MTSOs: Politely declining a job opportunity?
Posted By: Tonya on 2006-10-03
In Reply to:
I sent out some flyers and got 2 accounts at roughly the same time. One is wonderful, keeping me busy, and I love, love, love it. The other one negotiated the price down and has not been particularly cooperative. I realized today the latter account hasn't signed the service agreement, and I would just like to tell them properly and politely that it simply isn't working out, but I don't know how to go about it. Has anybody had to do this before? How would you suggest going about it? I don't even know where to begin.
Thanks in advance,
Tonya
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Thanks to you all - I ended up declining this offer after all. nm
xx
Thank you for saying more politely what
.
Yes, I would just politely tell them
That you do enjoy working for them, but you do have obligations i.e. car payments, mortgages, bills etc. and they are less understanding when their payments are late. I find it interesting that these MTSO feel it is okay to pay their bills late and have no repercussions, but if we do that, we are charges ridiculous late fees. If they do not respond to nicely being asked to pay on time. If your an IC, which I assume your are, I would just tell them that your policy is to charge as late fee as when they are late, your late with your bills and are charged a late fee so you need to offset that. If they are offended and can't understand that, then they are not the job that you want anyway.
They have to make money somehow since they have declining membership dues. nm
x
just politely tell them you don't care
I'm sure they will understand. I've been in situations before we're I've heard one person asked the other to stop sending fwd's and it was no biggie - ppl understand. Just explain to her that you love to receive emails about her but you are just too busy with work to read the fwd's and they cram up too much space in your inbox.
Offshoring to India is the direct result of declining quality
being produced by American MTs. The declining quality being produced is the direct result of inexperienced, under-educated MTs being churned out by these online MT schools.
How to politely "fire" an account
Good evening!
I am an IC, and just started with a FP dr on 9/22. I want to lose this account! He is such a cheap AS@! OMG, he wants to know the exact character count and the way he pays it only equals out to like 5 cpl!! My name is getting around town (good rep) and I want to go about this professionally. Just cant come out and say, "you try and find someone who will work for your pathetic rate!" I was thinking of just telling them my main account has expanded or something like that.
Thanks,
Wont work for pennies
I totally disagree -- politely :)
Because of the changes coming with world-wide standardization of coding and the yearly changes in the verbage of codes, deletions and additions due to ever changing medical technology, I believe it to be as interesting and complex, if not more so, than MTing. To be a certified coder, you have to put your neck on the line for jail time...do we do that as MTs? No, we make the provider take responsibility for the finished product. The Office of Inspector General holds both the provider and the coder responsible. With 21 years of varied medical setting experience under my belt, I say even MTing is not as satisfying as winning a debate of a coding issue during an audit with Medicare or Medicaid and setting the standard for the rest of the industry in that particular state for that code.
Yup ... smaller MTSOs, local MTSOs (sm)
local doctor's offices or clinics! Don't get discouraged!! :)
I second this; definitely see if you can get an opportunity
to listen to some dictation before you commit a lot of time and resources to it. Not that you should really understand it right off, but I think in people who have "the knack" there's more of an "aha" there than in people who don't.
In adversity there is opportunity . . .
... Good for you that you are going to school and moving on!!! I know it's hard. I worked my fingers to the bone doing transcription all my life. I started when I was 17 years old, and stayed in it for 39 years. I'm 56 now, and barely going to college. It is never too late. In fact, I find that my age is an advantage. Because of my background in the medical transcription field, I find I am ahead of the kids in college, and my life experiences give me an edge. I am one of the few getting A's in most of the classes!!! I am going to go into law, if all things go as planned. I will get a batchelors degree in paralegal science, and then once working in that field, will move on to a law degree. I am determined.
Yes, that is correct. This way, others have an opportunity to
/
great opportunity ?
Not to the people who are laid off because of it. Sending work to India is a "great opportunity" also - eh?
She just wants an opportunity to brag about all the
If the hubs were to walk out on her and leave her with no alimony, no nuthin', I wonder how rah-rah she'd be about having to sell most of what she's got just to keep a roof over her head.
With the time & opportunity to do so, I'd get
I fell into MT as well, and it was a good fit for many years. But things changed in the 1990's, and even at a good-paying in-hospital job, they started treating the MTs like crap. Pay didn't go down, but morale was abysmal. Working at home freed me from management abuse, but now I'm pretty much chained to my PC, as the only way to eke out a living at this profession is to type ALL THE TIME, every day. Even a quick jaunt to the supermarket feels like a 'vacation', these days. And a real vacation? Forgot it. I've been kicking around the idea of learning something else, but I'm now almost 58, and time and money are 2 things in short supply around here.
Doing straight typing, you'll be hard-pressed to find a job that pays more than 8 cpl, 9 if you're lucky. And it's really not enough to live on. (Yes, you currently have a dual income, but you should always factor in that that could possibly change someday. By then it might be too late to get out of MT and start over again.) And American MT jobs seem to be headed in the direction of being solely ESL-and-VR-editing, at a microscopic 3 cpl, which will probably just go lower in the future.
Given a do-over, I'd go to school and learn something that isn't done on a PC, and which is less likely to be sent offshore.
What would you do? I have been given the opportunity to work from home sm
for a start-up company in mass media (please don't ask name of publication since I can't release that yet). I know the owners, husband quit job to pursue this full-time along with a few other people to start this media company. We've been meeting once a week for about 6 weeks. Right now I am part-time. I am doing the editing for this company, a lot of reading and research and today was told, if I decide to work for them frome home, that I could also be the corresponding editor, meaning once their first publication comes out in April, whenever someone has a "letter to the editor," that email would come straight to me, I would either route the mail by importance to the appropriate staff member or answer them myself - it will all be up to me. Basically, I would be an administrator for the company as well as edit articles, speeches, ads, etc. that come in. This job would be multifunctional.
About the pay: We haven't really discussed this yet. The owner gave me a list of salary ranges and I would fall into the editor/administrative salary range which is a little more than what I make right now. Would you make the jump??
I am married and my husband's salary pays most of our bills, but I definitely need to work. I've taken a few days off to meet with this new company and to decide if I should quit MTing/QAing to dedicate my time between work and family with this company. I can't do both. No way! They want to start sending me stuff right now and then I have my company counting on me to QA.
Today was my first day back QAing and I am dreading every single minute of it. I want to edit and email and meet with these people, but I'm hesistant to do so. Not sure how much security is in it. I would hate to quit and then this media company can't get off their feet.
What would you do? Editing/administration is my gift. And I can still work from home. Would you do it? 
Weigh all aspects for opportunity
I am making $14/hr QA with national and that was supposed to be "starting" pay over a year ago..still waiting for my raise to bring me equal to my peers who are making just a buck or 2/hr more. I don't know about in-house QA but I am a 30-year veteran MT and when I see you say you've been 9-year MT, I am seeing for YOU what I would call an OPPORTUNITY which is something that is hard to put a price on when you're 'relatively young' in your career. I'm just trying to think about when I had 9 years under my belt as an MT in-house and yes, as you say, you still are learning something every day and even at 30 years, I am always learning something every day. In this business if you're not willing and eager to learn each and every day, then you're going to be lost real quick...There are many other factors you should weigh beside pay when looking at this. You need to consider benefits and long-term possible advancement that may be there for you. You have already impressed these people and this could be your chance to get beyond the MT aspect (which, I might add, is becoming more and more of a losing prospect IMO). I'm just saying that you should weigh ALL factors other than pay and see which one offers you the most for your future in this industry and don't miss an opportunity here...you can always go back home if it doesn't work out! Good luck to you.
Change is hard, it be the worst thing or an opportunity sm
It is all about attitude.
I have done a fair amount of switching in my time. I have one of my IC situations for 3 yrs, the other for 6 months. I am giving up on the 6-month arrangement for a full time, with benefits and using my favorite expander, actual job. This is all just in time for the new year and I am excited about it.
I won't lie to you, a new job with new software, new voices, new management, new people to work with, new specialties...it is stressful and there will be a learning curve. Sometimes the learning curve is too steep, the platform a dinosaur and all the voices seem to speak Greek and not Latin like they are supposed to, and you move on again. I am convinced the right fit exists for each of us.
You also need to know that most of the situations out there currently pay you about 2 weeks after you do the work, they do offer direct deposit and other nice things. Having not had a rubber check in the past 5 yrs, I can tell you it is nice not to worry about that either.
Best of luck to you. You are not alone, come back and tell us how you are getting on.
Finding a legitimate work-at-home opportunity
Finding a legitimate work-at-home opportunity can be very confusing task, but once you get in to the field you feel great by working at the comfort of your home. You may come across many opportunities but you have to very ideal in choosing the best which suits you. In case, if you have always worked for someone else and are depressed with this situation, or if you want to spend more time at home, you may want to consider finding a work at home opportunity that will allow you to earn money but give you the free time you are looking for.
Sticky 'note' ...not stone. All notes have an opportunity to blow away.
Let it go.
Great opportunity now. Work full time, show
x
MTSOs
You are not wrong but in my opinion, you are giving them too much credit. The reason why they don't do what you ask is because most of them are not concerned with making your life easier; rather, they are more concerned with figuring out more ways to cheat you and to make your life more difficult. Then when you get disgusted and quit, they will just get somebody else in a very short time to replace you because you are very expendable. And it goes on and on in the same vicious cycle.
MTSOs
You know, there has to be a market between the dastardly corporate MTSOs and small transcription companies. It seems to me that if a talented, aggressive MT with a good business sense could find a way to create a "team" approach to the transcription business, perhaps one could find that niche and sell "team transcription" to good accounts that the MTSOs screw up and have cheated. After all, you have to believe that with the scandals in the transcription corporations - over billing, sending work over seas without informing the client, a lot of trust is lost by some of these unsatisfied accounts. I say, find a way to market to those clients in a "team group" and find the right price, somewhere a little lower than the MTSO charges and go after those accounts aggressively in a group. There is a market there you know.
more than most other MTSOs pay.
it is not kosher to share on public forums what a company pays.
I would not think many MTSOs would want to
x
No, it's not just the MTSOs (sm)
The actual doctors don't want to pay more than minimum wage for transcription either. As an independent, I've had doctors balk at 12 cpl (which is BELOW what the MTSOs are getting, believe me) and I've lost business because I wouldn't take $6 an hour or what equated to 7 cents a line.
So where am I at? Making peanuts working for MTSOs who are getting 15+ cents per line as a middleman for these same kinds of physician while I'm making a paltry 7-8 cpl. It's a no-win situation.
Help for new MTSOs? sm
I have questions about proposals, equipment, and what to charge in order to get started. Are there any web sites out there to help me in this? I have books that I have read, but they go over the basics of start-up MT services.
You should run this by the MTSOs and
see what they think.
This is why the MTSOs have gone so low
single mom, does not want to work away from home. I bet they love reading postings like yours. They have women where they want them, just lower the rates because these people are saying they cannot leave the house.
When MTSOs overhire, this is what happens:
There are actually MTs who work to support their family or supplement their income to meet the customary lifestyle. When MTSOs overhire, leaving the MT with very little work, I have observed this - Jobs are done hurriedly. When extra foot work is required (due to discrepancy in report, incomplete info provided, etc.), the MT who is desperately trying to meet their bills will skip the job or disregard the need to research and go on to the next job. This is extremely dangerous for everyone concerned. At times, it is weeks before the incomplete report is realized.
I do not fault the MT entirely. When the MTSO overhires, they are setting themselves up for this. I do believe 98% of us want to do a really good job, especially those who have been at this for years. But, I have noticed this more and more, and it will, MTSOs, come back and bite YOU.
When you have a dependable employee who can be counted on for production of a certain amount of work, provide that to them.
MTSO - When you get a new account and hire top shelf MTs initially to get the ball rolling and make a splashing impression, do not replace them with lower rate MTs afterwards - it is obvious when the company is hiring nonstop and they already have MTs sitting at home idle for hours at a time. And this creates, MTSO, the "disgruntled employee" who may make every attempt to ruin your reputation each time they can.
I have just come home after being in house for a few years and after three months, I see this happening with my company and, according to the board, it is widespread. It is an issue that needs addressed before someone, namely the patient, is hurt by it.
Unfortunately MTSOs now do good if....sm
they collect 15 cpl. With the pressures from overseas vendors the pricing has dropped to 12-14 cpl. In the "old" days (prior to say 5 years ago) the going rate was 20-25 cpl and of course companies could afford to pay 10-12 cpl easily.
Wellll, I don't know about MTSOs, but JLG -- Please SM
was helping with our hospital transcription.
We got paid $1.50 a minute if we did 2500 minutes a month ($1.75 a minute for all minutes over 2500).
JLG got $3.25 a minute. I saw the bill. I saw it with my own eyes. I nearly fell over. And to boot, it was horrible transcription, FULL of ridiculous errors, blanks. And we had to convert the text files. It was such a bunged up mess.
I lost all my trust at all in the hospital since they were paying us HALF of what they paid a service. I even contacted JLG to see if I could hired to work on MY hospital's account. They were going to pay me 7 cpl. What a joke.
Any Medikin using MTSOs out there?
I am in the process of opening my own mid-sized transcription company. I am still in the process of deciding what TASP to go with as I do not want the hassle of maintaining my own equipment. I have been looking at Medikin's website and am very impressed with what they have to offer for the price. If anyone is currently using or has used them in the past, could you please post your experience here.
Good MTSOs are even
more difficult to find than good MTs. Many of them have negative attitudes and expect indentured servitude in exchange for peanut wages. Many of them have limited, at best, technical or MT knowledge. We get tired of the ranting emails that don't even apply to us from a PMSing or menopausal females. Disorganized, poor communication skills, cheap, selfish, zero management skills, lack of a formal education, lousy platform, personal life issues conflicting with job performance. You'd be able to find good MTs if you were a good MTSO.
From an MTSOs standpoint
no, I'm not one ... just throwing a coin into the playing field ...
Wouldn't having only ICs working "for" a company mean less liability. IOW, if MQ phased out the SE status, could that take a potential monkey off their back?
OTOH, they can hire all the ICs they want, but if those ICs only work for MQ, they're still considered SEs ... correct?
small MTSOs
There's a great online resource for MTSOs of all sizes, varying benefits and pay, and variety of work. It's called www.MTJobs.com. Sign up to be on their mailing list. There are usually at least 50 companies listed on each newsletter, which comes out twice a month. Good luck in your search, and prayers for God's healing of your medical problems. :)
To MTSOs or QA Managers
I recently took over QA for a small company just purchased. Previously there had been essentially no QA rules. If any of you could send me examples of how your QA is set up, the percentages you deduct for errors - common, critical, etc., it would be most appreciated. Any rewards given for high QA or deductions would be appreciated as well.
Patti or other MTSOs...
Hi,
Need to get my own account/s instead of relying solely on the national (guess who). Getting a client in my area is probably the easy part. The hard part is the logistics of software, paper, etc. Not having dealt with this stuff working with a national, it is the *simple* things that are a mystery to me (and others, I suppose). I hate to even inquire about transcribing for someone, not knowing what equipment I will need, what software, kinds of paper. I am sure I would come across as an idiot (like right now, maybe?)
OKay, well, I looked online at Dictaphone and it looks like there are mini, micro, and standard cassette units (not to mention digital online programs), so I guess you WOULD have to find out which the client prefers before investing in one, and I know you can get them on EBay, but what else? Does the software come with the transcriber? I don't suppose you can type them out in Word? I suppose one can buy a medical spellchecker. Then you need paper if you are going to print them out...what kind? Anything else? There are so many variables. I suppose I should first contact the two MTSOs that I know locally and ask for overflow work. That way, they could help me learn about this stuff.
No slamming, please. Very sensitive tonight as I just received a call from my Supervisor, very nicely hinting that I need to bring my line count up but, as we talked and now, hours later, I have *no jobs* on my screen. Pretty hard to get that line count up with no jobs!
Thanks for any tutoring and/or advice. 
MTSOs AND RESUMES
As a recruiter, it is nice to have the references already listed in the resume.
To all MTSOs. please help with answer..sm
I have been a Transcriptionist for 14 years and I am looking to become an Editor. I have experience in many specialties. The problem I have is most places want an experienced Editor to fill their positions - how do I get a chance to become an Editor without any experience. I have asked my company that I work with now about a position but they too want an experienced Editor. Please help! My poor hands need a break. I love transcription field and want to stay in it. I am just wondering how long my hands will hold out. I have every resource that I need for the position - last year I bought the COMPLETE set of Stedman's reference materials because I know how important it is to have good, reliable reference materials.
Any and all information would GREATLY be appreciated! I am just looking for a company that will be honest with me as I will be with him. I am easy to get along with but would really like a chance to go in this direction.
Thanks and hope you all are having a great weekend!
don't feel sorry for MTSOs sm
the person I work for is making hundreds of thousands profit off all of us and I'm being paid higher than 8 cpl. Don't feel sorry for MTSOs
MTSOs...What, if any, TASP do you use?
I don't like the one I'm currently with and am looking for some other options. What do you like about yours? You may email me if you prefer.
Ungrateful MTSOs
I know how you feel. I worked this way for years. Just Friday night as I was at the end of a report, I got a call that my son had been in an accident and was being transported by ambulance to the hospital. I signed off the report and shot a quick email to my supervisor that I had to leave to go to the ER. I had a nice email the next day from both my supervisor, as well as our QA person inquiring as to how he was doing and not asking at all - "when are you going to be able to work again" that note was so very appreciated, as most that I have worked for would have only inquired as to when I would be up and running on "their" work again - their only thought being on how I wasn't producing during a bad personal time and how they couldn't afford for me to take too much time off. I appreciate you, for what that is worth, and I hope that you will one day find a compassionate MTSO to work with. There are some out there, but they are very few and far between. By the way - my son is going to have to have surgery, but his life is intact and we will get through this setback.
small MTSOs
Ditto. I am not at all happy with the nationals.
An exception to MTSOs
I see that my post has been removed. Perhaps it was too inflammatory. . In all my "trying out" of companies across the board, I can say that there are a couple of exceptions to my post about MTSO's. One of them is the owner of Keystrokes. I do appreciate this company for being above-board, line count appears to be accurate and pay is always correct and on time. There are still a few good ones out there.
Any in-house MTs or MTSOs...
...or MTs who used to work in-house, have doctors/clients who want you to call them by their first name and insist on it. I'm in California, so I'm used to the first name stuff - though I was raised by "formal" parents who insisted that I call everyone by Mr. or Mrs. or Dr., saying I should do so even when I became an adult, particularly with customers or clients. But I still want to keep it professional...just my pet peeve I guess. 
IC is just a ruse that MTSOs use so they don't have to
pay employment taxes, etc. I've never worked an IC job where I was truly an IC. They tell you there's 24 hour turnaround, but they really mean 8 hours or less. The MTSOs tell us how to do the work and with what equipment/software, when to work, etc. That is NOT an independent contractor! They expect you to sit there doing nothing if there's no work, but have a conniption fit if you need a day off. I went three years working six days a week without a day off.
The IRS definition of an IC is "Who is an Independent Contractor? A general rule is that you, the payer, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work done by an independent contractor, and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result."
MTSOs - Need hep with new account please....SM
I had my meeting with the office manager of my new account. With the system I use now for my other account (Word-based), the front desk receives my completed transcription via a secure transfer program, downloads it, and prints it.
The problem I have is the new office wants eight computers to have access to the dictation. With the way things are now that would mean all eight would have to download the transcription in order to have access to it. This would work, but I do not feel it is the easiest thing for them to do and I want to retain this account, so I want to find something that is easier that would allow all eight to have access to the dictation.
I believe what I’m looking for is something more like a web-based program where I could upload the dictation and then the eight people could have access to the dictation that way. I’m not familiar with FTP sites or what other options are out there. What I need is a way to transfer my files to the office where all eight people/computers could have access to it, make any changes if needed to the dictation where all eight people would then have access to the final dictation. Does anyone have any ideas? I’m totally willing to put a little money into this, but I just don’t know where to begin. Are there any MTSOs out there who use a program that sounds like it fits my needs or any ideas to guide me in the right direction.
Any help/ideas would be greatly appreciated. TIA
You sound like most MTSOs who don't
Experienced MTs are worth their weight in gold because they can produce and produce fast.
An inexperienced MT needs to be molded and shaped and in no way can produce the amount of work an experienced MT.
Just in those two sentences I've summed up my opinion of this industry at this stage in the game with formal training way before AAMT came about and producing quality documents.
It's do or die!
It's sink or swim!
All of this hogwash you've typed is a waste of time. Offshoring is going on because it's cheap labor and not because they're good or put forth effort.
The amount of knowledge and skill comes from transcribing real documents by real dictators and not by books or prefab practice sets.
COME ON!!
This is all, of course, JUST MY OPINION! I'm making loads of money in this field because I have the skill set and the only feedback I want is from the physician himself! Thanks and have a nice day! 
Yes, like why do MTSOs allow padding to
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Question for ICs or MTSOs
I'm curious (for those of you who wouldn't mind posting anonymously) what do you charge for various types of transcription services?
-StudentMT
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