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MT India Digest
Moderated Discussion List
"Effective MT Forum"
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Published by:
MT India www.mtindia.org Moderated by:
Amit Chatterjee,SM
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..................................................
Feb 16, 2001 Digest #074
.................................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... =========FEATURED POST=========== -=The Blakes Go to India=- ~Cheryl J. Blake
"familiar and oft-repeated refrain of "this is India, my friend"."
=======MODERATOR COMMENT======
-=Effective communication!=- ===========CONTINUING============ -=Frauds in MT=- ~Mohit Sinha
"making me work for free (sometimes for more than regular 8 hours)
in the name of training " ~Shobana Jacob
"are there any companies which do offer home transcription which
does prove profitable for the client?" ~Surendra Pal Singh
"one of those several candidates, who got trapped because of an
attractive advertisement published in the local news papers" ~Sachin. S. Saple
"They charged us a security deposit of Rs. 1,50,000 and gave us
the trails" =========FEATURED POST=========== From: Cheryl J. Blake <
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Subject: "The Blakes Go to India"
---------------------------------------------------
Dear fellow MTIDer.... A brief introduction is warranted, I think. During the year 2000,
Ms. Cheryl J. Blake spent a nine-month stint in Bangalore, India.
She and her family lived and worked directly with Indian
transcriptionists. This gives her a unique insight into the
cultural similarities and differences, and enhances her
communication abilities with Indian MTs and MTSO's. We will be publishing a series on their experiences, as a regular
feature. Enjoy! I also invite Indian MTs to come up and share their
experiences of traveling and working in the US and with USMTs. Your Striving Moderator,
Amit C.
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----------------------------------------------------
*February 5, 2000* Well, here we are! We arrived in India about three weeks ago, and
this is the first time I have had a chance to even think of
composing a letter about our travel experiences. The main reason
for my lack of communication, which will become obvious to all
quite soon - is the familiar and oft-repeated refrain of "this is
India, my friend". We left Annapolis on a cold winter evening, off for parts unknown.
The first thing we encountered was the security check at the Dulles
International Terminal. You all know the drill - turn on the
computer, turn on the video camera, open the digital camera case.
Joe was carrying a laser pointer, which prompted the security agent
to frisk him quite thoroughly. While Joe was occupied, I was busy
rounding up bags (all 14 of them), kids and electronic equipment.
We finally finished this exercise and began to make our way through
the airport to our gate, which couldn't have been farther away. I
don't know why, but whenever we have a plane to catch, the gate is
always the last one. We boarded our KLM/Northwest DC-10 bound for Amsterdam. Before we
took our seats, Joe checked to see where the digital camera was.
He was holding an empty case. I don't have it. Joe doesn't have
it. Robbie hasn't got it, and Johnny never had it - so we didn't
ask. THE SECURITY CHECK! While Joe was being frisked and Robbie
was disposing of the laser pointer, I was being distracted turning
on and demonstrating the electronic gadgets - someone took the
camera! (This story has a happy ending, but at the time we were
heartbroken that my wonderful Christmas present had been stolen,
along with the photographs stored in the memory.) We reported the
missing camera to the flight attendant, who had me fill out a
missing item report, busy work for me so I wouldn't panic, no
doubt, as it was simply an exercise in writing our address (we
don't have one - we're between homes right now). No refund, no
replacement, no anything - but if it happens to show up, we'll
find you. Yeah, right. With our hearts heavier after the loss of the camera, we settled in
for our 7-1/2 hour flight to Amsterdam. I'll spare all of you the
details of the Chinese fire drill we played throughout the flight.
You will all understand when I say there was ONE window seat and
TWO children, as well as one good seat to watch to movie and one
good seat to hear the movie, the permutations
boggle the mind. Luckily, the flight was not full. We arrived in Amsterdam in the dark. The sun didn't rise until
nearly 8 a.m.! With wide eyes and open ears, we saw signs and
heard announcements in languages other than English and Spanish, or
French even - these were truly foreign. We had a 2-hour layover in
Amsterdam, so there was no time to leave the airport. We staked
out a bench near the commercial area and took turns getting food
and finding bathrooms. The challenge was that we had no Dutch
currency. I saw a bank/money changer, but the line was long.
Robbie and I went to a deli, hoping for the best. It is a
frightening feeling to have money in your pocket and still be
broke. The deli cashier assured me she would accept American
dollars, but our change would be in Kroners or Guilders, I'm still
not sure which. I didn't care what currency our change was in, as
long as we could eat. We found salami, crackers and cheese and
Cokes, paid our American money and got back some coins. I breathed
another sigh of relief. While Robbie and I were exploring the airport deli, Johnny and Joe
were maintaining home base at the bench. Johnny made friends with
a boy his age, who was from Denmark. In the wonderful way children
do, they communicated with each other - each using their own
language, playing and talking animatedly. Boarding call for KLM flight to Mumbai (Bombay) - that's us! Here
we go! India, next stop. We squeezed into our seats and prepared
for the long flight. It was interminable, longer than long. The
flight was totally full and somehow it seemed that they managed to
cram even more seats onto this DC-10 than the last one. They
served us Indian food, and gave us a choice of vegetarian or
non-veg. I chose veg, and was pleasantly surprised. The food was
good. That was the high point. The low point was that there was
this fat lady behind me who refused to allow me to recline my seat.
She kept punching the seat and pushing it back up. When she fell
asleep, I finally reclined a small bit. We had some immigration
papers to fill out, stating our business in India. These were
handed to us as we boarded the plane - for customs purposes. Nothing could have prepared me for Mumbai. The moment we landed, I
knew we were in a "developing country". Everything looked
different.older, dirtier. We put Johnny on his "leash", lest he get
lost in the crowds of people, all pushing towards the same place.
Joe and Robbie went off to locate all the luggage and some
trolleys, while Johnny and I people-watched. We made our way
through customs, showed our passports, handed in our
immigration forms and entered India. I was apprehensive about this part of the trip, because greeting
parties are forbidden to enter the airport. We were on our own.
We were to be met at the outside doors of the airport by someone
holding a sign with my name on it. I anxiously scanned the crowd
for a friendly face, and I found one - another sigh of relief. We
were met outside the airport by the nephew of an investor in the
company I worked for. After being warmly greeted by our new friend and two helpers, they
grabbed our luggage and herded us towards the bus that would take
us to the domestic airport. I was so grateful that his uncle had
arranged this for us, as Bombay is a very overwhelming and
frightening place. We had to change from the international airport
to the domestic airport for the next and final leg of the
trip.Bombay to Bangalore. Bombay is a filthy, smoky, crowded and hot place. This was our
first exposure to beggar children, who hold their hands out and
look at you with wide eyes. One asked Johnny for "dollar", and he
pulled out the lining of his pockets to show her he had no
dollars - instinctively using universal language. The child was
not dissuaded and kept on, now asking for "chocolate", with an
endearing smile. The thing about panhandlers here is that they
don't go away when you say no, they keep on. The same is
true for street vendors. If you say no, they lower the price.
There is no discreet or nice way to end this relationship; other
than to turn your back or close the car window. Even then, they
don't stop trying. We piled our luggage into the cargo hold of the bus and climbed
into it from the wrong (left) side. Thankfully, the bus was
air-conditioned. Next stop, the domestic airport in Bombay. We got
to the airport and were unloading and keeping track of all of our
baggage, shooing away beggars and other "helpers". We were shepherded into the airport by two personable men, who
apparently worked at the airport. They got us to the waiting area,
where we were to spend the next 6 hours, which felt like 6 days. We
had now been awake for an entire day, our body clocks completely
out of synch. We didn't know what day it was or what time it was.
Our helpful "shepherds" turned into wolves when they demanded $20
American for their tip. We were prepared to tip them, but
certainly not that much. When we refused, they walked away. They
both came back several times, but when they were offered a more
reasonable amount of money they would not accept it. Their ploy
didn't work - they walked away empty-handed. So we waited and waited, and on and on - the longest six hours
ever. There was wrestling on the TV at our waiting area, but the
narration was in Hindi. Robbie watched it anyway. It was hot. We
were thirsty. We didn't have any bottled water with us. We didn't
have any Indian money yet. There was a moneychanger, but he was
asleep in his booth. He wouldn't wake up. We yoo-hooed and
yo-there'd and knocked on the glass - he snored on and didn't even
flinch. Others tried to wake him, but he was down for the count.
So much for getting some Indian money. Unlike in Amsterdam, the
concessionaires in the Mumbai airport do not accept
American money. A nice Indian man overheard me ask the cashier
whether she could change any American money so we might buy some
sodas. We told him that the moneychanger was asleep. He took
pity on us and gave us Rs 100 (=2 USD), and we bought two cans of
soda. We thankfully accepted. More waiting. Eventually I had a need to use the bathroom. Since we hadn't
departed planet Earth to our knowledge, we couldn't possibly expect
that those facilities would be any different. I made my way to the
ladies lounge. Two women who were apparently the bathroom monitors
greeted me. I opened the door to one of the stalls, fully
expecting to see a toilet. Nope! No toilet here! Bewildered as to
how I was to use this porcelain hole in the floor, I cast a lost
look towards one of the ladies standing there. She pointed to the
first stall and said, "English toilet". Like an old friend, there
it was - something I had always taken for granted. Another sigh of
relief. As I washed my hands, one lady put the soap in my hand
while the other offered me a paper towel. Of course, this service
deserves a tip, and they held out their hands. I didn't go to the
bathroom with my purse, so all I had in my pocket were a few Dutch
coins. So, I tipped them with that. I have no idea how much, but I
gave the bigger coin to the lady who pointed out the "English
toilet". After the time finally passed, we went through another security
check and into a larger waiting room. These were the departure
gates. We had no idea what gate to go to. Our airline, Jet
Airways, had no sign up anywhere. No one knew where we were
supposed to go to catch the next flight. We waited for
announcements. Finally, they started announcing other
departing flights for Jet Airways. There were 3 doors to choose
from. The crew would call the next flight and change the city on
the sign. They all departed from the same 3 gates. Finally it was
our turn. The last leg had begun. Next stop, Bangalore! Home for the next
year. The airplane was brand new. After a short delay, we were on
our way. We were served breakfast on this one hour flight. We were
given cold, jasmine-scented towels to freshen up with. Heavenly. Robbie, Johnny and I ordered vegetarian breakfasts. Joe had
non-veg. We were hungry and the food was good. We were offered
something called "fresh lime juice". It sounded refreshing, so
Robbie and I accepted some. Surprisingly, it was salty! It is
limeade with salt in it. Robbie has been on a quest for it since.
He loved it! There was just enough time for us to eat breakfast and for the crew
to clear the dishes away and we had finally arrived, 28 plus hours
since departing Dulles, 42 plus since any of us last slept. The
Bangalore airport was much cleaner and newer. Someone handed me a
rose and welcomed me to Bangalore. Another sigh of relief. ........to be continued. (c) Cheryl J. Blake
46250 Mendocino Road
Newberry Springs, CA 92365 Comment?
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=========MODERATOR COMMENT===== Dear fellow MTIDer.... I always make it a point to explain that I have only two
commodities: my knowledge and my time (some of you have heard this
and know where it's going). I treasure both. One problem I have found in a significant population of Indian
MTSO's and their managers is extremely poor communication skills -
and inability to follow instructions! Last Saturday, as some of you
might know - I unwittingly attempted hara-kiri - I think now I must
have lost my wits that day! :( So my mobile is retired as of now,
and I have applied for a fresh number. But to get back to inability to follow instructions, here is a
classic example: 13th of Feb, and I thought I was out of deep waters......
ring..ring..ring! With a sigh I switch it on " I am responding to
the adv that appeared in the MTTimes. I am from transindiadotcom".
"Yes ma'am, but you see the adv was till yesterday. However, you
can please send your proposal to my email id and we can take it
from there. Thank you". That was quite precise and reasonable,
but the lady kept calling throughout the whole day and I kept
cutting off the call. By early evening, I was quite tired of the
game, so I thought what the hell - let us get over this, I might be
able to sleep tonight after all!:) So I picked up on the next ring: "You said to send you email?"
"You got it right, ma'am"
" But your adv says NOT to send email"
" Yes, it was a mistake on my part ma'am, but please mail me now."
" But it specifically says NOT to send email"
For a moment I was back in the services, where every order is
suffixed with a standard sentence - THIS ORDER SUPERSEDES ALL
PREVIOUS ONES ON THIS SUBJECT! Anyway, I proceeded to tell her so
in a curt business like fashion, but not in so many words. She
wouldn't relent "... but my secretary says..." By which time I was
flapped enough to retort "Ma'am, does your secretary dictate your
business communications? I think I have enlightened you as much as
was possible - please have a nice day." Weary eyed, back from office, I find this mail: Kind Attention: Dr. Amit Thanks for the mail I received regarding MT work. It was infact
nice talking to you. I am sorry to tell you that we are not interested in your MT work.
We are presently handling direct clients and I Have never faced any
problem with them as far as any clarifications from my side is
concerned. I think if a person wants a clarification due attention should be
given to him. Thanks a lot Regards
Heena B.K.
------------------------------------------------ I promptly asked for contact address so that I could respond. Her
reply: "Kindly have a look at our site www.transindiadotcom.com for
company profile and other details." Well you need not waste your time going there - the site does have
a single contact name or address! Yes, I did look up "who is" to
find the administrative contact. This is what we got from INTERNIC: Transindiadotcom
Thomas George (
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91484360462
FAX: 91484396201
Mayoor Business centre,chittoor road
Cochin, Kerala 682035
IN I then decided it would be a waste of prime time to communicate
further, with someone who can't (or refuses to). I rest my case. Moral of the story, friends, is that MT managers should have an
ability to communicate in a short and sweet manner - I do not see
this company going anywhere with their comprehension skills and
inability to follow instructions, with any US client. And I think I am politically correct in pointing out that I can be
either Amit or Dr. Chatterjee, and NOT Dr. Amit. That is basic
protocol both in India and the US, and I hope there are no
"queries" on this. And now, let us get back on the long road ahead..... Your Striving Moderator,
Amit C.
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Comment?
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================CONTINUING======================= From: mohit sinha <
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>
Subject: Problem in getting a job/ training with stipend Dear MTIDers, I have done a diploma course in medical transcription from IIMT New
Delhi. In my certificate, I have been given C grade with accuracy
less than 60% which was not my accuracy but the overall
performance, as the institute says based on viva, attendance
tc.( it is surprising that we were not signing any attendance sheet
as such ). Any way, after that I had done one month full time
training at the institute after which my accuracy came to 85%, but
I have not been given any certificate for the training as I had
some problems with the institute. They were making me work for free
(sometimes for more than regular 8 hours) in the name of training
insisting that the course is not yet finished. Anyway, I left the
so called training as I had to look for my future prospects. The
problem now is that I am not getting any job. I am in the 3rd year
of my graduation at IGNOU( through correspondence ). I sincerely
like this profession and want to develop my career in this, but i
am started getting frustrated. Could anyone please guide me in this
matter. Thanks. Sincerely,
Mohit Sinha Comment?
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++++ new post - same topic ++++ From: Shobana Jacob <
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>
Subject: Are there companies offering medical transcription to be
done from home Hi Amit and MTIDers, I am a resident of Palakkad. My name is Shobana Jacob, I am a
housewife. Seeing advertisements of this new job opportunity of
doing medical transcription from home, I paid Rs. 30,000 to an
institute that was opened in Palakkad called the Kochin Institute
Of Medical Transcription. After successfully completing the course,
and given job assurances, with a monthly income of 4500-5000 per
month, I was totally devastated to find out that the company did
not start and neither did he return the money, and has closed out
now. So my basic query is to know how far this industry is doing really
well in India, and are there any companies which do offer home
transcription which does prove profitable for the client? How far is it feasible to work on your own and are there people
doing this work from home and could you give me any contact
addresses for me to pursue doing this work from home? Thanks. Shobana Jacob Comment?
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++++ new post - same topic ++++ From: Surendra Pal Singh<
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Subject: Needing help! Dear Amit & MTIDers, My self Surendra Pal Singh am a subscriber of your news letters. I
recently have joined an institute named Global Institute of
Medical Transcription, (Gwalior) offering six months training in
medical transcription. I was also one of those several candidates, who got trapped because
of an attractive advertisement published in the local news papers
offering golden opportunities, for earning more than eight thousand
rupees/month. The institute also has its branches at Bhopal,
Jhansi, Jabalpur, Lalitpur, Urai and Sagar. After giving two months training, and collecting Rs. 20,000 per
candidate the institute has winded up their branches at Gwalior,
Lalitpur and Urai. While the branches at Bhopal, Jabalpur and
Jhansi, seems to be waiting for the second and the last
installments of payments from the candidates. I would like to know that is there any legal way to stop such type
of institutes from betraying the people, how could we get our money
back. And is there any way to inform the students at the other
branches of the institute, made aware of of the facts, so that at
least they could save themselves from wasting their precious time
and money. Sincerely, Surendra Pal Singh Comment?
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++++ new post - same topic ++++ From: Samarsingh Saple <
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Subject: Usurping money given UPFRONT!! Hi Amit: We are a company into MT training and production based at Kolhapur.
Presently we have a well qualified team with 15 MT's, 3 proof
readers, and 3 QA's and Doctor's. We came across an adv in your classified section which said MT work
available, and we approached the company by the name Softcom based
at Mumbai. They charged us a security deposit of Rs. 1,50,000 and
gave us the trails, in which we did very well and got the job.
Softcom started sending us the work and by the end of the first
month they started coming up with stupid complains like your
accuracy is not good, its only 85 % and all such stuff. Finally
they told us that they cannot send us the work, giving us the
reason of accuracy and terminated the contract, the deposit also
was not refunded, nor we got paid for the job we did. I can guarantee you that the team working with me is the best one
can have, with a minimum experience of 1.5 to 2 years. Softcom just
cheated us. Why this cheating? Is there no way to stop this? Please save this industry as it's reputation is worst. Majority of
the population, don't know about MT, but those all who know or just
heard about it, know it as a field where there's a lot of cheating
going on. I even have a training institute and am without a job when I have
assured those people jobs. What should I do with these people,
tell them to leave and cheat them. This is the worst situation,
even after having the best. Thanking you, Sincrely, Sachin. S. Saple Comment?
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----------------------------------------------------
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