Have you ever had a job that you’ve just thrown everything at but you still couldn’t solve the problem? You know the ones- you’re out for the 6th time and the home owner is looking to you for an answer and you haven’t got a clue. You shuffle your feet and stammer for some words, meanwhile the ants/roaches/beetles/ticks/fleas or whatever it is just keeps on marching. Sure, you put a dent in the problem here and there with some herculean efforts but two days later another call comes in and the pest seems completely oblivious to all your work or moved on to another spot in the house. Wouldn’t it be better if you could have solved this vicious circle 6 weeks ago?
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Now I’m not talking about that account that has the serious sanitation problems. We’ve all seen that and we know the answer and not so distant outcome if we don’t get the cooperation we need. No, the jobs I’m speaking of are the homes or businesses that really don’t have any obvious reason for the invasion, and on top of that, the pests seem undaunted by your treatments. These can be the most frustrating jobs to deal with and often make a good tech second guess his or her worth. Here are some tips that I have found helpful in these situations.
Recognize That Things Aren’t Going Well
Sounds silly I know. Who wouldn’t guess somethings wrong after the 5th or 6th trip? Ahhh, but that’s the problem and not the beginning of of it either. Unfortunately, you’re already a step behind. Now remember I’m not speaking of the house with wood rot on every corner or trash heaped up in the garage. Just your everyday run of the mill account that shouldn’t have much of anything but now has evidence of something brewing. So like any good tech you find your evidence on say a regular visit-you treat according to your training, do the rest of your regular visit and go. Soon thereafter you get the call and that aberration you passed off as a
fluke is back. NOW is the time to switch into high detective mode and start looking for some answers.
Here’s why; #1-The evidence often times leads you to the source since it is so new. Once several weeks have gone by the signs and traces get spread out and more entrenched. It’s almost always easier to find the heart of the matter at the beginning than after 6 call backs.
#2-The client will be much more able to assist. Common Denominators is something I always look for and my main source for that info is the customer. They may have just gotten a truck load of mulch delivered, brought plants in from the cold, had some remodeling done, a neighbors dog came to visit etc. These things (with a little prodding sometimes) should be fresh on their minds and so often are the cause of your pests sudden appearance. I can’t tell you how many times this has solved it for me. But if wait and you ask these same questions a few weeks into the dilemma, you’d be surprised how this info never comes up and is the furthest thing from their minds. Plus, it makes you look like your grasping for straws– at that point the customers confidence can quickly erode. Ask early and don’t stop asking with their first response, “Oh no, we haven’t had anything like that.” Meanwhile you notice a new puppy in the yard, or an antique chest of drawers they got at the flea market or their son just moved home from college. I’m always amazed at what I find out when I prod a bit and even more so how the client couldn’t put two and two together….common denominators= find em & find em early.
#3- Don’t make great claims in the absolute that you’ve found the source and they should be expecting zero pests from then on. Simply say how surprised you are too and that this may require a bit of time and extra work but that you’re on it. This is especially true if you didn’t find the source or common denominator. (I’m not saying this is necessarily your fault-it is sometimes impossible to know) This also goes for touting any chemical–have you ever seen Termidor fail? I have, and I looked like a real schmuck when it did and I made grandiose promises. After 30 years I still catch myself doing this and every once in awhile it’ll come back to bite you. Anymore I simply explain how it should work and we’ll just have to give it a little time and see where we stand. 9 times out of 10 I look like the hero because the problems resolved.
The ERP system (can I copyright that?) works almost without fail and I’m happy to say that so many good techs out there use it all the time. It’s usually however those non de-script accounts that we think a little sprits will do so we don’t use it. Those are the ones we should keep our guard up on because those are the accounts that we should keep far longer and are more profitable than any other.
