The Wrong way to quote for a pest control contract
From spending time in the network and talking to a number of people it has become clear that there are too many instances where we are allowing the customer to dictate the type of service we are going to provide.
In one recent case we were providing ad-hoc service to a customer. Pestforce had a "contract" with the customer but he didn't want to pay for a regular service. He just wanted to have a visit on request and paid accordingly. The customer was happy with what we did so we were "complacently" happy.
Then EHO turned up and the customer pointed the finger at Pestforce as the "appointed" pest control company. We were able to explain the arrangement to the EHO and remove any culpability on our part but a lesson learnt.
In so many cases it appears that the service level is driven by how much a customer is willing to pay / has been paying to have professional pest control.
Unfortunately this can be a reflection on how much they value our professional service and advice.
We are here to provide a service to our customers BUT we must be able to stand behind the service we are providing.
Remember once our name is on the contract then if things go wrong guess who the fingers will be pointed at..... it won't be the customer as they will simply point the finger at you.
So my advice is STOP just doing whatever the customer says or wants.
Think about it, when you go to the Doctors for help to get better do you tell him what he needs to do to treat the issue. You explain your problem and the doctor prescribes your medicine / treatment.
Professional pest control is exactly the same - a customer has an issue, he calls you in, you investigate the situation (through questioning and physical survey) and then YOU prescribe the solution.
Sure, there may be some discussion on certain areas to get the best solution but essentially the final solution is signed off by the Doctor as he is responsible for your health.
I think you get the point......... so why do I hear "the customer just wants 4 visits a year although they really should be having 12 visits". When did you hear a Doctor say the patient only wants 3 pills but if he wants to live he should be taking 12 pills...??
The number of visits for a customer should be based on your assessment to the risk of ingress and the impact of pest ingress. In simple terms a Food establishment is higher risk than say an Office.
The video emphasis's the fact that we are the experts and we should be setting out the framework for a customer.
In one recent case we were providing ad-hoc service to a customer. Pestforce had a "contract" with the customer but he didn't want to pay for a regular service. He just wanted to have a visit on request and paid accordingly. The customer was happy with what we did so we were "complacently" happy.
Then EHO turned up and the customer pointed the finger at Pestforce as the "appointed" pest control company. We were able to explain the arrangement to the EHO and remove any culpability on our part but a lesson learnt.
In so many cases it appears that the service level is driven by how much a customer is willing to pay / has been paying to have professional pest control.
Unfortunately this can be a reflection on how much they value our professional service and advice.
We are here to provide a service to our customers BUT we must be able to stand behind the service we are providing.
Remember once our name is on the contract then if things go wrong guess who the fingers will be pointed at..... it won't be the customer as they will simply point the finger at you.
So my advice is STOP just doing whatever the customer says or wants.
Think about it, when you go to the Doctors for help to get better do you tell him what he needs to do to treat the issue. You explain your problem and the doctor prescribes your medicine / treatment.
Professional pest control is exactly the same - a customer has an issue, he calls you in, you investigate the situation (through questioning and physical survey) and then YOU prescribe the solution.
Sure, there may be some discussion on certain areas to get the best solution but essentially the final solution is signed off by the Doctor as he is responsible for your health.
I think you get the point......... so why do I hear "the customer just wants 4 visits a year although they really should be having 12 visits". When did you hear a Doctor say the patient only wants 3 pills but if he wants to live he should be taking 12 pills...??
The number of visits for a customer should be based on your assessment to the risk of ingress and the impact of pest ingress. In simple terms a Food establishment is higher risk than say an Office.
The video emphasis's the fact that we are the experts and we should be setting out the framework for a customer.
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