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Coyle - Dictation (voice to text) can be grounds for rejecting reports

January 07, 2025 04:04AM
So, I'm looking through guidelines and see that some have added that dictation (voice to text) and use of chatgpt is prohibited and can lead to shops being rejected. The use of AI I get but why would dictation be grounds for rejecting a shop?

I have been using dictation since I started shopping for them and can not see why it would be disallowed. I'm really fuming about this at the moment. I rely on using dictation to make the work a little quicker. As it is, I can still spend 2-3 hours working on a restaurant job for them. I certainly don't want to have to start putting in more time to do these cumbersome shops.

I'm not planning on stopping the use of dictation rather than typing everything out. What are your thoughts on the subject?
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January 07, 2025 04:23AM
How ridiculous. I agree that voice dictation should not be a problem. That is how I start all my notes when I leave a shop - dictating them onto my phone. Then for the shop form once I check all my details, etc. Not about to work harder. No way is that method in the same classification as AI input. SMH
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January 07, 2025 04:32AM
How would Coyle know if you were using dictation? Do you edit????
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January 07, 2025 04:35AM
Maybe they just figure one would protest and confess? It is strange, because voice to text is not dishonest or anything. And none of their business.
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January 07, 2025 04:43AM
@purpleicee wrote:

How ridiculous. I agree that voice dictation should not be a problem. That is how I start all my notes when I leave a shop - dictating them onto my phone. Then for the shop form once I check all my details, etc. Not about to work harder. No way is that method in the same classification as AI input. SMH

I wonder if they mean something like speech to text while at a location? I was just looking over some of their guidelines and examples and, although seemingly fairly old, there's a section about how recording is forbidden but that one can record their own notes in private.

I recently did a focus group and the facilitator used a speech to text program to type up everything as it was said during the session. Maybe that's what they mean?

I'm also looking through the samples and realizing that I might be making my life more difficult. I always address yes and no items in my narratives. I guess I might not need to address all the items where I selected yes, e.g., table, menu, glassware, silverware, linens, floors, walls, lightbulbs, and on and on, etc. (?).

I feel like I'm going to go put myself in some kind of time out if I've been overdoing my reports all along.

Apologies for rambling, I guess I'm now mad at Coyle and myself.
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January 07, 2025 04:47AM
@Madetoshop wrote:

How would Coyle know if you were using dictation? Do you edit????

I have no idea. I asked my better half and he replied something about the time it takes to type vs. speak. That doesn't apply here since I write my narratives elsewhere and then copy them over.

I have no idea how they plan on identifying what was dictated versus hand typed or if there is any way to tell. I think my typed vs. dictated content does have a different flow but I don't know if an MSC could tell that. All my stuff would be similar since I've pretty much always been doing it the same way.

Now, AI would be much easier to tell I'd think. I'm not using that for narratives.
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January 07, 2025 04:47AM
@purpleicee wrote:

Maybe they just figure one would protest and confess? It is strange, because voice to text is not dishonest or anything. And none of their business.

I do wonder if they mean while performing the evaluation. I'm not about to ask them though!
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January 07, 2025 05:39AM
There's nothing inherently wrong with using speech to text, but they've probably gotten burned by shoppers who don't edit their reports afterwards. I've seen other MSCs make the same request. Probably easier for them to just discourage people from using them.
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January 07, 2025 01:43PM
I would say that as an IC, how you generate your narrative is up to you. If they feel like your output is not up to standard, they are free to stop using you, though, so it's really on you to edit the narrative to be in good shape.

I have used some version of voice-to-text on reports for ever a decade and at times, there is some time savings from it, but it does require considerable editing to meet the Coyle formatting guidelines. Most of the time I just power through and type it out. If I am in public or or on an airplane, I am definitely not going to be using voice to generate narrative.

I find the rule slightly amusing because when Coyle started out, dictation was the standard for their reports (though typed up by a human), so there is a clear understanding that it's a faster way to generate the amount of narrative required. I think they just don't want to hassle of others botching it, as @Mellifluy suggested.
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January 07, 2025 10:05PM
I have never seen any excerpt with my job details that referenced "...dictation (voice to text) and use of chatgpt is prohibited and can lead to shops being rejected." However, I don't use either.
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January 08, 2025 02:11AM
There is NO way they can tell that you’re using dictation. As long as you edit it
after, you’re fine. I saw that new rule and just rolled my eyes. I use speech to text dictation a little bit to take notes when I’m out and about, and then I edit it afterwards at home. I don’t plan to change how I do things.
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January 08, 2025 02:17AM
The only reason I can think of is maybe a shopper made a major error, and when called out, the shopper blamed it on voice to text instead of taking ownership?
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January 08, 2025 03:11AM
I'm not sure how they can tell you're using voice to text. I won't work for Coyle for many other reasons. I have the education and ability to write at the level they require, but I'm still seriously burned out from writing long unnecessary narratives. I do use voice to text here at home on the mobile devices, and in my car while I'm out doing my shops. I stutter, and google voice to text stutters worse than I do. They repeat words, write out entirely different sentences with words I didn't use. So I leave it until it's time to finish the report and correct it as I go, I know what I said, no matter what google thinks. When it's all done, it's all my words, and most of it was typed by my hand.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2025 03:23AM by Morledzep.
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January 08, 2025 04:32AM
My boss at one of my non-MS jobs sends voice-generated texts that are full of gibberish. A Facebook friend uses dictation to generate her posts and comments, and recently a mutual friend mentioned that her posts make her look functionally illiterate. Someone who relies on dictation and doesn't edit their narratives will probably have problems with most MSCs. Someone who does edit them shouldn't have any issue at all.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2025 04:32AM by NinS.
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January 10, 2025 05:28AM
Proofreading for any type of communication is wise, period. So many do not do that. Even the typed articles for news and other information online frequently has typos or the wrong word printed, such as: "whole," when they were speaking about a "hole."
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January 10, 2025 07:10PM
I find that my spelling is much better when I use voice to text while on my phone (not necessarily for a Coyle shop.) My thumbs have a mind of their own and I have to correct too much stuff when I try to type it myself.
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January 27, 2025 02:39PM
LOL.
The more MS companies specify a requirement or a prohibition, the greater likelihood they make themselves liable to lose those IC exemptions.
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