Complaint Review: TERMINIX

I worked for this company for 5 1/2 years in quite a few positions, but only in the office. I know the scare tactics they use and the lies the inspectors use. The technicians I worked with were quite honest people, though I suppose there are some that were not. I worked closely with many different Service Managers and the only thing they were interested in was the "unserviced" report each month. I was told to key in outside services as regular services to get the account off the unserviced report. If the customer called that they needed inside service, and if it was in the following month, that inside service would show up as a regular service. The customer ended up paying for 2 months of service for what should have been only one. The technicians are penalized for having "unserviced" customers on their report at month end and it affects the Service Manager's bonus. I received many, many calls from angry customers that got only an outside service in the winter, when it snowed! Some even told me there weren't even footprints on the property. There is so much more than this, but in a nut shell, I was fired after 5 1/2 yrs because I was too ethical. A tech went out on his honeymoon for a week, and came back to find someone had forged his signatures on service tickets as if he had done them. (he was in Hawaii) The next day I was"let go" because they were "dissolving my position". I was working in Accounts Receivable at the time. No company can stay in business with no one there to do banking, billing and collections. A while after that, I was contacted by the SEC about my experience. Unfortunately I had no proof to give them. There is a hate website that also points out customer and employee complaints. Terminix has so many websites that this one is hard to find, and that was their goal. oh, and those Sentricon stations? unless you call they probably won't get checked as they are supposed to. Sentricn is a product from Dow Chemicals. I have heard that Terminix is no longer allowed to sell it because of the way it is handled. I am not sure what brand they use now. One more thing-the monthly and quarterly pest control contracts are not legally binding, so don't let them tell you it is. They have a massive amount of lawyers working for them. A couple of tips to consumers: 1. there is no treatment for spiders-they walk on top of the surfaces, where the chemicals are, and they don't lick their feet. All you need is a vacuum.  2. There is absolutely no such thing as paper fleas or snow fleas. If the tech is treating for them (especially paper fleas in commercial buildings) all they are doing is spraying water. 3. No one can treat a mouse problem with a spray can. (unless they find a mouse staring at them and they spray it in the face. 4. If you find brown roaches outside (mostly found in wood chips or leaf piles) they are NOT the same as the regular roaches that signal sloth. They will not get into your food or anywhere else. They are outside insects that get lost sometimes. The treatment for ladybugs that are found in large numbers on the sunny side of houses are not protected by law, but all that needs to be done is a spray of water from your hose. I hope this post helps at least one person from getting this company's grip. Hire a local exterminator company. You will get more honesty because they are actually interested in loyal customer retention and they use real chemicals. (Terminix does not supply their branches with enough products to treat, so the techs have to "wing it".) My final thought is this: most of the technicians I have dealt with actually do care very much about their customers, and please keep in mind that this post is only from my experiences at two branches. As far as inspectors go, if they don't produce enough new customers, they are fired.

I saw your report just wanted to first sate that the technician in this case is at fault and not Terminix. Apparently if the information you provided is accurate the technician is the crook and took advantage of you. He/She was either totally ignorant and thought that the gnats were termite swarmers or possibly did what you said and used fear to convince you to buy termite protection.

As a current technician for Terminix, albeit an employee of one of the few remaining franchises that are not a part of Terminix International, in my experience with the company it has never suggested in any way to sell someone a service that is not needed. Do they pressure employees to sell, most definitely, but any technician with morals would never claim that fungus gnats were termites. I think your particular case lies with the technician and not the company as a whole and a lack of research on your part to an extent.

Considering the tech came to your home to treat for insects and you had contained the insects and were aware of what they looked like I have to ask why did you not try and find information about them before investing in a $1500.00 purchase? You obviously have internet availability and we all know Google and you utilized rip off report to state your complaint, why would you not have used one of the many informational sites to try and determine if it was a good investment?

I totally agree with you that the the tech was wrong either way, but again it was the technician, not Terminix and even though I could write a novel on things I disagree with at the company I don't believe they were at fault in this particular case. I am very familiar with the process in which a technician may try to sell to a customer and it might even be that the technician, once at your home for the gnats proposed termite protection as a preventative measure and the gnats were an entirely different issue. Did the tech perform a termite inspection of the home any where else in the home, for instance the crawl space or basement if you have either? To the best of my knowledge no home owners insurance covers termite damage so on the upside, termites or not you invested in a product that could help prevent damage to your home in the case of termites. Even if you didn't get a pro renewal and just a one time treatment your home is protected for 5 years and the price you paid is well within reason.

By no means am I trying to point the finger back at you, unfortunately there are bad apples in every company. This tech may have not made his sales goals and very well may have taken full advantage of the situation to help get his/her manger off their back and to profit themselves as well. I myself, no matter what, would never use the fear factor to convince people to buy, I've seen many who have and still do this, but it is definitely not the company's suggestion or policy.

As for anyone else who reads this, please before making any investment of this nature receive multiple quotes from other companies, and compare the contracts before making a decision. A good technician will be able to explain the contract, what they will be treating and why you should choose their company over any others.