Have you ever heard of this agency?

[Marla Sharp]

If you have a question about an agency, post the agency name here along with your e-mail address, and someone who's familiar with the agency will e-mail you back. Please do not post any negative comments.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Kusar has been using/covering depos on CSRnation for a while now (they have probably covered dozens of jobs since they joined)
I have never received a single complaint about them.

However, I have never worked directly for them.

[Christina Diaz, CRC CRR RDR CSR]

Ellen Grauer Reporting in NY -- Received a rate schedule, wasn't thrilled with it (no copies!) Is that the new norm? Just wondering if anyone has experience if the work is completely awesome to make up for other deficiencies in the rates -- even dailies -- not thrilling. I'm at [e-mail]. Thanks!!

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

You're saying that this agency pays the certified shorthand reporter zero on copy sales? Why would any agency do that I wonder? Who would take work where we don't share in the bounty with the agency? The rate schedule they sent you, it's got to be one that someone prepared in error and rather than throw it in the garbage, they're still erroneously sending it out. I'd call and check. No one who values the professional would pay zero on copy sales. And I'd think that no one with any experience and credentials would be willing to work under this arrangement.

[Amanda Leigh]

Probably not an error--I have heard of agencies like that. And there are reporters out there that, amazingly, have accepted such an arrangement.

In my opinion, I believe the best way to deter unfair practices employed by some reporting firms is to simply NOT WORK FOR THEM, period, nada, huh-uh, ain't happenin'.

Of course, you could always send your own rates; and if a reporting firm wants your services, they must pay you fairly.

[Quyen]

I don't know why ANY reporter would work for ANY AGENCY that does not pay for ANY copies. This is NOT the norm and should NEVER BE nor BECOME the norm.

No self-respecting professional reporter should ever work for any such firm -- even if it means you'd have to skip a meal to get the bills paid.

This is in no way directed at you or meant to insult or disrespect you, Christina. I'm just saying . . .

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

Quyen: BEAUTIFUL.

Amanda and Kelli: agree 100 percent.

I played dumb in my post to make a point. I know there are NYC agencies who get away with this BS. I would never and have never taken a job under those circumstances. One of the above-mentioned agencies called me a few years ago in a panic at 8 a.m. to cover their job and I did and they paid me to the penny what I billed them, including all the copy sales, of course. The called me several times after that to cover work for them but I was always booked. They haven't called in a long while. This might mean that they have a giant pool of dummies who are willing to work for no copy sales.

[Premier Reporting]

Ah...Ellen Grauer...I took a job for them and waited and waited and waited. And waited and waited and waited. And waited and waited and waited to get paid. I don't do this to my reporters and don't expect it from agencies I work for. Not nice. We wait long enough for attys to pay us, but other agencies??? No thanks. RUN. Don't walk. RUN from them.

[Judy]

waited and waited and waited. And waited and waited and waited. And waited and waited and waited

Approximately how many weeks/months/years does the above comment entail?

[Christina Diaz, CRC CRR RDR CSR]

Thank you for the comments. I just really needed to get the pulse from other working reporters. I'm pretty new to the "freelance" field in its truest sense of the word even though I've been at this for 18 years. Times are certainly a changing, but I couldn't imagine that they were a changing THAT MUCH!! I have gotten rate schedules from agencies that really are all over the map. The no copies was something that I hadn't seen before though. Just as an FYI, I did send them my rate schedule first -- to which they sent back theirs -- and at the bottom it said NO COPIES! Trying to weed out the dogs!!
Thanks again.

[Michelle]

Christina,
"The no copies was something that I hadn't seen before though" Sadly the 'no copies' is beginning to become a regular feature. We've actually refused to take on quite a number of jobs because we wouldn't accept the 'no copy' policy.
One previously named company even said "surely taking the job and the money on offer is better than not earning at all?" To which we replied that just because we weren't accepting the job they wanted us to cover, didn't in fact mean we weren't working at all. And, just because they don't charge for copies does not mean they have a monopoly on all work, well at least not yet anyway :)
I fear the race to the bottom is well and truly on!

[Mary Ann Payonk]

Excellent comments, Christina! You mentioned "just because they don't charge for copies." That was probably a misstatement, or I read it wrong. Don't get it in your mind that reporting agencies aren't charging for copy sales. They absolutely are! They're just not paying the reporters for those copy sales. Another form of offer I've gotten in the past few years has been along the lines of $1 for the first realtime hookup, 75 cents for the second, 50 cents for the third, 25 cents per page for all hookups after that third one. So ... do we really think that reporting agencies are charging the client that way? No. And not even "no," but HELL no. If so, attys would be knocking each other over like penguins on the edge of a cliff so that someone ELSE would go first and they could get in on the 25-cent realtime. (pause) 25-cent realtime. (another pause) I don't know whether I want to laugh out loud, or just throw up.

M.A.

[S. Arielle]

Really?? Did you work for them as an agency or as a reporter? Because I know they pay their reporters within 2 weeks. Maybe they have a different pay schedule for agencies.

Sorry to hear that