The Business Of Pest Control

With some of the stories I have heard this year I have to wonder, “What’s going on?” Why things get said that shouldn’t be said, why things don’t get done that should get done and when, if ever, these problems will be corrected.

For instance, I have had many experiences with homeowners and PCOs who cannot communicate very well with one another. Sooner or later in some of these relationships something is said that irritates the customer. For example, PCOs can really irk customers by treating them as if they don’t know anything. Well, maybe customers don’t know much about pest control, but don’t treat them that way. It is a bad business practice to make the customer think he/she is stupid! This usually results in someone spending money on lawyers or unnecessary treatments.

Then there are statements such as, “Well, we can’t catch them all” or “Hey, we do a lot of inspections, bound to miss one once and a while.” These are wrong answers, even if they are true! And if they are true, then the PCO should look within before blaming it on human error. Some of these experiences and stories may be few and far between. But when they happen within companies you consider “good,” then it makes you wonder what the “not so good” companies are doing? Stories like these keep the regulatory people fueled and their teeth gnashed, and are fodder for attorney generals and civil attorneys.

Consider the FUTURE. Pest control is not what it used to be. Occasionally I get the chance to look into my files and read some of the articles and columns written throughout the years by a wide variety of people in the industry. Sometimes they say the same thing we are saying now. You have to wonder why? Is it because we don’t listen and learn?

It is time to think about the future of the industry. In the next few years, we will see many changes, including new products in the termite pretreatment market, new types of materials used in construction that may complicate treatments, new application technology and new approaches to pest control. The question is will we use them voluntarily or will we be forced to use them by regulatory action? The average business owner also has to be concerned about the current state of regulatory action: FQPA, OSHA, DOT, workman’s compensation, liability insurance, as well as a myriad of other federal environmental regulations that impact our operations.

In most cases, I think we ignore most situations until we have to deal with them. However, there are many businesses that are using what is called “Scenario Forecasting.” This is basically asking what trends or events could have the biggest effects on my business? And, how do I prepare for them? Let’s look at something that is coming down the road. In the next few years there will be chemically impregnated barriers being installed under slabs as part of a pretreatment strategy to stop termites. If you are in the termite business this may be important to you. How do you think this will develop? How will it impact your business? What will be the learning curve for this technology?

This brings us to the inevitable. What is the expertise of your technicians? I once read, “You cannot sell expertise if you do not have any.” I wonder what are we selling. The stories of low-ball pricing are rampant in this industry. Upon hearing that a company has cut the price below the competition someone inevitably says, “But I thought they were a good company!” At the risk of offending someone, I have not found a great correlation between pricing and good companies. Is a good company a large company? After all, we do equate size with quality. Is a good company a well-run company? Is a good company a highly profitable company? What makes a company “good”? I could think of several ways to evaluate this. For instance, your company should have a good reputation, no complaints with regulatory people, no lawsuits and low turnover. Also, your company should be technically sound, innovative, willing to try new things and able to consider the customers’ feelings while maintaining an excellent safety record and a good rapport with employees.

In today’s work arena there are so many outside forces that influence our business that it’s hard to keep up. Therefore, we have to depend on people outside our business to give advice, provide guidance or even tweak our imagination. This comes from reading a wide variety of business articles. It also means keeping up with developing agendas that can impact our markets. Pest control is an ever-changing field. And one day some of us will look back and say these were the good old days!

Kind of a scary thought.

PCT contributing editor Dr. George Rambo is president of George Rambo Consulting Services, 1004 Van Buren St., Herndon VA 22070, 703/709-6364.