No One Has A "Magic Wand"

Have you ever serviced an account that is cluttered, has food spillage everywhere, has open doors and windows and yet the client complains that you are not getting rid of their pests?

I certainly have and I bet you have also. I often wonder if these clients think I have a “magic wand” in my pocket for eliminating their pests when, in fact, the client is providing the ideal conditions for the pests to proliferate. Unfortunately, such cases of poor client cooperation are all too frequent in the pest control industry.

Occasionally, however, a particular situation or in-house operation affecting a pest problem are less readily apparent to both the pest management professional and the client ... but the consequences are not. It is in these specific instances the client will frequently blame the professional for lack of results.

UNCOOPERATIVE CUSTOMERS. Let’s examine a case in point. A large commercial food warehouse I inspected recently has an ongoing problem with mice. Although multiple catch traps and bait stations are placed appropriately both inside and out, the warehouse has hired and fired three pest control companies for not getting rid of mice in the past two years.

After my inspection, I filed a report, reminding this client that short of fumigation, or a very expensive program featuring extensive man hours of service, no company was likely to be able to control the mice to their satisfaction. Why? Because this warehouse (like so many others) stores their sacks of grains too close to the walls. The client responded (very defensively) that there is ample room for the pest management technician to move, inspect, “spray” and install mouse traps. This is true. But unfortunately, there’s not much room for anything else. Product spillage remains for weeks because cleaning crews do not have easy access to the areas. Various boxes and bags with holes in them provide undisturbed, protected harborage and abundant food for the mice. Although some mice are captured each week, many mice can still be seen darting among the pallets and product. Additionally, in situations such as this with unlimited harborage and food, the investigative behavior of many mice usually decreases. So although the traps are in place according to specifications and were properly wound and maintained, the capture numbers weren’t keeping up with the population output. The warehouse manager constantly complains and blames the current and previous pest management professionals. At this account, the technician confided in me that he truly felt “responsible” for not capturing more mice each week. He even wondered if the solution lies in changing trap brands or switching to glueboards.

In another case, a technician approached me seeking a recommendation for a rat infestation. He described a grain processing plant that he services weekly. Rats are living in the suspended ceilings and upper areas of the plant and come down at night to feed on the spilled grains that remain unremoved. Although he is killing a few rats each week, his bait and trapping program isn’t keeping up with the rat population and the client is on the verge of canceling the account. This professional also feels “guilty” for not being able to control these rats and dreads being confronted by the plant personnel. When he asked me for advice, I reminded him not to be too hard on himself, as he doesn’t have a magic wand if the client won’t cooperate. And, although there were some techniques I passed along to him for controlling this particular infestation, I do not have a magic wand for quickly eliminating rats in these accounts. These two cases, and countless other situations, repeatedly finds pest professionals lamenting, “What does the customer expect? I don’t have a magic wand.”

No we don’t. But all of the blame can’t be placed on our clients either. Nor should we use the “magic wand” excuse when it seems handy. We are commonly partly to blame in these types of cases.

COMMUNICATING WITH CLIENTS. We often fail to communicate to clients that they play a critical role in the pest management program relative to sanitation and other pest denial efforts.

This is especially true on the front end of our contract agreements, yet no one wants to approach the uncomfortable topic of the client’s role in pest management. A sales professional certainly does not want to jeopardize a sale by listing even more work for the client to do. The sales professional knows the client’s perception is that they’ve hired us to do whatever it takes to get rid of their pests. So we sign on accounts that contain conditions highly conducive to not only growing pests, but that also allow more to enter the structure after we reduce the current infestation.

Ask yourself, “Does the client truly understand what realistically can be controlled under circumstances of open doors and windows, cluttered rooms and areas, unsanitary conditions and so forth?” In such cases, whether it be rodents, birds, grain pests, or other pests, communicating with the client up front during the sales approach and periodically throughout the service is critical. Frank discussions should occur as to the responsibilities of both parties and how the client’s role plays a mandatory component in the difference between controlling pests and any hopes of eliminating pests. Without this two-way communication, what do we possibly hope to accomplish in accounts containing conducive conditions? We, more than anyone, know we don’t have magic wands for these clients. So the closest we can hope to come to the wand is sincere two-way dialogue with the client. It’s been my experience the resulting cooperation can seem to perform magic in long-term satisfactory management of pest populations.