Have you ever asked for a discount when your scopist does a poor job?

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

My scopist of 9 years gave me back a 300 page transcript with a bunch of mistakes in it, which is unusual for her.  It happens when she has stuff going on in her life with kids, etc.

This time I called her on it because she charged me full price on this transcript when I had to go through and fix way more mistakes than I fet comfortable with. 

Reporters, do you ever ask for a discount from your scopists if they just throw a transcript together and spit it back to you?  I feel a little taken advantage of at this point. 

What do you think?

[Quyen]

Getting totally off topic here, but I've known men who were completely crushed when their girlfriend(s) broke up with them, i.e., crying, stopped shaving/cutting their hair, lost/gained weight, let themselves go, etc., and that's just a girlfriend, not even a wife.  Men are not emotionally invincible. They just might be better at hiding it.

[Judy]

Depends on the woman.  I was raised by only a father and so I show my feelings more like a man than a woman (my ex-husband thought that was an advantage <snicker>).   I think it more depends how you're raised, not whether you're born a male/female.

Criticism?  Nah, won't get that response from me.

[Keith Rowan II]

Yeah.  Very true.  People are different.   I was just speaking in general terms.  But your point is well-taken.  And nurture does have a LOT to do with it, not just nature.

[ROBIN]

Keith, that is such a "guy" thing to say!  Tsk tsk.

[ROBIN]

I'm so sorry that your scopist is going through such a rough time; however, if I would in her shoes, I would have given you back your transcript and offered to help you find someone else to do it, rather than wait until it was too late and stuck you with a substandard product.  I would have explained to you my situation and apologized profusely.  She could have handled the situation differently, but it's understandable, given her (ex) husband's untimely news.  Glad to see you got it resolved.  Hope she lands on her feet soon.

[Mary Ann Payonk]

Hi, Kelli.  Am I correct in guessing that by "just scoping," you mean true scoping work including defining untranslates, choosing conflicts, and getting the transcript into a more readable form that could be read by you ... and by "scope to final," you mean turning back in to you the final transcript that you will not read again save for a few *check here* marks by the scopist?

M.A.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

No, it's not just going to comment lines; I read the whole thing.  There were just way more errors than there should have been.  This was a super easy job and there should not have been the mistakes that there were.  She 95% of the times gives me a clean product back.  When I give her a job, there never are any untranslates and it's pretty clean.  I expect a pretty damn clean product back.  Otherwise, what's the point?  I could edit it myself for as long as I took to proof every damn word.

We worked it out.  Everything is good now.  We have a pretty fair understanding.  When I give her a job that's going to take more of her time, I pay accordingly with extra $$$.  If I get a job back from her that's going to take me extra time on my end, I expect the same give and take.  I should get a reduction.  Can't just swing it one direction.

[Kim Schroeder]

Gosh, Kelli, that sounds awful for your scopist to go through this personal crises and good thing she has you to understand.  Some people might not understand if they did not have a longstanding relationship.  I know firms will kick you to the curb if you're late to a job even once, regardless of how fabulous of a product you produce.  My problem is I don't really know what to criticize of my scopist.  It took me sooo long to find my fabulous one, and I can see this will develop into a nice relationship.  The others were awful, and I couldn't believe they charged.  I didn't balk, but just paid and moved on (and felt really resentful).  Now that I have a great relationship, I don't want to be too picky (which I am naturally) and wonder what is her job and what is mine to catch as the "proofer"?  Suggestions?