If Service People Can’t Sell…

In pest control there is a division between companies with “universal pest control technicians” and those with the belief that service people are service people and salespeople are salespeople. There are good reasons to separate the sales and service function. One would be that you can devote full time to one or the other. Another is the belief that fundamentally these personality types are so different that you need separate functionality to put in place the best sales team and the best service team.

Should you buy local when it comes to pest control?

All things being equal, I would say you should buy from a local pest control company. The problem is that all things are not equal at all.

Most local pest control companies are very small operations, one man companies with perhaps a wife in a back office. These companies may have one or two additional workers.

Sometimes these companies are started by hard working, well motivated, well intended entrepreneurs. Other times, they are started by people who have very high opinions of their own ability.

In Pest Control, Is the Customer Always Right?

Any company that does not listen to its’ customers is doomed. …and while many companies say they listen to their customers, the proof is measured by the reaction to customer requests and changes made to satisfy the customers’ concerns.

There are situations presented by pest control that are unique.

1) The pest control technician is licensed and required to abide by both pest control regulations and the pesticide label. The pest control worker must not abrogate the pest control label to satisfy a customer request.

Pest Control Door Knockers

This evening I received a call from one of my longstanding pest control customers who was met by a summer door-to-door pest control salesman. These kids who do this work are motivated by one thing only – a fast buck. They may or may not have a license, but one thing is sure. They are flung into this work, having no prior field work exposure. They have been revved up by the prospect of making lots of money over the summer, so they can kick back during the school year. Often, these young people have few plans at all other than getting away from small towns and narrowly focused lifestyles in which they were raised. They do not have the customer interest at heart.