Raise your hand if you ever smacked the top of your TV to try and get the picture to come in clearer. C’mon, you in the back, get your hand up! I have to admit I’ve done it too and the crazy thing is that it has worked a time or two but after awhile when the whack on the Sony just doesn’t cut it you have to call in a professional. Now, what would you do if the man showed up and came inside with his big shiny tool box, stood by the set and just smacked it a good one? You’d say he’s crazy right?-Shoot you could have done that and in fact that’s what you’ve been doing all along and you would hope that a pro would come in and do something different to get the results you wanted. Now how bout pest control? Have you been spraying or should I say nuking the place and you’re now ready for a professional treatment? Well don’t be surprised if the person comes in and does their treatment differently then what you have done.
I only bring this up because I have many customers who even though they have hired me want a good old whack just like they used to do it but somehow think my chemicals in the same old place they put them will do any better. It must be that at one point they bombed for fleas and boy that did the trick. (for awhile) So for me to come in and not fog the place, why that just doesn’t seem right. Or why don’t I spray up on the ceiling for spiders?, that kept them away for ever. Hey just spray all the dishes, I’ll wash them before I use them, it sure killed a lot of them when I did it.
It has been said that doing the same thing over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity and I sometimes believe people border on this condition when it comes to pest control. Still I am constantly told what works and where to spray and why what I’m doing isn’t going to be effective. Not by everybody mind you but enough people to at least make me wonder why they called me out in the first place. Of course I am diplomatic and I can be politely stubborn as I continue to treat the way I’ve been trained and most times I can see the answer and wipe out their problem in just a few minutes. Other times I have the uphill battle of explaining the magic of time and how my treatment needs to cycle through the colony or we need to break the life cycle etc. and that doesn’t always go over so big.
People sometimes hang their hats on an old success that may have been just like the smack on their TV. They don’t know why it worked or what it fixed, they don’t even understand why it stopped delivering the good results but if they can just hit it harder or maybe down the side a little. When that fails and they have to pay for a fix they don’t mind your bright shiny tools, just make sure you do it like they did and whack those bugs
