We often get asked by clients whether they need to provide us with specific terminology and names when they upload recordings.
Terminology and Names? Yes please
The quick answer is yes. The more information you give us, the more chance we have of being able to produce a completely accurate and high quality transcription. Also, if you are interested in a particular section of an audio recording and need this to be as accurate as possible, it is important to tell us.
Recent Case Study
We recently took an order from a business client based in the North West. He informed us that the recording was required urgently and set us a tight deadline. It was a complicated set up – the audio was extremely quiet, there were three speakers, one speaker had a strong accent and specialist software was needed to convert the file from the CCTV recording into something more usable.
No Revving Up and not a Transcribe & Go!
The file had already been returned by two large transcription companies because the audio was not of sufficient quality. We have come across this before and in fact one of the largest transcription companies in the world did this to us when we sent in a hard to hear recording. They are simply not interested in spending any extra time working on difficult recordings (one of the benefits of using a smaller business – like us!).
How we dealt with the file
We downloaded the file, converted it into an MP3 format and assigned one of our most experienced transcribers to the work. She completed a first draft and sent it back across to our Transcription Manager. Our transcription manager was aware that this had been a particularly difficult audio to work with so assigned a second transcriber to listen to it as well – there were a large number of unclear sections. Once this was completed our Transcription Manager also reviewed the file herself.
Unhappy Client
We returned the file to our client thinking he would be delighted with the personal customer service, the swift response, the effort that had gone into extracting most of the audio file in extremely difficult circumstances. Was he happy? No.
In his opinion, the transcription was of very poor quality. There were too many unclear gaps and we had not included the names of the speakers.
Effective Customer Service
We ended up having quite a detailed telephone call with him to find out exactly what the problem was. Unlike the larger online transcription companies we still have a human answering the phone!
Firstly it transpired that he was specifically interested in about 5 minutes of a 3 hour recording. Unfortunately this had been a section we had struggled with and only a small part of the conversation had been transcribed.
Secondly he had already transcribed this section, and our version was of very poor quality indeed.
Thirdly we had not identified the three speakers by their initials.
Essentially he was not a happy customer!
Resolution
We asked him to send across his transcription so that we could ask our transcriber to listen again to the recording with the transcription in front of her. This was done and we were able to fill in the blanks that had been so hard to hear before. Secondly he provided us with the names of the three parties present and we were able to adjust the transcription to make sure that these were included to identify each speaker. Thirdly the client provided us with another name for a separate section and we were able to identify an additional two important sentences within the required part of the work.
Names and Terminology – Example of Detail
Providing us with names and terminology is vital if you want a completely accurate version of your recording.
This would be our suggested detail when you upload your file:
Speaker names: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia
Terminology used: chamfer, Corinthian, Cupola, Ionic, Quoin, Vitrolite (architectural example!)
Important Names: Bilshaws Construction, Henry & Zephaeus, George, Janus and Petronia Limited.
A lot of our long standing clients will include a quick note like this when uploading.
Existing Transcription
If you have some or part of a recording already transcribed, please send it across to us. It can help immensely, particularly if it has been completed by someone who was actually present when the recording was made.
Concentration on a Section
If you need us to concentrate on a particular section as it is, for example, required for a court hearing, please tell us! We can then expend large amounts of energy and time trying our utmost to get as much of the recording transcribed as possible.
We have specialist software and tools for extracting hard to hear sections and are possibly one of the only transcription companies who do not charge extra for any difficult to hear recordings. We even complete and return hard to hear recordings unlike a large number of our competitors who will return the recording without transcribing if it sounds too hard to do.
Summary
- Send us a list of any relevant terminology
- Provide us with details of any names
- Specify if particular sections are important
- Let us have access to any existing transcription
