Coralie

All right, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride! We’re about to share a story that will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even cringe a little bit. But don’t worry, it’s all worth it because it’s going to help you learn how to turn negative feedback into a long-term client. So, grab some popcorn and get ready for a tale about how Nordstrom turned into a Walmart for a hot minute. 

Forty years ago, a man rolled a pair of tires into a Nordstrom department store in Fairbanks, Alaska.  The Nordstrom employee, Craig, asked the man how he could help despite the fact the man was bringing car parts into a store that sells high-quality clothing, shoes, and makeup.  Imagine his surprise when the man said he wanted to return the tires!   

The customer insisted he had bought them at that location, which of course is a bit absurd.  The thing is Nordstrom had bought the location of a store that used to sell everything from towels and linens to automotive supplies.  That company had a guarantee policy that he could bring back the tires at any time.   

Most of us, understandably, would scoff at the idea of accepting the tires and giving the man money for them.  How would that even work?  But Craig was amazing at customer service.  He saw things from the customer’s perspective.  The man had driven over 50 miles to return the tires.  Craig was flexible and resourceful.  He called a tire company and got some information on how much the tires would be worth.  Then he accepted the tires and gave the man money in the estimated amount of their worth.   

From Nordstrom’s blog itself, we learn how this story helps us if we are willing to step back, take a hit, and use the power of responding instead of reacting in order to turn a potential lost client into one who will keep coming back every week with a job for you to scope:   

“Lost over the years is the exact dollar amount the customer received in exchange for those tires, but no doubt it’s been earned back a thousand times over when you consider the scope and resonance of the story today.  In fact, the tire story has become so important to our culture, we even hang tires in some of our stores and break rooms as a reminder of our commitment to our customers.” 

Nordstrom.com/blog

Here’s the thing, good customer service, we mean really, really excellent customer service is a thing of the past.  Each one of us regularly experiences a customer service representative saying, “There’s nothing we can do for you.  Sorry.”  And that’s it.  There is not an ounce of empathy, understanding, or compassion for the frustration you feel as a customer when you’re trying to get help or aren’t satisfied with your purchase.  “The customer is always right” motto no longer exists.  And I think all of us, as customers, really miss that, if we’re fortunate enough to be old enough to remember it! 

Now, how does this story relate as you build your own business as a scopist?  

There will come a day when you get negative feedback.  It sucks.  We know.  We’ve all experienced it.  You are human.  We are human.  And we all make mistakes. 

So right now, accept the fact that it will happen and read on to get our checklist of what to do in order to turn that client who might be ready to continue their search to find a great scopist into a super loyal client who provides you steady work for years to come.   

1. Breathe.  We know it sounds silly, but this is really important.  As soon as you see that you’ve made a mistake or are accused of making a mistake, your flight or fight response kicks in, and that is not a state in which you can recover the situation.   
2. Step away from your phone or computer.  Give yourself a minimum of 30 minutes before you reply.  You’re much more likely to do more damage if you reply immediately than the teeny, tiny delay of 30 minutes would do. 
3. Read the email again once you’re sure you’re out of flight or fight .  Find what they are talking about in the transcript.  Look it over and understand what the mistake was and if it was your fault.   
4. Come from a place of gratitude when you start to compose your response.  Thank them for taking the time to let you know what happened.  Really, that is huge of them.  Some people would ghost you and you’d never know what happened or why.  This is an opportunity for you to learn something, to check yourself and make sure you’re focused when you work.  They are giving you the gift of growth.  So sincerely thank them for their feedback. 
5. Acknowledge their feelings.  Most often, when you get negative feedback, the client is NOT happy.  They often have big feelings in the moment that they are writing out their message to you.  You most likely do exactly the same thing when you’re upset by an experience or a product you’ve purchased.  Think about how you would feel if you were in their position. 
6. Apologize.   Once you’ve thanked them and acknowledged them, say you are sorry.  We understand that this isn’t easy for everyone.  But this is a really important step in repairing the damage you caused.   
7. Make it right.  Think about what you can do to make this right for them.  Depending on the situation, it may be offering to read over the transcript free of charge, offering to relisten, offering a discount, or even offering to not charge them at all for the job if the mistake is grave and damaging enough.  

Yes, we know it hurts to offer to give away money or time.  That’s why we told you the Nordstrom story.  The money or time you lose out on will come back and then some if you use the tools above.  You will not only keep your client, you will bolster your reputation in the industry.  Ask yourself:  Do you want to be a Nordstrom or a Walmart? Behave accordingly.   

Dealing with negative feedback is not easy, but it is an essential skill to master if you want to keep your clients and maintain a good reputation. We hope that our story has shown you the importance of turning negative feedback into a positive outcome and how it can help you gain a long-term client. Remember, there’s always room for improvement. 

In Section 9 of our Complete Scoping course, you’ll find valuable insights on how to keep your clients once you get them. At Scoping International, we care deeply about your success and reputation, and we’re here to help you become a five-star-rated scopist. 

So, don’t wait any longer and register for Module 1 for FREE and get started on your journey to becoming a successful scopist. 

Hey, Freedom Lover!    We totally get the allure of having the ability to decide for yourself when you’ll work, how much you’ll work, and where you’ll work.   From the barista dreaming of becoming a digital nomad, traveling the world, tasting amazing food, and seeing incredible sites to the mom who desires to be with her children as much as possible AND has a need to have her own identity and career as well as the satisfaction of contributing to her family’s finances and everyone in between – we see you and we are you.   

And we know we are not the only solution out there to those of you who are searching for a flexible job.  In this post-COVID era, there are more ways than ever to find a way out of the 9 – 5 corporate lifestyle.  We also get that for many of us understanding exactly what the freelancer lifestyle looks like is unclear, and that makes leaving the security of our more traditional line of work scary.  A lot of location-independent professions sell the freedom aspect hard.  It speaks to the dream so many of us have.  We want to take a minute to talk about the other side of the coin.  While, yes, we do offer you a way of achieving your dream and you can have white, sandy beaches in your life, what we are not (unfortunately) offering is financial independence.  Even if you have the ability to work from anywhere, you still have to work.  So how does that look for a scopist?  What does having a flexible schedule mean?  Can you make enough to support your lifestyle?  Is there enough work out there? 

One of our core values at Scoping International is transparency.  We respect that, while many of you are dreamers, you’re practical too. So we’re showing up here to answer these questions honestly to help you decide if scoping is the career for you.   

Because Coralie, one of the founders of Scoping International, is both a mom (she has a one-year-old and a three-year-old at the time of this writing) and started her scoping career while living outside of the United States, the rest of this blog post will be an honest look at how she as a mom and a (sort-of) nomad manages her freelance lifestyle in order to help you decide if this will work for you too. 

So what does freelance work life look like for a scopist? 

Hi, all!  I’m happy to give you a peek into freelance life.  I will tell you the good and the not-so-good aspects.  This past year of my life has been particularly intense because we had a new baby, bought a new home, and we were renovating.  I also had my own scoping business as well as Scoping International.  So there has been a lot to do!   

One thing to understand about scoping is there are different deadlines or turnaround times on jobs.   The length of time that you have to work on a job determines the rate you can charge for the job.   A typical “regular” turnaround time to complete a job is five to seven days.  The other end of the spectrum is immediate turnaround, so you have edited the file and are sending it back to the court reporter within a couple of hours.  We do this using a technology where we are editing the file while the court reporter is writing it.  The longer, five- to seven-day turnaround is the lowest pay.  Immediate turnaround is the highest pay.   But while some might think, “Why wouldn’t you just always take the highest paying jobs,” the reason is that key word – flexibility.   

As a mom with two young kids, I could NOT be on my computer for eight hours straight in order to meet that deadline.  I worked during naptime, so two hours here, one hour there.  And if you have small babies and children, you know that naps are NOT guaranteed.  So for this season of my life, having five to seven days to work on a file was much better.   

However, once life got a little more settled with the addition of our second child, I was able to consider some of the immediate turnaround jobs that were out there.  As a mother who is also living in Europe, doing immediate turnaround jobs with court reporters in the US was perfect.  My kids’ bedtime is at about 7:30 ,and there was quite often a deposition or arbitration that was starting right around bedtime in Europe with a court reporter on the West Coast.  So I teamed up with another scopist and was able to make top dollar after bedtime.   Before kids, I often did immediate turnaround jobs here in Europe and worked during the day, which is obviously much more convenient but at this time, convenience isn’t a reality.  So I was happy I still had immediate turnaround available to me! 

Of course, I don’t want to work every night, but I’m the boss, so I could say no to jobs if I felt that it was too much and I would like an evening where I’m binging Netflix instead. 

So the good aspects were that I could use what might be perceived as a potential setback, being a mom to littles and living in Europe, to my advantage.  Everything coincided beautifully and helped me to have some of my most profitable months ever.   The downside?  Yeah, I’m not really getting to clean the house or “sleep when the baby sleeps.”  So I had to let go of the idea of having a perfectly organized home, which I think even people who have to work 9 – 5 struggle with!  I had to intentionally schedule in rest time and “me” time and stick to it.  So that meant saying no to some jobs or other, more social things.  Again, we’re all adults here, and that’s life.  But what I got out if it, getting to be with my kids as much as possible and paying for our renovation, was totally worth it for me. 

What does having a flexible schedule mean? 

We really mean it when we say you can work from anywhere.  We’re not kidding.  As long as you have intermittent internet access, this is a job you can do from anywhere in the world at any time of day.  So if your dream is to travel Southeast Asia, this job can support you while you do so.  This is a job where you can spend the day at the beach.  But, yeah, you do have to find time to work.  And you’re the boss so you decide when that is.  You can do two hours in the morning and two hours in the early evening and spend the rest of the day doing whatever you’re passionate about.  But as we said at the outset, we’re not offering financial independence.  It won’t be beach time all day, every day.  And even if there are Instagram-perfect posts out there of laptops on the beach, we don’t recommend it – you can’t see the screen and sand will kill your laptop!  So the dose of reality is that maybe you have to stay in your Airbnb on the most perfect, sunny day because you procrastinated and now you have a deadline to meet.  It still happens to us.   

The cool thing about this work is that, if you really need to be on the beach on the best days, you’re in control.  You can pull out the weather app, your calendar, and plan to work when it’s cloudy.  Or if a sudden rain storm comes, you don’t have that horrible feeling of “This was my only chance to be at the beach.”  You can go inside, get some work done and get back out there when the clouds break. 

For me, Coralie, one thing I really love about the flexible schedule is that, as my life circumstances have changed, I get to change my work schedule to meet those circumstances.   I didn’t have to find a new job when we had kids; I didn’t have to find full-time childcare and give away half, if not more, of my income (only to be home anyway because sick kids!).  I changed my schedule, was able to meet my family’s needs while honoring my own personal values AND had my most profitable months ever in my career as a scopist.  I’m so incredibly thankful for this career.  

Can you make enough to support your lifestyle? 

That depends on your lifestyle, of course, and where you’re living.   

Honestly, if you’re living somewhere like San Francisco or New York, no, scoping alone will not be able to cover your expenses.  It is really great for teachers, for example, in those high-cost regions.  It’s a job that you can work lightly on during the school year to supplement your income and pick up more work during the summer break.   

If you’re living as an expat in a country like Bolivia, Thailand, Indonesia, yes, this job can support you.   

Here in Sweden for me, Coralie, my family is living on two incomes, mine and my husband’s.  I make about the same as my husband.  Sweden is a pretty expensive country and we have two kids, so the two incomes make our life comfortable and not so tight.  One of our students who also lives in Sweden is single, lives simply, and is able to support herself with just scoping.   

So you have to take a look at your circumstances –  How much do you want to make?  How many hours do you want to work – and plan out your schedule.  Then take our course, and we’ll teach you how to make the money you need to make in the time you have.  

Be sure to check out our Instagram account, @scopinginternational, at the end of every month to see Coralie’s earnings for the month and how many hours she worked.  

Is there enough work out there? 

Yes.  Really, there is a shortage crisis in the court reporting industry.  There is a shortage of court reporters.  Scopists alleviate the crisis by doing the editing work for the court reporters so they can go out and take down the record instead of spending a couple days at home editing their own jobs.  But there is also a scopist shortage.  It would take a LOT to saturate this market, and we don’t see that happening in the near future.  The pandemic seriously worsened the backlog of proceedings happening in the US court system and other international law proceedings around the globe.  And, as far as we can see, the litigation process is not slowing down.  There will always be work.  

If you’re are a scopist who does excellent work, your issue will never be “I don’t have enough work”; it will be “I have too much work, and I need to say no to some jobs!” 

We genuinely hope this post helps you to be able consider what a freelance lifestyle would look like for you, and if we get to have a part in making your dreams come true, we will be thrilled!  Follow us on Instagram at @scopinginternational for more freelance lifestyle insights and book a meeting with us at hello@scopinginternational.  We’re happy to help you decide if this career is the one for you. 

Are you a court reporter finding yourself saying things like:  

• “I can’t find a good scopist.”  
• “Is there anyone out there who has actually worked with a good scopist?”   
• “I just scope my own work because there are no good scopists.” 

Scoping International sees comments like this all the time.  Court reporters are desperate to find a good scopist, dare to try one, and are disappointed when they find all sorts of errors in the transcripts.  They feel cheated; they don’t want to pay the sometimes hundreds of dollars it costs to have their file scoped, and throw their hands up in frustration, giving up on ever finding someone who would take care of their transcript like they would.   

On the other side, there are scopists out there earnestly doing their best on a file, nervously uploading it to the court reporter, and agonizing as they wait to find out if this reporter will be a long-term client providing a steady stream of income.  They feel disappointed and confused when they don’t hear back from the reporter or, even worse, when the reporter refuses to pay them because they did a “bad” job. 

Basically, all around, both sides feel disappointed, frustrated, and burned.  Why!?  Why is this happening?  Well, we have some ideas as to why, and we have some suggestions to help court reporters finally find a good scopist! 

Why are both sides finding it difficult to find a good match in the court reporter-scopist relationship? 

Here’s the thing.  Scoping is a, for lack of a better term, unregulated profession.  There is no clear job description out there that provides details as to what exactly a scopist does.  Ideas range from scanning the document without listening to audio and correcting any raw steno or obvious errors by reading the steno notes and doing zero audio to doing a full audio listen, creating an absolutely exact, verbatim record without a missing a single “uh” and proofread to perfection with every comma in place.   Reporter A, the reporter who doesn’t want the scopist listening to audio, might be confused and frustrated that a scopist cluttered up their clean, beautiful transcript with dashes, false starts, and partial words.  Reporter B, the exact verbatim reporter, might feel baffled that someone would claim to call themselves a scopist when they clearly didn’t listen to the file, didn’t fill in testimony, and feel cheated when they have to spend hours listening to the audio again themselves to fill in everything their scopist missed.  It’s not at all surprising that neither court reporter would want to pay for such “poor” work and would definitely never work with that scopist again. 

What so many reporters don’t realize is that there is quite the spectrum of opinions as to what a finished, scoped file looks like.  Their own idea comes from their training, their experience, and their own preferences.  The way a freelance reporter in California writes and edits a file varies vastly from a freelance reporter in New York.  The way an official reporter reports is very different from a freelance reporter.  So there’s that, the differences from one court reporter to the next in how they were trained and what their expectations are. 

Then there are the scopists.  A common scenario a scopist may be found in is as follows:   The scopist has been trained by a reporter to scope files specifically how that individual reporter likes their file to be.  The reporter who did the training and the scopist have no idea that there are hundreds of different ways to edit that file.  (I’m being conservative.  It could be thousands!)  The scopist decides they want to get more work and finds another reporter to work with.  The scopist scopes the file exactly as trained and is shocked when the new client says they are really disappointed in the file and doesn’t want to pay.  

How in the world can a court reporter find a “good” scopist when these scenarios are all too common?  Scoping International wants to help fix this.

What is a “good” scopist?

In its simplest terms, a “good” scopist is one who scopes the file how the reporter would scope it.

The scopist has the same idea of how verbatim the transcript should be, punctuates as the court reporter would, turns in the file with time for it to be proofed and checked over by the court reporter.  The reporter has full faith that the file is in good hands and being taken care of as the reporter would themselves. 

So how can you find a GREAT scopist? 

We want to help prevent court reporters from being victimized by “bad” scopists and take matters into their own hands.  We want to give you, the court reporter, the tools you need to find your “good” scopist.  And here they are: 

1. Create an SOP.  If you implement one thing from this blog post, let this be it.  An SOP is a standard operating procedure.  It’s used in business to clarify the process of any job, big or small, to streamline and create consistency.  This way, whoever is doing the job, does it the same way.  So the next time you scope one of your files, take a little extra time to write down the steps you do.  Be very detailed!  The more details you can describe, the closer you will be to finding your ideal partner in turning out transcripts.  We know it will take time to do this, but just remember you are investing time now to save time later.  Just think of the things you will be able to do when you no longer have to come home and scope a file after being on the record all day!  Bliss!  Heaven!   

2. When you get in contact with a potential scopist, whether through another court reporter, Facebook, or an app like Stenovate, have an idea of how many pages a week you would like to send to a scopist.  A range is fine.  We get that there is a lot of unpredictability in pages. 

3. Fill out a preference sheet.  Really, most scopists do want to edit your file according to your preferences, but it takes a lot of time to figure out what those preferences are as we go along.  If you are clear and upfront, a lot of misunderstandings will be avoided and you will be closer to getting your transcript edited exactly how you would do it yourself.   

4. When communicating with a potential scopist for the first time, send them your SOP and your preference sheet.   Before sending them a job, make sure you are on the same page about what their rates and turnaround times are.   Neither of you want any surprises. 

5. Our final tip is to give the relationship a chance and give the scopist lots of feedback.  Again, we understand that this is an upfront investment in time, and you’re already drowning in pages and work.  But in our experience, it takes about six or seven transcripts before the reporter and scopist really start to get in sync.  So don’t write the scopist off after one job.  Send them your notes on the job, anything they did that you want them to do differently.  Remember, maybe what they did isn’t “bad” according to another court reporter and how they were taught.  It’s just “different.”  Having that in mind will help you to be able to deliver clear and constructive feedback.   But you should see them immediately applying your feedback on the next transcript.  

As we said, we believe most scopists out there genuinely want to do a really good job.  This job tends to attract the conscientious, perfectionist type.  Almost every scopist the faculty encounters quietly agonizes over their jobs, really wanting to do excellent work.  That being said, we won’t argue that, as in every profession, there are people who are cavalier and are looking for shortcuts and have no hesitation in turning in shoddy work, getting paid, and moving on to their next victim.   If you don’t see the scopist applying your feedback on the next transcript you give them, by all means, let them know it’s not working out, and move on to your next candidate.  We do believe you will be able to find one quickly by applying our tips and investing a little time upfront in solid and clear communication. 

Comment below what your experience is with scopists. And if you are still looking for a well-rounded scopist who understands how to work with reporter’s preferences email us at hello@scopinginternational.com and the team at Scoping International will connect you.