Weekend Shopping (AKA: Hard hats for headaches)

I needed a few things from one of the big box hardware stores. My hard hat was way past its use-by date, and I needed a newer hi-visibility vest. And just because I could, I bought another flashlight because you really can’t have enough flashlights. Sure, I could have gone out to the physical store and picked that up, but …. I really didn’t want to go out and deal with people. What does this have to do with pest control? Great question, thanks for asking!

My order

To start, I didn’t want to get in my car, drive to the store (let’s call it HD for ease), deal with people, find the three things I was looking for in the mess of thousands of products, wait in line to check out, find my car in the parking lot with hundreds of vehicles, then deal with traffic driving home. Sure, I’ve done it before. I didn’t want to do it this time. Customers who call for pest control want someone else to handle the problem. Like me, maybe they have tried the DIY route before and realized the time and effort they had to put into it. Knowing there is a professional who can come to their home or business and fix the problem is appealing. Sure, I can go out and do it myself, I choose to spend my time in other ways and have someone else handle this particular problem.

HD was pretty quick about getting my stuff to me. I had a problem, I needed to fix that problem, and HD had a solution. Everything I ordered was delivered in less than 24h. Customers with a pest problem also want a fast resolution. Sometimes, we can do that in one step, like taking down a wasp nest. Other times, it will require more, but we can still be there quickly and start the process so customers get some immediate relief.

There were some things I wasn’t particularly happy with. As I mentioned, I needed three items. (Okay, I needed two, I wanted the third!). While HD was fast, the three items came in three different packages and were delivered by three separate vehicles. As a customer, I wasn’t thrilled about this ineffectual process. People needing pest control services are also a bit unhappy when multiple visits by multiple people are needed. Yes, I just said that we can’t always solve the problem in one visit. What makes these disappointments less disappointing is communication. I would have been happy to wait for my items; I didn’t need them in under 24h, but I wasn’t given an option. If HD had told me that the process would be in three different steps, it wouldn’t have been too bad. Or if HD had given me a choice, I could have chosen the option that worked best for me. Same thing with pest control customers.

The process of getting my three items was extremely inefficient. Three different people pulled my three items from the shelves ($). Three different packages were used ($$). Three different people and vehicles delivered my items ($$$). For a pest control company, this is a huge waste of money. It results in unhappy customers, bad reviews, and lost business. Customer communication can help, but it really goes back to poor planning.

Talk about overpack!

To add to that, my little flashlight* was packed in a huge box. At least five times as big as the flashlight box. As the customer, it’s not a huge deal (just a huge box); however, I’m not thrilled with the waste. The delivery driver probably could have carried a few more packages, making their route more efficient. If this were a pest control company, a tech may not get to as many accounts in a day. Having the right tools for the job means faster resolution of pest problems and getting to more customers in a day. That means happy customers.

While I'm comparing HD (products) to pest control (service), there is a lot of overlap and at the end of the day (technically the next morning), I got what I needed. I wasn't thrilled by it and I certainly wasn't giving them a 5 star review. HD likely lost money (gas, packaging, time, effort) and the same is true of a pest control service that doesn't efficiently manage their routes and solve a customer's pest problem.

What did we learn from my purchases and experience? Communication is necessary, but planning and execution are essential from a business standpoint. Having all the correct tools you need (including education!) to successfully and quickly get a job done results in happier customers, better reviews, more referrals, and more money.

Contact us today to see how we can make you more efficient and successful.

*This thing is a BEAST! It's super bright though!

Lagniappe - super funny home depot video

Urban pest consulting.