Lady called today said that "another company" has had traps on her roof for three weeks not catching anything. She said he has been charging her $10 per visit every time he has come out to check the traps or rebait. I guess he has just been charging her credit card without telling her so when she checked her statement she saw all these $10 charges.

She explained that he put the trap on the roof and then put it on the ground and then back on the roof. She said he never bothered to stick his head in the attic.............BINGO! At this point I asked if she called "That Franchise" and she said "How did you know?" I know because a lot of his customers are now my customers.

I really hate that these people paid him hundreds of dollars to do nothing and now they have to pay me hundreds of dollars to fix the problem. Since she already has been approved by her insurance for the repair and clean out I will do the removal for free. That made her happy and she will spread the word to stay away from "the other guy" and to use me. I get many calls from people who were referred by customers I got from the other company.

When the customer asks how much I always tell them the price..........then I tell them "but I won't charge you for this because I know how frustrating it is to have already paid them hundreds of dollars." But I only do this for those jobs were I get the clean out and repair work. I make much more on these than I ever would catching the raccoons.

Just how I do it and it works good for me.

When one normally charges for trapping or exclusion work....but then waives the fee because of an insurance claim on other work....you would think there could be an issue with the insurance co, right? Must be the poor economy that made this behavior commonplace. So sad.

I don't see how the insurance could have issue with anything. If I waive my fee to her or her having the kid down the street trap them for the pelt is the exact same.....FREE! The only difference is she is getting someone who has experience and insurance.

I had the job and didn't have to waive my fee but like many on this site we do a few free or reduced jobs each year. I know some on this site don't charge at all for raccoons or bats because it helps them close out more jobs instead of letting them get away and I have no issue with them doing that either.

Dave what I find is "So sad" is we have a National Franchise who refuses to go into attics and leaves babies to die and stink up the whole house. I find it "So sad" that this company takes hundreds of dollars from home owners without solving any problem. This has to be in violation of NWCOA's code of ethics how are they still members and SPONSOR MEMBERS????????????????

Ding, ding, ding we have a winner! Just one of many unanswered questions and until they police there own it's just so many empty promises.

Sorry Nate...I was not attacking you. I mis read this a bit and made some assumptions. I understand that you waived your fees because that the customer was unhappy and you felt bad for her. That is the right thing to do - without a doubt. Just be careful saying you waived it because the insurance claim was already approved. That might be construed as fraud because one might get the idea the cleanup rates were jacked up to accomodate the removal fees that were waived and not covered by insurance.

Another thought...whenever a service company becomes large training is much more important. In any organization, you will always have strong players and weak players. Perhaps, you stumbled upon a tech that needs more training. It is easy to throw stones when you are a single operator. Imagine having hundreds of people with varying education and tallents....then trying to deliver a consistent product. Wildlife control or pest control are tough businesses for anyone. Congrats on getting it right.

Dave you make a good point about the company. I personally trained my guys and I check up on them constantly. I don't have hundreds across the country so I don't look at it from that viewpoint (why its easy for me to throw stones).

I feel pretty lucky to have the crew I have and dread the day I every have to replace any of them.

Dave, you are absolutely correct on the training. There is a reason why Micky D contracts with the potato farmers and does everything the same even though a large portion of their stores are franchisees. But if Nate is speaking of the yellow truck people then it is an inside industry joke and a poor one at that.

Was it you that spoke of branding on another thread? I would think that if were a franchiser as opposed to the franchisee I would move heaven and earth to insure that no matter where I went in the world my franchisees were like so many peas in pod, the same across the board. Sadly to us the brand in question is just that but at the wrong end of the scale.

This has nothing to do with this topic but I just needed to thank David for pointing out that I was a right wing extremist. Without his wonderful sticker, who would have known?

Yes, I brought up branding....how is the industry going to get better without opening some eyes? It will just make it tougher to compete...which is good!

Dave, the only problem with branding is that a lot of these guys are going to head for the nearest tatoo parlor. I think a proper warning would be in order: YOU CAN ONLY GET A TATOO IF YOU ARE A DRUNKEN MARINE!

The "Yellow Truck" franchise in my area is the only other outfit that seems to know what it's doing.
If the franchisee knew of some of that stuff, the tech would have his ears pinned back.
I know; I worked there.

Dave, I hear from multiple sources that CC is lucky to have the franchisee in St Louis.
While I can't speak for all areas I can speak to where I have been and I ain't seen anything from CC worth bragging on.

Thanks Dave. That is kinda what I have been waiting for. So now I know it is just him and not a Franchise Policy. This branch is a single operator so I would assume he is the franchisee (though I could be wrong).

You guys ever been in a Subway restaurant?...I've heard there is almost no corporate oversight whatsoever. If the site produces $$$, that's all the bean-counters care about.

Nate, remind me to have discussion with you in the Dells tomorrow.

Yes sir,

I will write a note right now otherwise I will forget as well.