I need some advice.

[Karen Goldstein]

Hi all --

I sent a 300 plus page file to a scopist that she agreed to have done on 3/23. I followed up with her numerous times to see how it was going and she didn't respond to my emails or phone calls. On 3/25, she sent back the file with the message "file not done. have terrible migraine. can't lift my head." Two days after the job was due she left me with 127 pages to scope myself.

Now she wants to be paid in full. I want to do the right thing, but I don't think this is fair. What would you do?

Karen

[Kathleen Iuzzolino]

Judy, Judy, Judy...

You seem to keep forgetting that I'm not at a loss for clientele nor do I feel the need to complain about the wonderful reporters with whom I have the great fortune to work, none of whom are "perfect." They all are, however, thoughtful and kind people. Those who weren't unexpectedly found themselves in need of a new scopist.

Does it really bother you to have scopists responding to posts about scoping? This is a subject I'm quite qualified to discuss. Your contribution to the board is then to try to intimidate me into silence, which, of course, isn't possible.

Is this generally how you treat scopists? Or am I just particularly threatening to you for some unknown reason?

Kathleen

[Patricia Babits]

Reporters are honestly paying 1.00 a page or so for someone to work on something with no untraslates?? That is seriously nuts. I can't understand why a reporter would do that. That's barely any work for the scopist.
Do you at least print it out and proof it when you're done scoping? Then I could see because they're not having to pay a proofer or proof themselves.
I'm not trying to argue. If you're getting that money, good for you. I am just blown away.

[Judy]

Thank you, Patricia. Well said.

[Kathleen Iuzzolino]

Hi, Patricia,

My reporters mostly don't have untranslates. Their real time work is nearly completely translated. I also can't remember the last time I saw a conflict come up. That's the benefit of having a built-up dictionary and/or working on one case for extended periods of time.

My reporters truly value my ability to research the daylights out of extraordinarily technical cases. I don't charge extra for that either. I specialize in chemical and medical work. I think those cases are interesting. But since the majority of my reporters are in NYC (I'm in NJ), a lot of the work we do is Wall Street finance stuff.

BTW, just because something comes out translated doesn't mean it's necessarily correct. :-)

Also, most of my work is daily copy. Oh, and, no, I don't print it out and proof it. Most of my reporters just give it a quick look-over and send it in. **Warning: This is not recommended for most reporters! (That's my little "Do not try this at home" warning.)

Kathleen

[Judy]

Kelli,

Oh, sure, you're right about looking over their work for a while before letting them totally loose and you only looking at marked areas.

What do you think a reasonable fee for that service would be?

Judy

[Daniel Olarnick]

I'd pay her for the pages she scoped, but only if they required no editing work on your behalf. And that is probably very generous of you.

Send her two aspirins and tell her: "You gave me a migraine: 127 pages that had to be scoped. Can't lift my hand to write a check."

This is the reason I find myself editing my work on my own, except for immediate and/or daily copy.

I write realtime for myself and know the type of input I am getting. Most of the time you are producing 98% completed testimony and don't really need a scopist -- unfortunately -- however, if you have a great scopist (or a "good" one), then your work load is truly cut in half!

[Judy]

Kelli,

If you're spending seven hours to proof a 250 page job, you might as well be going through it the first time around and getting that stuff in your dictionary.

Seven hours for proofing a job already scoped by a professional scopist? Oh, my.

BTW, what software are you on? There's a thread on one of the other boards about using Dragon for editing. Maybe if you could speak some of your functions while scoping. That might cut down on your hand problem.

Another BTW. Do you know what's causing the problem with your hand? Maybe you've already posted it and I just have no memory. Is it because you're writing all day, every day, or could it be something as easy to fix as the height of your keyboard and/or mouse?

Judy

[Sheena Stobaugh]

Kelli,

See if you can find a chiropractor that specializes in carpal tunnel. They should also be able to help you with tendonitis. I have it as well. It was really bad about eight years ago until I found a chiro to help. Not all chiros are specialized in this, so check around. The procedure was very, very deep massages on the muscles of my arms that involve typing. The procedure hurt badly, but after about three sessions, no more pain. It really was a miracle for me. Mine is so bad that I have knots in my forearms you can feel externally.

When it happens now, I can mimic the procedure he did and get relief. But if it was really bad, I'd just go back to him for help.

[Sheryl Fort]

Sheena,

A massage therapist who does deep tissue massage is great for carpal tunnel as well. That's who I've gone to in the past when I have major flareups. It definitely hurts, but it's well worth it.

Sheryl

[Kathleen Iuzzolino]

I'm pretty sure she's referring to what's called rolfing.

[Erica Ruggieri]

Is her name Mary? She did the same thing to me. She got a better job and screwed me. after i paid her about 20 grand for a huge job. the job was ALMOST over and she moved on. I still get mad when i think about it.

[Sheena Stobaugh]

Kelli,

I think the procedure I had done was called transverse friction massage. Here's a little information I found about it: "Transverse friction massage is a massage technique that is often used for tendonitis. The massage strokes of transverse friction massage are deep and applied directly to the affected area, perpendicular to the direction of the tendon. When done properly, transverse friction massage can help reduce pain, improve blood flow to the surrounding area, and prevent or reduce the formation of scar tissue and adhesions in the connective tissue."