DICT8 Plus (new November 2022)

[Whitestar55]

Hi, Here we go again, anyone else set up a new thread yet? Hope to find everyone 🙂

@Gally123 It's that type of thing that's putting me off applying to any more of these transcription companies. Plus the fact that they expect a commitment from you so they can plan their workload, but without a decent pay package being offered. They want it both ways - the commitment of the transcribers, who let's face it, are the main revenue generators for the companies, but without any of the responsibilities of an employer. As I said, if the pay was better, it would be acceptable, but to cut pay because they think you can do twice as much work with VR is not acceptable to me, as the pay was 💩in the first place.

@Whitestar55 - you are welcome! 😊
@Gally123 - I absolutely totally agree with you on that, its unfair and when I found out someone was getting the higher rate thats why I asked. I mentioned it to my Team lead and she said she couldnt do anything about it but to address it if I wasnt happy as I was being asked to do more and more so I said the reason I dont is because of the fact people are on the higher rate and I said I choose to do Dict8 first as I can earn double. I pointed out £400 cheque from them equates to £800 with Dict8 on doing same workload so stands to reason im going to type for Dict8 first. They were asking me to do so many different specialities too which i had no clue over which was bringing the low rate down even further as it took me even longer. I have access to all specialities but concentrate on one of my main ones now as i have 3 hospitals and theres enough of my speciality to keep me typing which equates to roughly same as I make at Dict8 now (because of the trash they are subjecting us to and nothing on) and as I am so familiar with the speciality as its what I worked in at NHS, I can quickly finish letters and what with the added text replacement and being able to copy and paste from other letters and so. But yes Tpro is defo keeping my head above water a the moment but if Dict8 picked up and they put decent work on Id type again for them first but not at the moment im afraid

@Gally123 It was me that was paid at the higher rate, although I couldn't take to T-pro at all, so gave it up a few months down the line, and started with another company, still keeping DICT8 but they never have any work these days. I also do a bit of bank still for the NHS which I pick up whenever I feel like a change.

@Chrissols - yes I knew you were on the higher rate but about 5 or 6 of us applied at about the same time so I was unsure of @carosel2.

I have 2 main team leaders at Tpro, both part time but over lap a little, and there is also a third woman gives out the specialties - and takes them away. I was annoyed this week as she has taken one of my main ones away again but leaves all the stuff I hardly do as I have no knowledge or background in. A few months after I started she split us into groups with about 5 or 6 specialties none of which I knew anything about so I asked to change hospitals. however after a while that experiment ground to a halt and now I have access to most but not all in my hospital (and it keeps changing, sometimes I get access to things like rheumatology and gastroenterology or infectious diseases and then they get removed again, cardiac keeps expanding though unfortunately even though I do not type any), plus a second hospital and a couple of odd things she added, included one she asked if I wanted to do and as it was something I knew nothing about I said no, but she added it anyway, and a private consultant I do not do as I know nothing about that specialty either. Sometimes the team leaders ask me to do a specific urgent task(s) and occasionally I have had them all asking at the same time. Once it was quite funny as I did not really want to do the clinic I was "asked" to do first (if you do not do as asked they can remove the task you are typing and put it back in the list so I am told) so when I was asked to do another clinic by the third woman I jumped at the chance but I think it caused some friction between them. Also a couple of times I have been a bit annoyed by being asked to type a clinic by one team leader and then the other messages to say can I type this clinic when you have finished that (why they cannot wait I do not know), and once I had them giving me a list of three of four clinics, which grated a bit. I even had one team leader who used to message and say if I was typing in the evening or at the weekend could I do - and give me a list. They do seem surprised if you refuse anything - like psychology, which have long letters. I still do DICT8 (not sure if Tpro are aware or not) and have 2 bank accounts, 1 have had for over 20 years and the other about 3 years as I needed to open up a Lloyds account to get a new credit card (as I do not have a mobile phone and Lloyds will use a landline for verification which my other bank will not) and I have direct debits with each account so my DICT8 cheque goes in one and my Tpro pay goes in the other account. I decided with lockdown it is better to have more than one company to work for, just in case.

I wonder what will happen if the nurses do go on strike as that will affect clinics etc, maybe hospitals will go back to doing telephone clinics as do not need nurses for that, but then secretaries will be able type most of those letters as with no patient examinations etc letters are shorter, so I am expecting this to impact on DICT8's workload - maybe they might send round another update email to inform us although I dare say it would just be to say that it is temporary and they have weathered worse storms etc etc.

@Gally123 - wow ive never had anything like that other than being asked if I could do the odd tasks that were very urgent or to get rid of tasks on a particular date as the doc was chomping at the bit to get his work back before he went on hols etc and wanted it up to.date as much as poss. I wouldnt like that at all

@Gally123 Flippin' Eck! Even in the NHS typing pool it wasn't as bad as that 😯😂

@Gally123 Just wondering what way you work or anyone else on Tpro - do you always pick up the urgent ones in red first or do you do a bit of both urgent and non urgent? I have been sticking with the urgent ones but they aren't always the easiest to understand, take me a while and the specialty I find easier to do is always non-urgent. Is it okay to do non-urgents or do Tpro frown on that? My numbers are building that quickly and could do with some of my own specialty to build a bit. Hope that makes sense 🤔

Sorry that should be numbers aren't building that quickly*

@joewe41 with my Tpro hospital and team leaders you have to do the urgents in red first, in fact it used to be the first one in the list but thankfully they relaxed that rule. If you pick tasks that are not urgent (yellow and esp green) they will message you and may take the task from you and put it back in the queue. Also at the end of the month (ie for October) you are not allowed to do any task from the new month (November) - even urgents in red - unless specifically asked to do so, until all the tasks from the previous month (October) have been typed (in this instance it is okay to take yellow and then green tasks). If your specialty is usually non-urgent what you have to look out for is when they become urgent, which is usually after about five days, (often I find on a Monday morning) green tasks become red and move to the top of the list! (With yellow tasks it is a little quicker). I hope that does not sound too confusing. Of course there are a few sneaky people who do the non urgents in the evening when there is no team leader to check up on them but whether they are left messages I do not know, but often if you check you will find some tasks have been typed that should not necessarily have been done.

@Gally123 Thanks, just wasn't sure. I'll stick with the urgents and hopefully they will get better. It's only my second month still finding my feet.

As you are employed as freelancers they're not really supposed to manage the way you work to that extent, as far as I'm aware. Do they actually remove tasks that you working on and have partially completed?

@joewe41 - the specialities I do, tasks are always in red they are very busy ones so I dont mind doing them anyway as im familiar with them and the ones that arent in red in the same eventually become red as they move up the queue, sometimes I wonder if its only me at tpro typing them along with their own secretary as they seem to be left for the next day so perhaps people dont like typing the two I do. Ive never had any work taken off me and put back half way through and if that started im afraid id pack it in. I think @Whitestar55 comment about them starting to dictate too much is right when we are supposed to be freelance. @Gally123 - im horrified at your comments, your team leads sound horrendous mine is so lovely. Ive never had anything like you state. Ive had them asking to help out and sometimes tasks put in my work in progress to type but these have only been two to three urgents etc.and clinics from certain dates but like I said the ones I type are my specialities anyway. You sound as though you work for a different company! But I wouldnt be prepared to work the way they seem to take charge of the way you work. You sound as though your employed by them the way they are treating you. They do know you are self employed dont they because I know there are people like us that are salaried that work from home like we do and are employed by them

@Gally123 - I found that out when I asked for a rise in rate. They have to put in certain hours and be able to produce a certain amount of work, they have a different contract altogether hence our low pay rate. I was told the self employed transcribers however was given the added bonus instead if they managed to do the million.

If Tpro keep asking me to do several different things at the same time I usually say I am feeling conflicted and overwhelmed to one of the Team Leaders and then they just say do a bit of anything and dip in and out. I do sometimes take the odd green task because I am tired. My argument would be that I could either do something straightforward or otherwise nothing at all and just log off but fortunately I have never been challenged on this.

@joewe41 it took me a couple of months to settle in as the layout is different to DICT8, but for the most part the accents are easier to understand than I thought they might be, although at the moment there are several that dictate so fast!! @carosel2 - I do find the team leads demanding at times, but in a nice way - compared to DICT8. However, I think they know a couple of times when they pushed me too far and now I take my time answering their messages if it suits. But what is the alternative when you need the work and DICT8 offers total cr*p? I did know that had employed workers as it said that on their website but I like to take time off when I want to so have not looked into that. When the woman left me lists to do over the weekend and evenings I stopped working at those times (I only used to do a bit to make up if I took time out during the day for anything, like opticians etc) and she stopped leaving the lists. @Whitestar55 I have never had work removed and replaced in the lists as not been in that situation, however I have seen a message circulated to all typists to that effect five or six times in the two years I have worked for them.

I wonder what they pay their employed transcribers? It would have to be at least minimum wage.

They do seem to have plenty of work don't they. They operate in Australia too according to their website.

They also offer various software/AI packages, clinic management, teleclinics/video, coding systems, electronic mail, all claiming to improve efficiency and cut costs by reducing staff/time requirements, there'll be no need for humans at all the way it's going. We're in the wrong job girls, should be software engineers, they are much better paid.

@deewu - ive said and done exactly that when ive been asked to tackle tasks that I rsally cant do and have said its not worth the money by the time ive faffed about and said I may as well pick up Dict8 (mind you that was when Dict8 had better quality tasks). I was then told anything is better than nothing. @Gally123 - yeah you do right to just remind them too because you sound to be like a really good worker for them managing the target they set, theyd be sorry to lose you im sure. Perhaps they just try it on. I dont do anywhere near but I do get left to get on with it which suits me but again perhaps its because I do the specialities no one wants! 😆 and anything is better than nothing.

It's a mystery isn't it lol. I read your other reply regarding the interview. I came into the secretarial side typing in 2018 as a band 3, before that band 1 listening to that very big complaint about the division of secs and typists. It wasn't long before the typists left because the b4s were asking them to do more than they had been told they should. Friction much.

@Chrissols Thank you for adding me. I had a very good week with Dict8 last week and this morning is looking good too. I am still only working for Dict8 for a variety of reasons I have mentioned B4. Hopefully, this will be a good month for me.😊

I'm sure DICT8 get their transcribers mixed up regarding the feedback. I had some last week that didn't seem to fit. If they can't give more information regarding the exact task I don't think they should give feedback at all as it means nothing silly !"%&

@Whitestar55 - I am sure they do as well as I have had feedback in the past on specialties I do not type and from dates when I had not done any work.

For the first time yesterday had plenty of work on Dict8 fingers crossed its picking up.

Has anyone questioned them about the 'notes to secretary/or others' and the long instructions about changes within letters that have to be typed in it etc, and the fact that we are not paid for it and got a response?