I recently spent time with some pest control operators talking about the industry and most of them had the same comment: There’s plenty of technical (i.e., how to "kill bugs") information available to them but there isn’t enough business or "people" training. These PCOs said they get all of the technical information they need from association meetings, distributors and even manufacturers. But what they don’t have is help in running their business. And the PCT staff agrees with them.
You may have noticed a new feature to PCT magazine with our recent redesign. "RearView" is a department we’ve designed to be a catch-all of sorts — for short news stories, industry and business statistics, interesting photos and any other stories we hear about that we think would be interesting to you, our reader.
This month in RearView we have a short story about gasoline prices throughout the United States. Because of space limitations in the magazine, this isn’t a story that would normally make its way into the pages of PCT, yet it is important to the bottom line of your business. As you know, gas prices recently skyrocketed. And when a majority of you and your technicians’ time is spent in your vehicle, that’s a significant cost. That’s why we’ve included this story on page 110.
The reason RearView was started was for stories that may not be directly related to the technical side of the pest control industry but that are of importance to our readers. We’re always looking for interesting stories, articles, charts and photos to include. If you have something you think applies, send it to me. You never know how a story you find may help another PCO.
Speaking of space limitations, two of our monthly columns, Vertebrate Pests and Technically Speaking, were longer than we had room for in this issue. So, we’ve run a page of each in this issue (pages 103 and 104, respectively) but we’ve posted the complete columns at www.pctonline.com.
Extra "bonus coverage" this month on our website also includes a pest bird identification guide, an ant control product guide and Clayton Wright’s (of B&G Chemicals & Equipment) "Eight Keys to Business Success." Be sure to stop by!
The author is managing editor of PCT Magazine.
