Page rate for transcript growth? - CSRNation2024-03-29T15:14:21Zhttp://csrnation.ning.com/forum/topics/page-rate-for-transcript?commentId=1736041%3AComment%3A1285558&feed=yes&xn_auth=noMy rate/reference sheet speci…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-22:1736041:Comment:12855102013-10-22T02:24:13.279ZJoyce Davishttp://csrnation.ning.com/profile/JoyceDavis
<p>My rate/reference sheet specifies how growth pages are handled. 5% growth is normal: paragraphing, reformatting in places, putting in missing parentheticals, a few drops. </p>
<p>I make sure before I take the first job that there is agreement to the terms of the rate/reference sheet.</p>
<p>If the transcript starts out 100 pages and grows to 105 pages, that's scoping and normal growth.</p>
<p>If the transcript starts out 100 pages and grows to 110 pages, 5 pages are normal growth, 5 pages…</p>
<p>My rate/reference sheet specifies how growth pages are handled. 5% growth is normal: paragraphing, reformatting in places, putting in missing parentheticals, a few drops. </p>
<p>I make sure before I take the first job that there is agreement to the terms of the rate/reference sheet.</p>
<p>If the transcript starts out 100 pages and grows to 105 pages, that's scoping and normal growth.</p>
<p>If the transcript starts out 100 pages and grows to 110 pages, 5 pages are normal growth, 5 pages are charged at the transcribing rate (double the scoping page rate).</p>
<p>It makes sense to distinguish between scoping and transcribing. Your extra time is adding to the reporter's billable pages. The reporter gets to charge for pages created by you. In turn, the reporter is paying you the transcribing rate for growth pages beyond 5%. I'd say that's a good deal for the reporter.</p>
<p>There are those days when attorneys and witnesses race through and there's no way the best writer can keep up with them. That reporter will be grateful for your careful scoping and fully understand your need to charge a transcribing rate for growth beyond normal. </p>
<p>This subject comes up from time to time. Believe me, scopists would prefer to have good writers and stay within the 5%. I've had transcripts with lots of growth. The double rate did not compensate me for the time I spent making the transcript verbatim. </p>
<p>I have great writers these days. I seldom need to charge extra. If I took on a new reporter and the work consistently grew beyond 5%, I'd probably be too busy to take more work from him/her.</p>
<p> </p> What a depressing post. So th…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-22:1736041:Comment:12855042013-10-22T00:42:08.982ZLisa O'Sullivanhttp://csrnation.ning.com/xn/detail/u_1xulkcyjwrslf
<p>What a depressing post. So there are reporters out there who are, what, just sitting there napping during testimony? How else can there be these huge drops??</p>
<p>I think if I were a scopist, I'd charge double on the pages where I had to type in stuff; and if that occasion occurred often enough (which would be a standard agreed to beforehand), I would charge some type of transcribing fee on top of the page rate.</p>
<p>What a depressing post. So there are reporters out there who are, what, just sitting there napping during testimony? How else can there be these huge drops??</p>
<p>I think if I were a scopist, I'd charge double on the pages where I had to type in stuff; and if that occasion occurred often enough (which would be a standard agreed to beforehand), I would charge some type of transcribing fee on top of the page rate.</p> I agree with Amanda. The sec…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-20:1736041:Comment:12853792013-10-20T19:49:31.877ZJudyhttp://csrnation.ning.com/profile/JudyRunes
<p>I agree with Amanda. The second any scopist is thinking that this is getting into transcription therefore higher rates, scopists have the responsibility of informing the reporter and giving the reporter the option of either letting the scopist finish or taking the job back from the scopist. And if a scopist doesn't give the reporter that opportunity, the scopist really can't in good conscience bill higher than the agree-upon rate. Well, you could, but you'll probably be put on that darned…</p>
<p>I agree with Amanda. The second any scopist is thinking that this is getting into transcription therefore higher rates, scopists have the responsibility of informing the reporter and giving the reporter the option of either letting the scopist finish or taking the job back from the scopist. And if a scopist doesn't give the reporter that opportunity, the scopist really can't in good conscience bill higher than the agree-upon rate. Well, you could, but you'll probably be put on that darned Do Not Use list and will never hear from the reporter again.</p> What I would do if you actual…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-20:1736041:Comment:12853672013-10-20T17:45:45.320ZKelli Combs (admin)http://csrnation.ning.com/profile/Kellicombsadmin
<p>What I would do if you actually are typing more than you think you should, I'd tell the reporter before you get too far into the job that you're going to have to charge a higher rate because of all the typing. Leave it up to the reporter if she wants you to continue or she/he can get another scopist to do it if that's the issue.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For me personally, I tell my scopist I'll pay them an extra fee when I know I couldn't keep up with a witness or if the attorney and witness are…</p>
<p>What I would do if you actually are typing more than you think you should, I'd tell the reporter before you get too far into the job that you're going to have to charge a higher rate because of all the typing. Leave it up to the reporter if she wants you to continue or she/he can get another scopist to do it if that's the issue.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For me personally, I tell my scopist I'll pay them an extra fee when I know I couldn't keep up with a witness or if the attorney and witness are arguing and cutting each other off all day, which happens, I pay extra for her having to fill that in. No reporter can get that nonsense. </p>
<p>Janiece and Amanda are right; I edit my jobs all day and do rough ASCIIs for the attorneys on 85% of my jobs so there is not even an untranslated word in most of my transcripts. Now, I don't expect a discount when she's practically proofing the job for me. You may want to keep that in mind. It's a give and take; some jobs are easy and some are no so easy.</p> Good questions.
I am not a…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-20:1736041:Comment:12853182013-10-20T17:07:35.525ZAmanda Leighhttp://csrnation.ning.com/profile/AmandaLeigh
<p>Good questions. </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">I am not a scopist; but if I were, I'd try to consider a balance. If the reporter has beautiful work and then in comes a nightmare, the usual smooth sailing is taken into consideration when it comes time to invoice. If the reporter always turns in slop and in comes a beaut, probably the same rate applies to the beaut as for the slop because, chances are, the usual pay could use a badly needed boost to cover all the usual crap waded…</span></p>
<p>Good questions. </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">I am not a scopist; but if I were, I'd try to consider a balance. If the reporter has beautiful work and then in comes a nightmare, the usual smooth sailing is taken into consideration when it comes time to invoice. If the reporter always turns in slop and in comes a beaut, probably the same rate applies to the beaut as for the slop because, chances are, the usual pay could use a badly needed boost to cover all the usual crap waded through. If I were a nickle-and-dime scopist, I wouldn't balk at a court reporter nickle-and-diming me right back (may not like it, but gotta respect it--works both ways).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">I don't know how determined--I'll be interested in reading other replies.</span></p> Are your transcripts perfect…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-20:1736041:Comment:12855602013-10-20T16:39:25.390ZJaniece Younghttp://csrnation.ning.com/profile/JanieceYYoung
<p>Are your transcripts perfect when you give them to the reporter? Do you credit her back for anything she has to "fix" because you missed it? What is your policy on that issue? I'm just curious? Do you give the reporter a break on the page rate when you don't give the transcript back to her when she asked for it? How do you handle those situations?</p>
<p>Are your transcripts perfect when you give them to the reporter? Do you credit her back for anything she has to "fix" because you missed it? What is your policy on that issue? I'm just curious? Do you give the reporter a break on the page rate when you don't give the transcript back to her when she asked for it? How do you handle those situations?</p> There could be a minimum set…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-20:1736041:Comment:12855582013-10-20T16:27:18.940ZAmanda Leighhttp://csrnation.ning.com/profile/AmandaLeigh
<p>There could be a minimum set up per hour, too, to combat Candy Crush.</p>
<p>There could be a minimum set up per hour, too, to combat Candy Crush.</p> Yes, there'd have to be a hig…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-20:1736041:Comment:12853082013-10-20T15:57:18.779ZAmanda Leighhttp://csrnation.ning.com/profile/AmandaLeigh
<p>Yes, there'd have to be a high degree of trust.<br></br><br></br>Like you, when I first started out, the agency I worked for had an in-house scopist, Trish--was also the agency office manager and paid a salary. Trish would try to dictate to me, the reporter (okay, I wasn't your average newb--had worked for two court reporting agencies when in school and did two years of WQs and could run circles around nursing-school-dropout Trish) -- but I digress. Anyway, Trish tried to dictate to me how I was…</p>
<p>Yes, there'd have to be a high degree of trust.<br/><br/>Like you, when I first started out, the agency I worked for had an in-house scopist, Trish--was also the agency office manager and paid a salary. Trish would try to dictate to me, the reporter (okay, I wasn't your average newb--had worked for two court reporting agencies when in school and did two years of WQs and could run circles around nursing-school-dropout Trish) -- but I digress. Anyway, Trish tried to dictate to me how I was going to certify my transcripts. It came to a head one morning on her office floor...then I got up, straightened my grey wool pencil skirt and jacket, smoothed my hair, and went to my Railroad Commission hearing with dignity. We did my transcripts my way -_-.</p> Amanda, that's how it started…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-20:1736041:Comment:12855562013-10-20T15:34:43.875ZJudyhttp://csrnation.ning.com/profile/JudyRunes
<p>Amanda, that's how it started, by the hour. I started almost right out of the gate on CAT in '81 and the only ones that had edit stations were the reporters and agencies, so the scopists would come in and work on your jobs on the agency's computers (although I did have one gal coming to the house after a while). But unless the scopist is sitting in your office on your computer, you'll never be able to tell how much of the time is spent scoping vs. surfing on the 'net, playing Candy Crush,…</p>
<p>Amanda, that's how it started, by the hour. I started almost right out of the gate on CAT in '81 and the only ones that had edit stations were the reporters and agencies, so the scopists would come in and work on your jobs on the agency's computers (although I did have one gal coming to the house after a while). But unless the scopist is sitting in your office on your computer, you'll never be able to tell how much of the time is spent scoping vs. surfing on the 'net, playing Candy Crush, talking on the phone. </p>
<p></p> Paragraphing does not constit…tag:csrnation.ning.com,2013-10-20:1736041:Comment:12853622013-10-20T15:25:22.536ZAmanda Leighhttp://csrnation.ning.com/profile/AmandaLeigh
<p>Paragraphing does not constitute billable growth, IMO. I think if you figure it out by extra time spent, that might be the way to go. Actually, if we paid scopists by the hour instead of by the page, it might be a better system.</p>
<p>Paragraphing does not constitute billable growth, IMO. I think if you figure it out by extra time spent, that might be the way to go. Actually, if we paid scopists by the hour instead of by the page, it might be a better system.</p>