Sorenson STILL laid off people after getting rates they wanted

[Robo-Terp]

Sorenson did not institutionally commit fraud in the way that Viable did. Sorenson interpreters committed fraud, they were caught, and were fired. Sorenson voluntarily gave back the fraudulently-obtained funds when they discovered what had happened, well before the FCC was aware of any fraud in the VRS industry.

You can take that to the bank.

source pls. But more specifically, I'd like to see the source where Sorenson INTERPRETERS were found directly responsible for this.

 

[Robo-Terp]

Sorenson did not institutionally commit fraud in the way that Viable did. Sorenson interpreters committed fraud, they were caught, and were fired. Sorenson voluntarily gave back the fraudulently-obtained funds when they discovered what had happened, well before the FCC was aware of any fraud in the VRS industry.

You can take that to the bank.

Because *scratching head*, interpreters would have nothing to gain from doing what you said they "did". That's why this doesn't make any sense to me. We don't work on commission. LOL. Can you imagine if we did? haha. OMG! Things would be grossly corruptible.

 

[Robo-Terp]

The question is: When will the people who owe the FCC money, pay it back ?

In the year 2730. :P By then, we would have already mastered the art of mind-reading, and sign language interpreting will become obsolete. In fact, language will be non-existant. But alldeaf.com will still be around, so don't worry guys.

 

[Robo-Terp]

The question is: When will the people who owe the FCC money, pay it back ?

And sadly, you all would have passed away. But not me, I'm a robot. (God, I'm such a geek)

 

[Etoile]

source pls. But more specifically, I'd like to see the source where Sorenson INTERPRETERS were found directly responsible for this.

You must not work for Sorenson. We had tons of meetings, memos, and trainings on this. It's well known by every Sorenson interpreter.

Of course they had something to gain. It's called getting paid an hourly wage for sitting on your ass doing whatever you feel like doing. It's not always about money, it's about lazy terps.

 

[EyesBlueDeaf]

Sadly you are mistaken, you actually do not know who I am. I am just a person from sidelines who had opportunity to observe all of it.

I was not impressed by your appearances, work ethics and way you approached people. I have observed you when you visited me, when you were at DEAF events in NJ.

Should I keep going more?

There is a contradiction in your statement.
In the other postings, you posted something about Brooklyn's VESID which indicated that you live in NY/ SI and I have never done any work in NY/SI. So it is a lie.

You need to stop harassing / defaming other person here in AD. No need to add more bad reputations to your already bad reputations.

 

[Excedio]

Check again.

Check what again? Clarification please.

 

[Excedio]

Did not see this earlier. But I'd suggest you to read the whole thing again. I specifically made it clear that one sentence was a "thought". Note "This is far fetched..." "Just a thought" "Not saying they're doing this." I said it THREE TIMES to make sure I was making it clear -- Apparently it didn't register.

I have read it, trust me. Honestly, it seems at though you need to reread my post. The whole point of my post was to point out the fact that you used "thoughts" and information that was clearly not factual to then end your post with a question that you clearly feel to be factual. You were unable to support your question.

And if you wanted to read the whole post again - you can see me hinting that Sorenson is bullying their way around to get more money. (and they were successful in doing so.)

I saw this. It's mearly speculation. Until you become an employee of the Sorenson VRS Finance Department, you will never know if this is true of false.

The simple fact that you are not aware of what the Tier III rates are, and the history of the rate at Tier III itself tells me quite a bit. If you want some more clarifying, just PM me.

Please do not make false accusations. I know what the rates are. Please quote to me the exact section that shows that I do not know the rates.

For anyone else interested in the historical rates, click here.

 

[Excedio]

You must not work for Sorenson. We had tons of meetings, memos, and trainings on this. It's well known by every Sorenson interpreter.

Of course they had something to gain. It's called getting paid an hourly wage for sitting on your ass doing whatever you feel like doing. It's not always about money, it's about lazy terps.

As much as this shoots up a red flag with me... I believe this. I have a good friend that's a Sorenson Terp and she said this exact same thing. She had gone to meetings in which she was told that Sorenson had paid back a huge chunk of money to the FCC. However, when she asked how much money it was, the Supervisor would not give her a straight answer.

 

[aslrocks58]

There is difference between profiting from the deaf and profiting by providing a service to the deaf. PFH, your posts and several others infer that one company is doing "dirty business" that harms or otherwise takes advantage of deaf for their own interests. VRS is a very unique business because it serves a need of a specific group of people in a minority--users of sign language who have some degree of hearing loss. They have the power in this industry that they have in very few others, the power to choose which service best suits their needs. Therefore the service providers must understand those needs and respond to their service feedback if they wish to succeed in the business. The service is provided as a result of a federal mandate. That is why it is paid for by taxpayer money set aside for that purpose. It requires a group of workers with very specialized skills, also in a minority (compared to the entire workforce of America).
Several people on this forum have implied or stated outright that a specific company cares nothing about deaf people, only profit. If a company ignores the needs of its customers, it will fail because customers will not value their service/product and will do business with someone else. In this particular business, the more a company produces, the less profitable it becomes. And largely because of that fact only one company has consistently produced the majority of its product in the lowest-paying level. With this latest rate structure there are essentially 2 tiers. Tier I and II are only a fraction of a penny different from each other. Tier III (Tier Sorenson) is more than $1 less.
The only way to succeed (profit) in business is to give customers what they want. In this case, customers are both deaf and FCC. The company in question has been the most successful at keeping both of its customers satisfied as is illustrated by their profits and share of the VRS market. You or I may disagree with any one of their business practices or decisions. But since we are not in a position to make those decisions or even be in on the discussions leading to those decisions, our opinions don't really matter. And I believe that is a big factor in all the bashing, businesses make decisions we don't like or don't understand. And they make money doing that even though it isn't what we want. You can't seperate business success from business profit. VRS is a very expensive business to do well. There is no company that i know of who gets into the business just for joy of providing the service. If they do, they can't last no matter how good a job they do. Interpreters want paid, technology is expensive and must be maintained. Regulation compliance adds to expense.
Making broad statements about how you know what a "company" thinks or wants or its motives for doing a specific thing, like being in the business they are in, makes you look foolish or have a grudge, because you can't know those things if you aren't in a place to have that knowledge. Business people get into a business because they have an interest in the work and because they believe they can do it as well or better than the businesses already doing it. Making a profit isn't a by-product or afterthought. It is a confirmation of the decision to start/do the business.
I know several people who work(ed) for that company. Some recently lost jobs, others didn't. It is very sad news for all of them. Saying that they were let go because of something other than the company's stated reason, (a drastic cut in the company's projected income for what it produces) is your opinion, based on your beliefs about the company. Don't confuse it for fact. Remember that most businesses get to set their own prices in a competitive market. VRS has a different rate-setting method that has very little similarity to a free market system.

 

[Excedio]

There is no company that i know of who gets into the business just for joy of providing the service. If they do, they can't last no matter how good a job they do.

inb4: Well look at Convo VRS!!!1!

 

[Etoile]

As much as this shoots up a red flag with me... I believe this. I have a good friend that's a Sorenson Terp and she said this exact same thing. She had gone to meetings in which she was told that Sorenson had paid back a huge chunk of money to the FCC. However, when she asked how much money it was, the Supervisor would not give her a straight answer.

I can understand how it would raise a red flag. But as your friend noted, we had many meetings about this. I never asked how much, though.

 

[Excedio]

I can understand how it would raise a red flag. But as your friend noted, we had many meetings about this. I never asked how much, though.

<----- Too curious not to have asked.

 

[posts from hell]

I see the Logic, but it would not work. Believe it or not...the smaller VRS companies do not want Sorenson to go under. However, I did read the ZVRS filing to the FCC. They wanted to extend the Tiers. basically make Tiers 1 & 2 wider. Smaller companies like ZVRS, Purple, & Snap! need that extra breathing room or else they have less incentive to want to be a Tier 3 provider.

Sorenson just can't live on $4 a minute.

Sure they can. They're going it now.

Check what again? Clarification please.

I have read it, trust me. Honestly, it seems at though you need to reread my post. The whole point of my post was to point out the fact that you used "thoughts" and information that was clearly not factual to then end your post with a question that you clearly feel to be factual. You were unable to support your question.



I saw this. It's mearly speculation. Until you become an employee of the Sorenson VRS Finance Department, you will never know if this is true of false.



Please do not make false accusations. I know what the rates are. Please quote to me the exact section that shows that I do not know the rates.

For anyone else interested in the historical rates, click here.

Look at the 7/10-6/11 Tier 3 rate.. Its $5.07 not $4.

 

[Excedio]

Look at the 7/10-6/11 Tier 3 rate.. Its $5.07 not $4.

You said it..not me. I piggy backed off of your comment. So it looks like you don't know the rates.

 

[posts from hell]

You said it..not me. I piggy backed off of your comment. So it looks like you don't know the rates.

There's a reason I said Sorenson can't live off $4..... I suggest you to read again.

Awesome, another internet ventriloquist.

 

[Excedio]

Ok, lets re-read it.

I know

But think of it from a business tactic standpoint. I move up to tier III and show the FCC that I am doing it very very efficiently, tell them I only need $2.50 a minute at tier III to keep afloat and generate some profit at the same time.

Here you make a statement in that if the smaller VRS companies can efficiently work at a lower Rate, they could show the FCC that it's possible to go even lower than $5.07 ($2.50) and still be able to run their operation. They do this in the hopes of getting the FCC to lower rates even more, thus hurting Sorenson even further. (Which might work until they start to take on Sorenson's customers and this genius tactic backfires on them)

Sorenson just can't live on $4 a minute.

Here you make a statement that's pretty obvious. However, your numbers are not matching with your previous statement. Care to explain this? You are clearly in a higher intelligence echelon than I *cough* and these numbers makes some sense to you.

 

[posts from hell]

Ok, lets re-read it.



Here you make a statement in that if the smaller VRS companies can efficiently work at a lower Rate, they could show the FCC that it's possible to go even lower than $5.07 ($2.50) and still be able to run their operation. They do this in the hopes of getting the FCC to lower rates even more, thus hurting Sorenson even further. (Which might work until they start to take on Sorenson's customers and this genius tactic backfires on them)



Here you make a statement that's pretty obvious. However, your numbers are not matching with your previous statement. Care to explain this? You are clearly in a higher intelligence echelon than I *cough* and these numbers makes some sense to you.

Let's not divulge from the point:
You are the one that said Sorenson IS doing it at $4 a minute now. (and they obviously aren't)


That was the entire reason I said check again, you asking for clarification, etc etc etc bs, bs, bs, and trying to distort it here.

 

[posts from hell]

Meanwhile we can have a theoretical discussion on how to make things work, kill competition, etc... Maybe a new thread.

As far as we know: It costs Sorenson around $3.50 a minute to run the company without profit or losses.

The difference between 3.50 and 5.07 plus some layoffs is the investor obligations that they have.

I am just saying it is NOT far fetched to run a similar operation and find ways to cut costs and stick it to the competition in general while profiting at the same time.

 

[Excedio]

Let's not divulge from the point:
You are the one that said Sorenson IS doing it at $4 a minute now. (and they obviously aren't)


That was the entire reason I said check again, you asking for clarification, etc etc etc bs, bs, bs, and trying to distort it here.

You said read it again. I did. There is no BS involved. You said $4.00 not me. It's there in black & white.