I don't have a problem with price shoppers - USUALLY. However, when they are so stupid that they make call after call and keep no record of the names of people they have spoken to with price quotes, then I have a definite problem with them, especially when they call me two or three times and don't have any idea that I've already talked to them. Wake up people.

The other night a man called needing a 4-hour hearing transcribed. He didn't seem to think that four hours was a large audio file. The audio was originally recorded on cassettes and he later copied to a CD. This point alone scared the bajeebies out of me. It first told me that the hearing (at least his audio) was not professionally recorded. What type of recorder was he using? Were there microphones set up to the recorder so that all parties could be heard clearly and equally well? Where was the recorder placed? Was he secretly recording the hearing?--meaning that he could have possibly had the recorder in his pants, for all I know!

I told him that not having heard the audio, that it could take anywhere from the low side of 12 hours (i.e., 3:1 = three hours to transcribe one hour of audio) onwards of 16 to 20 hours or more (4-5:1). After his heart attack gasp, he said, "well, it's not a solid four hours -- there are 30-45 seconds here and there where no one is talking." Believe me when I tell you that 30-45 seconds may not seem like much, but I still have to sit here and listen to the silence. Then, to try to save money, he tells me that he wants a certified, verbatim transcript, but wants to know if instead of typing the complete transcript, if I can only transcribe parts of the hearing. My certification states "true and complete" which means the hearing in its entirety is transcribed. He thanked me very much and said he was going to talk to the court and call me back.

The next day he calls and is completely oblivious that he has already talked to me. I interrupt him to say we discussed the transcript last night. Then he begins telling me that he has called several people and gotten prices all over the map -- and that one woman quoted an outrageous price of $XXX, although he talked to a woman in California that said she would do it for less than $200, and that she said the woman wanting $XXX was raping him. Since I was the woman that was raping him, I informed him that he had better get the woman in California because my quote had just jumped to $1,000.

The woman in California is going to soon find that she is the one getting raped by this man. No one in their right mind, that has been transcribing for any length of time, will put a $200 price tag on a 4-hour transcript. Furthermore, if someone is willing to pay the lowest fee quoted without questioning why it is the lowest fee, then you deserve everything you are paying for, and the consequences you will face in court by using Miss Low-Ball California.

Ask yourself why the differences in prices? Why does someone quote less than $200 to type something that is going to take a MINIMUM of 12 hours?--Why don't they place any more value on their time? Is the reason because they don't have the skills, experience, knowledge or expertise -- and $200 is really what THEIR transcript is worth? Why can I quote one of the most expensive rates?--because I am sure of myself and my skills. I am proud of my finished transcript(s). Heck, I've even been told I'm anal because I'm such a perfectionist. I know the value of my time and work product. My certified transcripts have been used in courts numerous times. I have not just appeared in the picture -- I've been self-employed offering transcription services since 1992. I just didn't recently sprout from under a rock because of the job market and the economy.

People trying to stay out of jail/prison have their choice of a public defender representing them or a $350/hr. experienced criminal attorney. Hiring my transcription services are no different -- I'm just not the public defender.

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It has been a few months since posting. The lag is due to several factors -- fortunately, work has been good and I'm keeping busy.

Although I would like to say the only reason is my abundance of work, in actuality, I'm PO'd which you can probably tell from this blog title. For regulars, I'm sure you've seen the new logo at the bottom of each page about copy protection -- the reason? I discovered a woman that stole my identity and using it as her own -- no, not everything about me and my life, but my website. There are only so many ways to say I do transcription, I do this or I do that -- so it is common for similarities among colleagues and even competitors sites with a phrase and maybe even a sentence. However, this thief actually copied and pasted entire paragraphs and pages as though they were her own. I'm actually surprised she remembered to change my name and my photo. To have everything stolen that you've spent days, weeks, months and even years writing and designing is not a compliment.

For the past 2-1/2 months or so, I've been contemplating my options and I will be taking action after the first of the year.

To everyone except this lazy and worthless individual, I wish a happy and merry holiday.

Until 2010 ...
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