the list that you create than on the list that you received, and then you send a dollar (or other amount . . . in this case, a pair of flip-flops) to each person that was on the list that you received. The people that you send your letter to are instructed to do the same, and so you wind up receiving (if the "chain" is not broken) money/items from each person that receives the letter that has your name on it (before you are "bumped" from the list).
why keep your animal on a chain 24/7

Going off topic from your cat post for a minute... I never understood that..especially with dogs. I think it is cruel for a dog to be chained 24/7 with someone who will rarely walk it.


As far as your cat, we have had outside cats since I was a little girl and they always came back. In fact, I had one (an old "barn cat") that would leave for months at a time lol and come back.


 


Keep your hopes up and don't stop looking!


 


Guys, I think she is just yanking your chain.
nm
I don’t think I pulled your chain, Missie
Was posting to Hayseed. Go back to your pond.
I can't wait! I made a little paper chain...lol. :o) NM
d
Never heard of such ball and chain inflexibility before.
s
He's just yanking your chain. Has ever edited the train wreck that is left
x
my 18 yo daughter will be working for a grocery chain out here starting Saturday.

It will be interesting to see if she gets any tips ... or will be allowed to. She's going to be starting at $1 over minimum wage but has to pay union dues. She just quit a restaurant job where the business received tips that were to be divied up between the staff. She got lots of tips at her tables that she had to put in the tip jar. She never saw a penny in her pocket from those tips.


Personally, I've never tipped the baggers, but they do work hard!


Dog food
Try switching to a better dog food, such as Nutro. Also at her age she deserves all the best in life and I would even consider giving her a meal once a day of chicken and rice or beef and rice, very inexpensive also. The table scrap thing, although stated by the vets all these years, is a bunch of bunk in my opinion. Dogs like a varied diet just as humans. Just so long as it is whole natural foods, not processed. You would love you to death to give her this small pleasure at her age. Good luck.
I think it has less to do with food....
and more to do with activity.  I'm 45 and remember eating Ring Dings and chips and all kinds of junk food back when I was a kid.  Granted we hardly ever had fast food, but moms back then didn't exactly cook according to Weight Watchers.. We had spaghetti, meatloaf, fried chicken, all that good stuff.  However, what did we do in our spare time back then?  WE PLAYED OUSIDE!  We didn't have organized activities or play dates, we just went outside and played, all day long if we could.  I remember being dragged in at dusk because I didn't want to stop playing, riding bikes, skating, etc.  What are kids doing today?  Sitting on their rears watching movies and playing X-Box.  Maybe that has more to do with childhood obesity than diet.  Food for thought anyhow.
food?
AMEN to the mexican food and margarita!
food
Baked beans - 1/2 cup is considered a serving and for the hash browns, 4 ounces would be considered a serving. You can add or substract from this to make it come out. Better to have a little bit left over than not enough at all. Good luck
I do like his food. nm
x
food
And what about pierogies?..lol..yes, Primanti Brothers makes a pretty tasty sandwhich. :)

Gina
food
..I meant for this post to go under the pittsburgh post..thanks.
food
I totally agree. Also, I just got an awesome recipe that is a dip for fruit. I would get a fruit tray and make this dip. I took it over for a July 4th cookout and it was a hit. It's best with strawberries. Anyway, the dip is one 8oz package of cream cheese, one 7oz jar of marshmallow cream and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. You can even add food color to it if you want to.
Food lol
I have some doctor friends/clients and once in a while I book a traveling coffee place for them. Then they can get coffee, hot chocolate and muffins or something that they can pick out.
More food
I think it's a lot like illegal immigrants taking away our work, but this way they didn't have the moving expense of immigrating!
But with dropping food - SM
You run into more logistic problems. First of all - it's got to be dropped in a place where people can get to it, it's gotta float, and it must be waterproof.

Unfortunately, too, you run into the problem of distribution, with the people reaching the bundle first possibly hoarding supplies for themselves rather than sharing them out.

IMO, there's a certain amount of Monday-morning quarterbacking going on, but NO ONE wants this situation prolonged. They're working like heck out there.
Thank you! This is weird about the food. sm

My son has chronic eczema. He had so many food allergies when he was small. We were told he would "grow out of them" and, for the most part, he did. His major allergy was, and probably still is CORN.


Now everything you buy has corn syrup or cornstartch or corn something in it. Even the dyes in Kool Aid have a scientific number, which is actually a corn biproduct of some sort.


As you can see, I have done my homework about corn. My first time shopping for him "corn free" a decade ago took me almost 3 hours.


Unfortunately, cold weather aggravates his eczema and we live in the Northeast.  He has  been to the best dermatologist  in the state and has 4 meds that keep it under control. However, he's 15 and he goes and eats pizza with his friends (no pizza sauce ever made without corn syrup - you have to make your own out of tomatoes). McDonalds, etc, everything is loaded with it.  I only found 1 local breadmaker that actually has white bread without corn syrup in it.



MT:Working for Food
Next thing you know we will be working for Food.
Just tell yourself all of that is just food in a different form. lol sm
Seriously, though, just put in your contract you don't do toilets, the same as some don't do windows.  I bet there are people who would rather get other things done, and would be willing to do that themselves, especially if the price was just a tad bit lower.
Food is better in Philadelphia.sm
Also, New York. They cannot even make a burger right in Colorado. Seafood is horrible & expensive. Pittsburgh is okay, but Philadelphia has better Italian IMHO. Have to overnight hoagies if I want a treat.
does anyone know how to calculate food
quantities for a party? i need to know how to calculate enough side dishes (like baked beans, hash brown casserole, etc). we will be ordering the main dish but trying to save money by doing the other stuff ourselves.  right now there are about 80 people (about 95% are adults) on the guest list.   thanks for any info! 
Other crock pot food -
I have done a lasagna that turned out pretty good, I sometimes throw in some boneless skinless chicken breasts with some homemade BBQ sauce, have done chicken and dumplings which was good, spaghetti sauce. I would actually love some new recipes. The crock pot is so handy - I like to just throw stuff in and forget about it. My husband also works late a lot so he just lets me know when he is on the way and I can just throw on some veggies to go with whatever is in the crock pot.
Comfort food.
a
Here in AL there are 2 grocers that HAVE to take the food to your car. I got into it one day with sm
this "boy" who insisted he had to take the cart out for liability reasons and I even told him I would bring the cart back! I even had an up-front parking space....I was so mad that day I almost just left my 50 dollars worth of groceries! I almost feel as if they do this so you HAVE to tip - but I never do.

The second store is Publix in AL. They are adamant about taking your groceries out to the car. It's irritating. I hate that...Which is why I do like super Wal Mart. No one could care less there if you got run over the parking lot!!
She doesn't need food
She just needs to get a clue about what life is really all about. She has something to say about everything and none of it makes any sense. She even contradicts her ownself. Drivin' me bananas...and i will probably end up feeding her too. (sigh) I detest ignorance and it is just oozing out of her pores. I think you know who I mean.
If they don't like your food, let them make their own.
Kids that age are old enough to cook for themselves.
Cost of food
I was spending over $75 a week for three meals and one snack a day and that was over five years ago (not sure how it is now). If you are single, not too bad. If you have to also feed a spouse/family and buy regular food as well it is rough. It works though ;)
How much do you spend on their food and...sm
do you have a family to cook for? I know that what I've heard on these types of programs is that the food is expensive in comparison to cooking yourself and if you have a family to cook for it's problematic to cook for them as well as yourself.

I'd never recommend gastric bypass to anyone. I have known 4 people who had it done and every one of them gained weight after they lost down to their ideal one. One friend had severe complications after his initial surgery and ended up having 2 other surgeries. He wishes he'd never had it done.
Pittsburgh/food
..ummmm..I meant for my previous message to be posted to the Pittsburgh post..

Thanks,
re: funeral food
Casseroles and quiches are easy, reheat well, and you can use the throwaway pans. There are a million recipes online.