30. August 2007 by Tara.

Lately I’ve needed help from various companies and services since I’m doing a lot to promote my website. Do you know what I’ve found? It’s easier and less stressful to just find the answer yourself from the “Help” section or by Googling the problem. My wait times have been over 20 minutes each…by contacting three places, I’m waiting for an hour! Then when I finally talk to or chat with a human person, either they can’t find the answer or they direct me to a website where I had been looking already and couldn’t find it, and that’s why I needed to talk to a live person.

It’s as if my question is the first one they’ve ever heard of the sort and I’m way out in left field with my request. Do these people actually solve any problems or answer any questions? Maybe they’re only there for idiots who ask questions that have obvious answers. But when it comes to anything “too complicated” for them, something that may require some research on their part–no way!

I feel as if I’m dumber just from corresponding with some of these people. Granted, there are some smart ones out there, but what are the chances of finding them with 10,000 other people in queue wanting help too? If they are smart, they’re not going to last long on the job because they’ll have bigger and better things to do with life. They’re like the competent folks who work at McDonald’s…either they’ll end up managing the place or they’ll move on faster than they can reheat a cheeseburger in the microwave.

Am I done wasting my time, holding for the next available agent? Probably not. I mean, sometimes I just need to be directed to the right place so I can find my own answer. The good thing is that while I’m waiting, I usually get a lot of work done.

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24. August 2007 by Tara.

“I’m a professional transcriptionist.”

“Oh yeah! One of my friends does medical transcription. She works for a local doctor.”

Well, we do everything but medical! Even when someone connects my job with medical transcription, they still seem to have a hard time grasping the concept of a transcript. It’s like a play script, where each person’s part is labeled by their character name and is written exactly how it should be spoken.

An interview transcript might start like this:

George:  Thank you for joining me for this interview.

Martha:  It’s my pleasure, George. I appreciate your invitation.

Then George and Martha go on with the interview with him asking questions and her answering them. It’s really that simple, but some aspects can be very complicated. What are they? Find out in my next post…

In the meantime, for all of your transcription needs, visit:

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