MQ's "daddy" underwrites them so they can undercut competition. They aren't
Posted By: big b/c they are smart or ethical. on 2005-09-28
In Reply to: Who are you calling stupid? - Rosie
And if you aren't MQ Rosie then I guess I'm not calling you stupid now am I?
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Undercut
I have been on both sides. An account was taken away and I have gotten a couple due to my lower cpl and they have stayed with me for over 10 years. It all depends on what you feel is a decent profit. To me because they are clinic notes, I type faster- have more normals, templates, etc. and so I am able to make $35 to $45 per hour at 11 to 12 cpl which I feel is very adequate. I would not sit around though and wait for the account to come back as there is a chance that they might not. Just because someone charges less does not mean that they are inadequate or poor quality. I am constantly being told on this board and by others that I don't charge enough but to me I do. You just have to push on and get another account. You are in a different location than I am so we can't really compare cpl's as I am out in Oregon and you are back east.
Undercut
When you speak to your client - nicely ask them if the other company will be charging on a 65-character line or lower? I have found that several companies never get that they are being charged at a lower rate per line based on a 50 or 55 character line count which when you do the math - means they are paying the same or more.......investigate and know what you charge for and then present that to them. Do you charge for spaces, headers, footers, bolding, etc.....
If they are smart - they will check - if they say that they do not care - you can always go to a 55-character line too.
You might check with valuationbroker. Don't undercut yourself
as that is what people who buy businesses regularly look for. They look for people who are not educated at selling businesses. See the link below.
Been undercut, after 4 years, losing account, I am sure.
I am a small MTSO and have had this physician group for 4 years since I started my service. I have always charged them just a flat rate per 65 character line, which in the North East I feel is reasonable - 14 cents per line. Never charged them extra for reprinting reports they have lost (which have been many over the years) and I always did the printing and delivering daily for them. Now some other vendor comes in and says they only charge 11 cents per line. This group comes back to me and says that their "final offer is 12 cents per line".... I told them, no way....MY final offer is 13 cents and NO PRINTING! Did I do the right thing?
She probably undercut your rate. Just like India MTs. Another reason for union.
dd
You undercut yourself, which drives prices down industry-wide. sm
For a hospital, NEVER go under $0.16 per line to start. Most will want to negotiate and the lowest should be 0.14 per line.
COMPETITION
How long have you been with this client? Is is offshore they are talking about? Be tactful and supportive of their concern, BUT FOCUS ON THE PROFESSIONAL QUALITY OF YOUR WORK. Start off by a brief review of your business relationship together. Review with your client, all the fine points of your business - your professionalism, TAT, your availability and your thorough knowledge of their particular needs. Then taken the client through a scenario - ask them point blank who is this other service offering such low rates? Ask your client about the other service's background? Are they offshore? Bring attention to HIPPA and security of their patient's records. If you get no where, you may want to consider meeing your client in person for review of pricing and offer a perk such as a discount per month or if you have to, lower your rate a little. The more you keep your wits about you and stay professional at all times, the more impressive you will remain to them. I have lost hospital accounts at times to lower rates, but I kept my cool at all times even though it killed me, and just once or twice, I got back the accounts and you know what? The first thing told to me was how impressed they were that I was so professional and helpful through the process of letting go. As it turned out, the other services were lousy and I got my accounts back. This doesn't always work though but it's worth a try.
This is not a competition.
see "I think it has to do with"
below.
I don't feel as such competition with $$$, sm
As I don't believe they settle for the pay that the Indians do, and as such not competing with us as much ...
Well if it's a competition, I guess
the experienced ones could stop being so generous with help on the Word board, which they do FOR FREE.
Sorry, but I've found another industry that pays by the hour and gives actual holidays. I will drive to work and work with real people, where I will actually feel like I count for something. I'm over the feeling of "privilege" of working in medicine. Let the newbies have it. I'm tired of the docs think we're idiots because we follow a book of rules that has no basis in their reality. I'm also tired of docs that don't want to pay, but would never consider changing their ways and standardizing formats and phrasing or gathering everything they need ahead of time before they get on to dictate (think ESLs and their long, drawn out, time-wasting sentence structures and pauses).
Irish dance competition.
x
LOL. And some kind of comedy competition soon too!!! nm.
.
Y-City Star competition - like AI
Fellow MTs and American Idol watchers,
I made it to the top 20 in the local Zanesville, OH competition similar to American Idol. PLEASE HELP A FELLOW MT!!! You can go online and vote tomorrow for me. PLEASE!! go to www.whiznews.com or www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com and cast your vote. You should be able to hear me sing for about 90 seconds. The public vote is only a portion of the scoring. I will be judged on vocal quality and performance as well. The first night of actual competition is July 15th and then again on July 29th if I made it to the top 8. I appreciate each and every vote. There is some stiff competition ahead of me. Lots of talent in OHIO!!! This is gonna be fun!
You can "thank" the offshore competition...sm
Like it or not.... it's driving the prices down in our industry. We have customers now demanding price reductions as contracts come up for renewal and tell us that if we don't meet their new pricing they'll send the work offshores and pay 4 cpl for transcription, 1.5 cpl for editing work.
More and more clients are willing to take the risk of sending work out of the country for the cheap labor and getting the work done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The overseas companies truly work 24/7/365 and their English skills have improved dramatically.
Gone are the days of high line rates for everyone. Stinks, I know.
Thanks for that information! Competition should bring price down
dd
It's called competition in a buyer's market (sm)
or vendor's (hospital's) market, not low-balling.
Going on a school trip for childs chorus competition--sm
in March to New York. Went to a meeting with school/parents and told the school board will cancel the trip if the terrorist threat level goes to red--understandable, but also we would lose our money ($1600 for four of us to go). Does anyone know of an insurance company who underwrites trips or tours? One of the parents said they heard of this but did not remember the details or company.
You're asking for part of their market! It'll be a competition
You go ahead though. Keep us all informed.
Competition is driving prices down. Companies are not making
Sooner or later you will have to face facts that this industry is in a freeze hold due to several factors.
If the companies are not able to raise their prices to customers, they cannot raise their payouts to workers.
Nice marketing too..a bogus statement about US MTs to discredit the competition nm
nm
See how much fun we can have? We aren't always mean!
A little fun with typos can turn into a whole new city!
Why aren't we all doing something?
I have only seen 2 or 3 people say they are happy with MQ on this board. If we are so unhappy, why can't we band together and be heard?
Some are and some aren't, just like here.
nm
others aren't.
;O
You aren't alone......... :(
nn
No you aren't the only one with those sm
problems. Sounds like you had an awfully bad day. I truly admire anyone who works at home with young children. I could never have done that when my 3 sons (nothing like the hit tv show way back when) were growing up. You name it, they did it. If one didn't think of it, the other one did, and the majority of the time, it wasn't good. I admire you for giving it your best shot. Hopefully, someone on this board can give you some suggestions that will help. Keep trying!
They Aren't the Only Ones
Technical support for just about anything is offshore now. Call centers are worldwide. I absolutely refuse to call and speak to someone I can't understand AND expect them to help me. Dell actually has pretty clear-speaking ESLs and after "the job" is finished, they ask all kinds of questions about their English, knowledge, manner, etc...For once I was impressed.
When I was getting my phone line through Verizon, I had to speak with an ESL and it was a nightmare. I get very cranky and short with them even though I don't mean to. If I had the guts to do it, I would demand to speak to an American, but I can't bring myself to do that.
You aren't going to get 15 to 18 cpl.
profession if what you are getting paid isn't what you are worth. I am staying here because I make more money doing MT than I could doing anything else. I'm good at it and I'm fast. I make $35 to $40 an hour. The very least I ever make is on an account that I make 10.5 cpl on and that is $25 to $30 an hour. There is no job I could get anywhere else that I could make that much an hour. I think I am paid very well. Yes, it's worth $25 to $40 an hour for me to do MT. If you can't make enough, you need to find some other job.
And some MTs aren't serious enough.
Some are bad some aren't...
Acute care is not easy. Not for a beginner anyway. Sometimes on the account I am on I just want to scream because I do get a lot of ESLs and they can be challenging. But there are some doctors who aren't so bad. Some days you may get terrible dictators and you think you aren't getting anywhere or making much of anything. Then another day you may have a better day where there aren't so many bad dictators and you get more done. I work on an account with a learning hospital which is a hospital where they have residents who are learning. It is a huge hospital and there are 35 pages of docs on the doctor list. That is not counting the residents either. No I am not kidding. It is rare to get the same doctor except every once in a while. You aren't doing the same ones everyday.
Some aren't cut out
Some MLS's are just not cut out for editing- me for one. I tried for at least 6 months. My lead switched me to picking up the straight typing work on the accounts. I get the more difficult dictators which cuts my rate down but its still better than I can muster in editing. My problem - I can't edit and continue listening at the same time.
come on, aren't you going a little overboard here sm
I welcome the disagreement, I know everyone feels differently, BUT I too am entitled to my own opinion, and I simply pointed out a problem that I have seen here, and it's embarassing to ME personally to be "associated" with these negative people. I'm sorry if that offends you so much. Maybe fool was too harsh, maybe I should have said something like childish or bitter, I don't know. I just stated my own opinion, and don't care who agrees with it or who doesn't. 
They probably aren't paying for it anyway---
That's why they charge so much for dues, etc., so the "higher-ups" can attend all these wonderful conventions in expensive places. I dropped them years ago. They don't have a CLUE that we are all scratching just to survive-- not with their "Let them eat cake" mentality! I wish EVERYBODY would drop their memberships and then see how often these idiots go to Hawaii when they all have to get a REAL JOB.
Maybe they also feel that they aren't the only ones going through it.
Working at home is very isolating, and just knowing that we have a place to vent, share, and sometimes compare other experiences can be very cathartic. We can't get it off our chests to our employers because often it is viewed negatively. We can't discuss it with our spouses/significant others because they don't understand unless they're in the field themselves. Discussing it with the puppy next to your chair helps, but not as much as discussing it with someone else who has been through it. We're all human beings and we all have differing needs. Sometimes we just need "to let it out".
You are schizophrenic, aren't you? - sm
I have never heard of such a complete and total schizophrenic reply in my LIFE!!! You have a split personality for sure. You obviously have never had a 2 y/o, or were on drugs when your child was 2... they wake up in a strange place, they know they aren't home, they think "I want Mommy", get up, unlock the door and book on down the road looking for Mommy and Daddy. This was NOT the parents fault, the driver MIGHT have NOT realized he hit a child, and I am sure he will come forward once the news travels around... This was not anyone's "FAULT"... That baby just woke up looking for Mommy and Daddy, and went out the apartment, and I am sure it was securely locked just as the parent's apartment/home was, and the child just knew how to jimmy the locks... it happens... It is an experience that God has us endure to make us realize how much we must rely on Him... I know my initial comment on this reply was not "Christian-like", but for HEAVEN's SAKE WOMAN!!!! GET A GRIP ON REALITY!!! YOU ARE OUT OF THE ZONE!!!
but aren't there limitations?
Prior to the onset of presbyopia, my vision was around 20/825. Now, I actually require the use of trifocals ... and even with those I can feel my vision constantly changing every few months (one eye gets a little weaker than the other). 
no you aren't...he's a bad dictator
nm
Aren't grandkid's the best? sm
My first time being a gramma and I got blessed with twin girls who are now at the ripe old age of 17 months and never cease to amaze me. The great thing about grandkids is you can play with them, spoil them, etc., without ever having to worry about doing anything wrong. All of the "parental headaches" are up to mommy and daddy. :)
I find that after "all these years," I'm more patient than I was as a young mom. Too much to worry about then.
I'm still a mom though. I have a daughter who is only 10! Spaced them out a bit toooooo far apart. (I have 4, ages 23, 20, 15 and 10). It's sad to say, but I have an easier relationship with my younger 2 as, not only do I know what to expect now, I've mellowed as I'm pushing 50. :)
But grandkids. Wow! They really don't expect a whole heck of a lot from you except for hugs and kisses. I can't wait until the twins get old enough to ask me the questions I can answer with my vast experience over the years. 
Gee, you are really upset, aren't you?!
The pros of working as an SE for me include such things as not having to work a set schedule--I really need and want that flexibility and as an SE, I have it!
I have a higher base rate than most employees; my incentive plan is better; and I still get quarterly bonuses.
I will be using my new computer equipment purchases and some of my rent and utilities when I file my taxes, etc.
I can still get tax breaks on medical expenses, I just have to file them differently than employees do (no pre-tax here).
I don't need the insurance through MQ; I have my own. I don't PTO, I make it up and I make enough to save for rainy days anyway.
Pros and cons will be different for different people. For me, the pros outweigh any cons.
I'm very happy as an IC/SE. I wouldn't work as an employee now.
Testy, aren't we
Nope, I am Frank and in case you didn't know, you work for me while I am loving it up in the hot, hot sun on the islands. Now, I suggest YOU GET BACK TO WORK before I fire you!
You aren't going to be flamed by me. sm
I use a reputable cleaning service which is bonded and insured. I pay the company, the company pays their employees. Plus I wouldn't let someone I didn't know in my house without bonding and insurance.
me too! as if the holidays aren't
stressfull enough, throw in the slap in the face thing called a pay check to ice the cake! I'm looking for other avenues to take....
Well there naturally aren't going to be many in the AM. SM
I do only ops myself. I have a different deal than what it sounds like you have, because my work is assigned manually - I don't get to go in the system in the morning and start plucking them out of there. I get a list at about 8:30 in the morning of the ones dictated the day before.
Too bad, too. I am 2 hrs ahead of the hospital. I could have their notes sitting there for them when they come in, but that's not the way they manage it. I don't like waiting till 8:30 to get my work, so I know what you mean.
You aren't alone, hang in there.
See, you aren't alone in this world
nm
Well, aren't you a little ray of sunshine. nm
nm
Why aren't you asking your MTSO?
They should have provided clear directions for each client on what you are to do.
Maybe they aren't all like that but the ones who move here ARE sm
Apparently our area is an "escape" for the city folks and then they eventually decide to stay.
Unfortunately for us, they want all the big city stuff that you can't have in the country. Can't have it both ways but they sure try.
There aren't enough companies to take all the MTs
that work for companies that offshore. More and more companies are looking to offshore as demonstrated by the companies in support of the current training in Trinidad. I'm totally against offshoring and have turned down at least 3 positions because the companies offshore, but I'm going to do what is best for my family. It is just like the commercial says, buy made in the U.S.A., but if you go shopping for clothes it can take you half a day to find an item made in the U.S.A.
Sorry, you aren't the only one who "knows"
It may not be the same situation and I obviously don't know this person's situation or plans to sell her/his home, I was merely trying to caution the OP and advise her/him to consult an accountant.
http://www.quicken.com/cms/viewers/article/taxes/54900/#Paying
Paying Taxes on the Home Office Share When You Sell Your Home
When you sell your home, the home office may be considered business property, and that portion of your gain on the sale may be taxed, because business property does not qualify for exclusion from income tax, as a personal residence gain. This situation can occur if you use your home for business in the year of the sale, or if you don’t meet the “two-year test” (in which 100% of the residence was used as your main home for an aggregate of 730 days in the last five years). If this applies to you, you must treat the sale of your home as two transactions: one as the sale of business property and the other as the sale of your personal residence. The sale of business property is a taxable transaction that you must report, and unfortunately, any gain that results isn’t eligible for the $250,000 home sale gain exclusion.
If you own your home, any depreciation taken after May 6, 1997 must be “recaptured” at the time you sell your residence for a profit, which means that the depreciation must be taxed at a special 25% rate. The rest of any gain that you have from the sale of the business portion of your home will generally be taxed at 20% (assuming you owned the home for more than a year).
gee, I don't know, if you aren't willing to invest in
what makes you think you would have the business savvy to do something like this?
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