The Importance of Client Contact

It still amazes me that people avoid contact with their clients about seemly simply things. Yesterday I got a new client because his previous transcriptionist had gone on leave and not bothered to inform him that she would be unavailable to do work for him. How did he find out? His office manager found out when she rang the transcriptionist on Thursday evening to find out where the work was. Hence him ringing me at 7:30 in the morning.


While I am not going to get into who should look for the replacement to cover work while you're on leave as I believe that's a personal choice issue, I do however believe that you should advise your clients either way if you are going to be unable to do their work for a period of time.

While a week may not seem long to you in the life and work of a doctor that can be a long time. Whatever the reason you are unable to do the work common courtesy should prevail. If you were an employee you would ask for leave from your boss, but as a self-employed profressional you should advise your clients that you will be unavailable to do their work and the dates you will be unavailable. If you are arranging the cover then also let your client have at least minimal contact details for the person providing cover for you in case they need to get hold of them urgently.

To my new client's previous transcriptionist, I hope you had a great break and good luck with finding new work to replace what you've lost.

Bank Phishing Schemes

Having just received two more of these phishing emails I feel compelled to blog about them.


In the interests of those who might not know the term phishing, it's the label given to those emails that you receive purporting to be from someone they aren't. For instance in this case my bank, claiming that my account was being accessed by a third party and that ownership was in doubt. They usually include a link or form that you need to fill in and send back. The problem is that they're really not from who they claim to be.

Usually the easiest and best way to tell if the emails are real is to look at the spelling. In genuine communications I've received from my bank via email the spelling and grammar has always been pretty perfect.

The phishing emails have spelling and grammar that would leave most First Graders pulling their hair out at how bad it is.

If you have any doubts about whether an email is authentic or not please contact the sender and ask before you click on any links.

Having had a bank card cloaned a couple of years ago I can tell you the trouble and inconvenience of having to try and resolve the matter is truly astounding. Certainly it could have been made easier by my bank if they'd given me all the information that I needed right at the start rather than in small bite size pieces.

I truly hope that none of you are or become a victim of the phishing exercises.

Otherwise I hope you all have a super weekend.