[2008 Leadership Profiles] Dennis Jenkins

"Once a younger brother, always a younger brother,” says Dennis Jenkins. “I haven’t figured out a way to make that go away.”

But even as Jenkins contemplates one of the most universal phenomenons of family life, there’s no denying he shares the same sharp traits that put his parents and siblings in the spotlight: dedication, charm, a keen business sense, and enthusiasm for his career. Those very qualities, and what he’s done with them, have made him a 2008 Leadership Award Winner.

Jenkins, along with his brothers Bobby and Raleigh, now operate the vaunted ABC Services Inc., a multi-faceted corporation that provides pest control, lawn care, handyman services, and pool construction and maintenance from 11 locations throughout Texas and Florida. Each brother is responsible for an arm of the business, and their competitive natures have helped spur the separate companies to growth under the ABC Services umbrella. It’s all part of the legacy started by their father, Robert, a true pest control entrepreneur, who passed away in 1998; and by their mother, Sandy, who remains deeply committed to the industry today (see related story on page 31).

Like his parents, Jenkins possesses the enthusiasm, work ethic and care for the industry it takes to stand apart from the crowd. But he’s taken that solid foundation a step further. With an independent spirit, innovative ideas, and a vision all his own, Jenkins has become a trendsetter in his own right. And, at the helm of what is arguably the largest independent company in the formidable Dallas-Fort Worth market, Jenkins is proving he can continue the Jenkins legacy of service on his own terms.
 
A FAMILY TRADITION. Jenkins, like his brothers, cut his teeth on the family business. His parents purchased ABC Pest Control in 1965 with borrowed funds and no prior pest control experience. The three Jenkins boys, then ages 7, 5 and 3, learned early on that hard work and determination can truly pay off.

As preschoolers, the boys were already racing one another to see who could deliver the most promotional fliers first, heralding a healthy competition that exists to this day. “Dad always believed in hard work,” Jenkins says. “The first job we had was hanging fliers in neighborhoods all over San Antonio. In each of our offices, we still have that flier.” The flier features a photo of the brothers and the statement, “These are the only pests we allow in our home.”

When the boys were 12 years old, they were deemed capable of spending their summers working for the business, providing them with pocket change and developing an early work ethic.

Like his father and brothers before him, Jenkins attended Texas A&M University, but he is the only one of the four to pursue a degree in entomology. He married his high-school sweetheart Jennifer in the summer of 1983, before their junior year at Texas A&M, where she was studying education. After college, the couple returned to San Antonio, where Jenkins joined his father’s business and Jennifer got a teaching job.

Jenkins’ career changed course in 1988, when Bob sold his company to Waste Management. Initially Dennis continued to work for Waste Management, first heading up training and quality control in Texas, then moving to Nashville to manage another Waste Management-owned firm, Simmons Pest Control.

But soon Jenkins faced a defining moment in his career. “I thought Waste Management was a good company,” Jenkins says. “They paid me exceptionally well. At the end of my first year they gave me a healthy raise, and I turned in my resignation. I knew the longer I stayed, the more comfortable I would get and that scared me. I needed to go out on my own when it was easy to make that decision.”

So in 1989, Jenkins moved his wife and 1-year-old daughter Marsha to Dallas, and set up a pest control business there. Jennifer went back to work at a teaching job to help support the family while the new business was being established. “Within about five years she was able to stay at home and then in 1994 our son Russell was born,” he said.

Meanwhile Bob Jenkins, having also resigned from Waste Management, invested in Dennis’ new family venture, as he had previously done with sons Bobby in Austin and Raleigh in Houston. Bob and Sandy allowed their sons to take the reins and grow their businesses, which Dennis did with a vengeance.

“I came into a very competitive market 19 years ago,” Jenkins recalls, “and have become arguably the largest independent in the DFW market.”

UNPARALLELED COMMITMENT. Jenkins cites a number of reasons for his company’s success over the years. First, he says, is his commitment to the customer. “We will bend over backwards to please the customer,” he says. “I have always said that the way you respond to service issues is the true definition of your service.” Jenkins explains he’d rather lose revenue by crediting service charges to an unhappy customer, than lose that customer. “If you make a customer really happy, you are lucky if they tell a friend or two,” says Jenkins. “If you make them really unhappy, you are lucky if they stop at 20 friends.”

Another key to ABC’s success, says Jenkins, is the team of people at ABC who embrace the same vision. From Vice President Terry Cooper, a part-owner in the business, to Purvis Sutton, general manager of pest services, to all of the company’s employees, says Jenkins, “we have been very blessed all around to have committed people who work towards a common goal.”

Earlier this year Jenkins gave his company another revenue boost when he leaped at the opportunity to join Copesan as a primary partner serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. “When they asked us to go to the edges of Oklahoma and Arkansas and Louisiana, I said we could handle it all,” he notes. “This resulted in us gaining about $650,000 in annualized business all on March 1st.” Jenkins notes that absorbing that much business all at once was a challenge at first, but it’s also helped his people to better cultivate business relationships outside the organization.

Jenkins also has a keen understanding of the market segments that drive his business, and of the industry forces that are gaining momentum. At a time when termite revenues throughout the industry have seen better days, Jenkins has countered that downslide with an out-of-the-box service.

“About four years ago we made the decision to stop selling traditional termite services and instead sell a combined pest and termite service that we call our ‘Signature Plus service’,” explained Jenkins. When active termites are found, customers receive a comprehensive termite spot treatment along with an initial pest service. Termite monitoring devices are installed and all plumbing penetrations are treated. On each quarterly service, the home and monitoring stations are thoroughly inspected and necessary treatments are completed.

“If termites are ever found on the home, we treat (them) as just another pest,” he says. Further, he adds, “we promote this as a home maintenance program and it has sold extremely well.” By all accounts, the Signature Plus service has been a resounding success for ABC. Jenkins notes the company’s residential pest department has consistently grown by 30 to 35 percent in each of the last four years, and Signature Plus now comprises about half of the company’s pest control work.

What’s more, this ingenious business strategy has been a win-win situation for just about everyone involved, Jenkins observes. Although the company’s termite “opportunity calls” now bring in less revenue on the initial service than do traditional termite services, Jenkins says, they turn into repetitive business that has flattened out business dips and spikes during the year and made the winter months “some of the highest revenue and most profitable months of the year.”

ABC’s technicians also love the service because average revenue per stop has increased by almost $20. Plus cancellations are lower for both renewals and traditional pest service. “Our customers love the combined service,” he says.

ONGOING ENTHUSIASM. Jenkins’ enthusiasm for the business is particularly evident to his family members. “Working with Dennis is never dull,” says his brother, Bobby. “He’s the most entertaining and creative person I know, and he’s done so much for the industry, both in the state of Texas and nationally.”

Raleigh notes, “Dennis’ greatest contribution is his openness and straightforward dealings with other people in the industry. He will reveal the good, the bad, or the ugly to any fellow PMP.”

His mother Sandy observes Dennis takes after his father. “I’m proud of what Dennis has done with the business, but what I’m most proud of is that he’s a good husband, a good father and a good man,” Sandy says.

Likewise, Jenkins says the most gratifying aspect of his career is the relationship he has with his family, and the respect he holds for his father. “Our dad was one of the greatest men we ever knew,” Jenkins says.

In keeping with the ABC legacy, Jenkins wants this family business to stay in the family. In fact he says he can’t imagine selling his business, as his father did in 1988. “I love the challenge of running my own business,” he says. Furthermore, he knows from experience that when an owner sells their business and then continues to work for that company, “the passion level is not the same.”

“I am hoping to pull off the same family commitment to our business that my Mom and Dad did when they got all three of us involved in the business,” says Jenkins. Toward that end, he is keeping his fingers crossed that one or both of his children will follow in his footsteps, in joining and running with ABC. Both already work in the office when they’re not in school. To his delight, Jenkins’ daughter, Marsha, now a junior at Texas A&M, is pursuing a degree in landscape architecture, while also weighing the idea of joining ABC’s lawn services division upon graduation. And his son Russell, a high-school freshman, has also expressed interest in joining the business.

Jenkins’ wife Jennifer also works in the office part-time. The couple recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with a trip to Paris. “After being high school sweethearts, Jennifer and I are still best friends,” says Jenkins.

Reflecting on his work-life balance, Jenkins seems in awe, calling himself “the most blessed person I know.” “The only thing I would change, of course, is that I wish my Dad was here to share in all of what has happened in the last 10 years.”

His plans for the future include, simply, more of the same. “I hope to stay active until I drive both of my children crazy,” he muses, or am just flat unable to do it anymore.”

Dennis Jenkins at a Glance

• President, ABC Pest & Lawn Services,   Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
• Founding member of NPMA’s Leadership Development Group
• Bachelor’s degree, entomology, Texas A&M University, 1985
• Elder at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Flower Mound, Texas
• Two children, Marsha and Russell, and wife, Jennifer