WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. — Chip Akin, owner of Akin Pest Prevention Plus, West Melbourne, Fla., was announced as the winner of PCT’s August Book Giveaway.
Akin wins a copy of “Sam Walton: Made in America,” one of the books referenced by Brad Chalk in the feature he wrote for August PCT titled “Customer Retention: A PCOs Guide to What Really Works.”
Akin’s name was randomly drawn from a pool of entrants who filled out the online entry form at www.pctonline.com.
Before founding Akin Pest Prevention Plus in 2003, Akin was a pest control service technician with the University of Florida’s Environmental Health and Safety Division. He also previously worked for a large, national pest control company. “When I first started out it was not a good feeling to not have benefits like health insurance and a 401K, but it’s really been the best thing to happen to me in my life,” Akin said. “In the public sector, you would be treating a classroom or a building, so the customer was really ambiguous. It was like ‘Who am I making happy?’ For me, the best part of being in the private sector is having that interaction with customers.”
Another difference for Akin is the type of pest control he now performs. While at the University of Florida, Akin did strictly commercial and industrial pest control; however, he says that most of his company’s accounts are residential GHP and termite. “Our goal is to be able to provide the best quality pest control service in my community. It’s so important because it’s your name that is on the side of the truck.”
Additionally, Akin credit’s wife Cindy, who handles the books and scheduling, for the integral part she has played in the company’s success.