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A Professional Transcriptionist

Posted on 29th November 2018 • Categories: General, Students, Transcription

Useful Advice When looking for a Professional Transcriptionist: –

  1. Do your research – Scammers are getting very good at creating realistic websites. If something does not look or feel right, then it generally isn’t. Look for reviews, testimonials, Facebook pages, Linked-In profiles, Twitter feeds etc.
  2. Look for professionalism – Take a couple of minutes to double-check the site.  Look up their IP address, visit the homepage or the ‘About us’ pages and read the text there. Look out for poor English, such as spelling and grammar mistakes, or phrases that don’t sound quite right. It could mean the site isn’t genuine and has been put together by someone abroad looking to make a quick profit.
  3. Always look for a physical address – If the company does not have a physical address, then it is suspicious. All businesses including on-line services should all have a physical address. Search on Google maps to see where they are based and if such place exists.
  4. Look for a padlock – Most browsers show a green padlock next to the website’s URL – this is a handy way to see whether it is a trusted website.
  5. Is the Price too good to be true When you see very low prices you should be a bit suspicious. If prices seem too good to be true, then sadly, they probably are. Scam websites use low prices to lure people in. Transcription prices usually start at around £1.00 per audio minute.  Any lower, then you must ask yourself the question – “How on earth do they make a profit?”
  6. Always look for a landline telephone number – You cannot trust a mobile number, you could be speaking to someone in a different country. All legitimate businesses will have a landline telephone number. If you do a search on the internet for the business name and telephone number, the two should connect together.
  7. Speak to them on the telephone before committing – Give them a call. You can usually get a good/bad feeling when you speak to an actual person. Only call a telephone number with a UK area code. This area code should match up to where the physical address is located.
  8. Ask the right questions – Never think you are being a nuisance for asking questions. Ask things such as:-“Have you done this type of transcription before?” “How much will it cost me?” “How long will it take to transcribe?” “How do I get the recording to you?” “Who will actually do the work?” “Will everything remain confidential?” “How and when do I pay?”
  9. Always ask for a written quote – Always ask for a quote to be emailed to you together with terms and conditions and most importantly always read them. They may ask you to email them first with your enquiry together with your contact details and then they will email you back with a quote, and answering any questions you may have. But that is fine, I normally ask a potential client to email me first so that I have all their details correct such as email address and any spellings of names etc.
  10. Never give out any personal information – The only information you need to give out is your name, telephone number, your email address and business/home address. You may prefer not to give out your home address if you are a private individual and that is fine, but if this is the case, expect to have to pay in full upfront, as it works both ways and self-employed transcribers have to protect themselves too.

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