The customer pays them, usually with a credit card. That includes their fee and your first inspection fee. After that You charge the customer as usual. However, they get a % of the entire deal. But after that, the customer knows about you and usually calls you first. Not a real bad deal like Paul said.

In Bruce Hunt's own words

Making Money With Bruce Hunt Apr 2008 !!

http://www.blubrry.com/wildlifecontrol/217680/making-money-with-bruce-hunt/

Yeah, Utah sounds right.
I don't know; most WCO's see it as your competitor stealing work from you, then hiring you at a profit. The license aspect is not germane in Mo., no license required. I'm sooo leery of giving a CC # to an 800 number. Amazed that he gets any business.

Bruce was an early innovator who figured out how to make phones ring when few WCO's had web sites or even knew anything about buying PPC ads.
Between 04-07 he built web sites locally for most states , counties and cities. He built a ADC Network for customers to call. He is still out there even today making the phone ring in some markets.

Bruce Hunt and his many domain names still do well in areas that are not established with good online competition. Back then he used a toll free line and sold referrals. I can't imagine selling inspections when its simpler to make your customers phone ring on a regular basis then treat a lead as a one time nugget of gold.

It is very hard to sell you to do an inspection if you already spoke to the same customer. Bruce & Company act as the agent for a customer and has to find someone to solve their problem.

If you don't like Bruce Hunt's presence in your market why not build a better and more informative web site locally and take him off the front page.

I have always tried to keep it local and directly connect the WCO with their potential customer on the first call as much as possible.

Personally I was reluctant to even have a 1-800 number but had to since the calls were coming in no matter how small I made my office number people kept calling me.

Our experiment this summer of using phone transfers to client extensions worked . Its easier to remember three or four digits then get whole phone numbers right.

St Louis 748 SW PA 779 NYC 702 RI 736 LA 715 ATL 725 etc....

My point is customers need to talk to the WCO or their own people on the first call as much as possible.I think the company getting paid for the inspection should be doing the inspection.

Interesting...