There are several idioms that could sum up quite quickly what this article is meant to convey, and thanks to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/, the definitions are spot on. The idioms are explained in relation to the service we offer - please click the phrase to read our response.

Read: History of transcription pricing

You get what you pay for: Since Audiosec Limited came into service, we have provided first class transcripts for university research units, solicitors' practices, conference organisers, and corporate clients ranging from disciplinary hearings, court-standard PACE transcription of police interviews under caution, adjudication panels, teleconferences and web conferences. Our clients have demanding standards, expecting accuracy and timeliness; we deliver both.

The company is established on the firm foundation that we offer a bespoke service. This means our service matches the individual requirements of our clients, which means we are flexible about our turnaround times and how the work is set out. Our transcribers have at least ten year's professional audio transcription experience and have to pass a stringent transcription test. We don't test them on their typing speed, but on their level of accuracy and on their attention to detail. If a potential transcriber produces a transcript with 97% accuracy but has failed to follow the instructions given to them for setting out the transcript or the level of depth required, they fail the test. Our clients can be assured that if any member of the team of 20 professional transcribers sends back a transcript, the client would not be able to tell that more than one person worked on the task, and with in excess of 30 transcripts produced for one research project, this means teamwork. We work as one unit, for the benefit of the client and any discrepancies are dealt with quickly and efficiently in-house to ensure that level of quality remains throughout our association with our clients.

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If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys: The ladies that work with us have had experience of working with other transcription services on the Internet. They report that the atmosphere here, along with the care and respect they receive, cannot be matched. The general wage for a transcriber employed by a transcription service is 60p per audio minute for one to one interviews, with the service owner receiving another 150% on top of that fee (based on £1.50 per audio minute). The teams get all the work and the stress while the service provider rakes in the profits. Because we believe that a worker should be paid in recognition of their skill and hard work, we won't pay our transcribers any less than £1.00 per audio minute and receive 50% on top of that fee (based on £1.50 per audio minute) for project managing the work and administration. Because we pay well, we get the best transcribers and our transcribers stay with us, some of whom have gravitated here because of the way other agencies have treated them. Our clients are always pleased with our service and our word of mouth recommendations back up our promise of providing quality and service at affordable prices.

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You pays your money (and you takes your chances): If you get a cheaper quote for your work, please consider if the company is a one-person operation who can afford to undercut us, but cannot turn around the work by the agreed deadlines, becomes overloaded and then cuts corners on quality as the pressure mounts. Do they have sufficient experience to deal with in-depth transcription or are they experienced as an audio typist who has only dealt with dictation files? Do they give their transcribers an audio transcription test or just a typing test? Does their client list include the type of business sector you work in? Do they fully proof read against the audio before returning the transcripts to you? Are they undercutting the market because they are desperate for work and have no proven track record of satisfied clients, other than local small businesses?

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