Man up, people!!

[Kyung]

It's very annoying when you get this scattershot e-mails from agencies saying please don't do this or that, we've been getting a lot of compaints, etc.

Conversation had when calling in to confirm job

Agency: This is a really good client. Please don't be late. We've been getting a lot of complaints in general, so we're telling all of our reporters to be early.
Me: Have I ever been late for a depo?
Agency: I really don't know. We're just asking everyone to be early.

So many things wrong with the scenario. First off, if you don't even know if I've ever been late, then telling me to be early isn't going to do you one fat lot of good.

Secondly, shouldn't you be having the conversation w/the reporter who was late.

Thirdly, if there is a problem w/my services, I think I am professional enough for you to tell me one-on-one and learn and get better. When agencies do this scattershot let's tell everyone to be on time (or whatever the issue is), they're really, truly insulting their good reporters who do a good job.

Fourthly, just because he's your good client/personal friend doesn't mean I should treat him any differently. If he is professional and treats me courteously, then I will be professional and treat him courteously. If he's an ass, I will still try to be courteous. Telling the reporter that he's a good client really shouldn't make a difference to the reporter. Is he a good client bec. I am getting paid more or does this mean, that if he complains, that I'll get in trouble or I'll be handing over some freebie. That's what most reporters think when they hear good client of mine.

Follow up on this agency a day later, I hear from another reporter.

Reporter: Did you get an e-mail from XYZ agency saying to be on time?
Me: No, when did they send it?
Reporter: Last week.
Me: Who sent it?
Reporter: Oh, the calendar person.
Me: Oh, that calendar probably knows who's late and who isn't and probably just sent it to reporters who are habitually late or there's been a lot of complaints. Are you late a lot? I got the same message yesterday when I picked up my job info. But the owner doesn't have a clue as to who is late and who isn't and she's just telling everybody. I find that really annoying and rude.

So if you're having complaints of certain nature, you should probably find out who, why, when, and where before you tell everybody this or that.

This is like in the first grade when the teacher says, "There are people in the class who talk when they shouldn't be talking, and you know who you are."

Well, that's bs. When I was in the first grade, I had no idea who she was talking about. And if I hear the same thing now, I figure she must be talking about somebody else. Only if you go, hey, the attorney said you, (insert reporter's) messed up, and talk to the reporter are you going to resolve the issue.

We're not children. Don't treat us like children. If there are issues, deal with them with the person/persons who are having the issues otherwise the issue will never get resolved. They'll just think you're talking about somebody else and you insult the rest of us.

Man up!!!

[Shannon Wise]

Some people are followers and some people are leaders. There are a lot of young people coming up the ranks who have never been taught to think for themselves; they are told what to think. Therein lies one of the problems.

[Judy]

Shannon,

First, I'll explain just a bit. I had a small agency while I was married to my ex, also a reporter. When I divorced him, I left the agency and went out on my own. So I have two distinct times in my life as far as what was going on. Since I went out "on my own," for various reasons I've used only freelance reporters with no guarantee on anybody's behalf that it was a staff position.

But, the snooping reporter with the leggings was back in the early '90s when I still had the agency with the ex. She was a "staff" reporter. Haven't heard from her since we all of a sudden had no more work to give to her. It is amazing how that happens, even in the booming early '90s. I think she went on staff with a Los Angeles agency.

The three-month reporter was somebody I knew during my past life and then contacted her after I went "on my own." She even had the nerve to contact my ex-husband to complain and even inflected herself into my divorce.

Quite a few of the others occurred after the split and I dealt with everything "on my own."

It's tough to find good help!

I read about reporters saying, I want to go out on my own and start an agency. I say, Why? Do you have any idea what it entails? My advice is get your own clientele, but keep it with an agency that has top-notch reporters that they can cover your overflow with. Unless you have a busy enough calendar to keep at least three staff reporters busy, all you're going to have is headache after headache. My husband doesn't know why I still do it. He'd love for me to find a good agency to park my clients with and let them do all the work. It is an option.

[Shannon Wise]

Judy, is this also the same reporter with the leggings and snooping, etc.? My goodness, if it is, she sure is a prize, isn't she? What you say is really scary to me. Years ago you wouldn't see behaviors like this...very rare, but this seems to be more and more common. I know I hear a lot of firms complain that the new and upcoming reporters the last several years, a lot of them can't spell and don't know the differences between the sound-alikes, and can't punctuate. Really makes you wonder. I, too, am thinking every time I say new and upcoming reporters that I'm going to get it. But I know there are some good ones also.

[Judy]

Kelli,

I'm glad I could make you laugh. After I wrote it, I started thinking of the backlash I could possibly get from it, you know, complaining about some reporters' behaviors. I in no way think the majority of the reporters act like the above mentioned. UFL, though, there are those that do act that way, and that's why rules and memos are put in writing, for everybody to receive, not just the offender. If you're not an offender, then you shouldn't take offense to the firm's memos.

The reporter that took three months to get me the transcript really put one big rule into place. I'll tell you the story, then tell you the rule. She took the job. We called and called and called to get the transcript from her. The atty was telling us that they were trying to settle the case, that if we wanted to get paid we needed to get the transcript in. We told the reporter again and again, to no avail. Even told her if the case settled and we had no transcript, she'd just get an appearance fee. Sure 'nuf, case settled, we told her it settled. She finally got the transcript to the office. I paid her an appearance fee. She reported me to the CSR board. They felt my pain. It was the CSR board that recommended instituting a policy of the sliding scale payment for old transcripts. You know, tripts turned in in 10 working days or less get paid in xx days; tripts turned in in 11-xx days get paid 30 days later than the 10-day tripts; and then it ends with tripts turned in in xx+ days we will deduct 10% for every day we don't have it in our office. It's sad, but some people need the fire lit under their butts to get things in in a timely manner.

I got so sick of trying to read the scribble on worksheets that I developed an online worksheet. I figured that'd solve my problem. Wrong. One reporter said she couldn't fill out the worksheet b/c she could only type using the hunt-and-peck method (and if you think I believed that for even a moment...), therefore it would take too long to fill it out. I said, But a lot of it you can cut and paste from your transcript. She claimed she didn't know how to cut and paste. I've had three reporters claim they didn't know how to cut and paste.

I had one reporter work for me a grand total of two times. Each time I had to call her to find out when I'd receive the transcript b/c it was over two weeks old. Both times she claimed she had a death in the family. My, that must have been one sad family!

[Shannon Wise]

We never get any famous people...or I don't. I have a lot of famous people living in my small town out here, but we never see them very much...of course, I am a recluse when I'm home, too, so that doesn't help. The only famous person I ever took was the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs when I was working in Dallas, The firm called me and said you're taking so and so. And I said, "Am I supposed to be impressed by that name?" She said, "He's the owner of the KC Chiefs." I said, "Oh, okay." I'm just not easily impressed by famous people. They have stinky poop too. Oh, and one of "The Donald's" attorneys out of Vegas come to San Antonio and took a depo at one of my clients' office, and, of course, I got to take it. Very nice man. But still wasn't impressed.

[Shannon Wise]

I just cannot get over that one reporter's behavior. Does she still work for you? My goodness gracious. I just get nervous peeking at the atty's notes for spellings. I shouldn't though, especially when they try and break their neck to look what's coming up on my computer. Anita Paul said once in a seminar to tell them, if they're not paying RT, that that's my work product; that I don't look at theirs. Anyway, that's off the subject.
But I remember way back when I was a baby reporter I got in trouble because I showed up at a depo, and I also had a softball game that afternoon. It was so long ago I can't remember how the subject came up, but I said I had to go to a softball game, not even saying that I had to leave or had to shut down the depo or anything. I knew better. But the depo ended in time for me to speed off to my softball game. The next day I get called into the firm office and they said the attys said they had to shut down the depo because I said I had to go to the game. After I picked my chin off the floor, they told me to get that depo out expedited at no extra charge. Like I always say, a master's in Jerk 101.

[Patricia Babits]

I did a depo of a local famous person. The videographer brought something for him to sign. I thought that was pretty unprofessional.

[Patricia Babits]

I get complaints from lawyers about court reporters. It's never about the transcript. It's always about how they conduced themselves. One reporter yelled out that she had a party to go to, and the depo better be ending soon. It turned out to be someone I went to school with!

[Judy]

Shannon,

Your story of needing to see the witness's boyfriend reminded me of another story (I tell you, I'm full of 'em).

I have a client that is fairly well known as far as his name. This one reporter (same reporter that parked in the partners' spots and wore the leggings) wanted to actually ~see~ this man and, I guess, try to meet him. Why, I don't know (I've worked for his firm since '89 and still haven't seen him). Anyway, she actually told us stories of walking around the office looking for him. She'd pop her head into attorneys' offices to see if she could find him. That, I consider stalking. She'd also tell us stories about walking into attorneys' offices and eating candy out of the jar on their desk. Excuse me, but I don't walk into somebody's office unless I'm invited. I should probably see if she's registered herself on this site to see if maybe she's reading these posts. But... she probably wouldn't think it was her.

Also reminds me of another pet peeve of mine. Whenever we're taking a "famous" person's depo, sorry, but I tell the reporters not to ask for autographs. It's bad enough having staff constantly popping their heads ~accidentally~ into the room to get a look that we don't need to add to the fawning.

Judy

[Shannon Wise]

Oh, my gosh. I guess these stories are showing me that I'm getting old and that I've been in this business an awfully long time. I'm stunned at some of the stories I hear lately. There was one reporter (a veteran at that) who was taking depos of a stripper and for some reason or another the boyfriend was waiting out in the waiting room. She wanted to see what he looked like, so she asked for a break. Now, I'm trying to give this reporter the benefit of the doubt thinking, well, maybe they'd been going awhile and she needed a break anyway and she just wanted to see what he looked like while they took a break. But I swear when she was telling the story, I got the impression that they just had a break. I think that's why I was stunned.
Anyway, not to open up a can of worms with the young and upcoming reporters here, and I'm not saying it's everybody, but there are some bad apples and some with quirks in the business, but I think the reporters who do these things have a problem with work ethic. I know I've made some mistakes way back when, but never my behavior or the way I acted, except once there was a question. The attorney just kept hounding me about an issue, and I got to the point where my composure changed, and bam, I got reported to the agency. I didn't even do anything ugly or mean. I just no longer had a smile on my face and he said he acted like I didn't want to be there. Everybody comes across those jerks and we have to handle ourselves accordingly.
I have no idea the day common sense went out the window.