[Problems & Solutions] Answers to your tough pest questions

COMPUTERS AND
HANDHELD DEVICES:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Q What are some of the biggest
 issues our industry faces regarding computer technology and handheld devices?

A  Technology and the pest manage-
 ment professional. I have had a lot of discussion with pest management professionals during the past year about computer technology and handheld devices. In the business world today technology moves so fast that it is hard to keep up. New products, new formulations and new labels are always coming along. But a few extremely dynamic areas are office-assistant software programs and communication technology. Recent developments in these tools can make our businesses run more smoothly and efficiently and also, perhaps most importantly, meet our customers’ desires (or sometimes their demands).
Software for businesses is something that has been developing for many years.  Sure, you can buy a computer (most pest management professionals have those systems) and go to the local business supply center near you and purchase such things as Excel, QuickBooks, and word processing and scheduling programs directly off the shelf. For many pest management professionals today that is enough.
However, the need for programs designed especially for pest management professionals or small businesses has developed into quite an industry. In actuality these programs will serve any small service business, but the developers (i.e., programmers) allow you to tweak the programs and, voila!, it is a pest control program. Known as CRMs (customer relation management systems) they can augment a lot of things in your business. Some examples include tagging special accounts, creating mailing lists and categorizing accounts. These systems also allow you to print inventory reports, P&L statements, and delinquent customer reports, as well as track marketing information. Use your imagination and you can probably think of something that you would like to know about your business. Discuss it with the software company and develop the report.
These software programs are not cheap, if we are to put a price on progress. It is time-consuming for programmers to develop and test these programs before making them available to the pest management industry. And having the programs tailored for the individual pest management professional usually means more programming, and thus an additional expense. Measuring the efficiency of the programs in your office will probably show you that it is economical to spend this money and reduce office workloads. Although at first the technology may seem overwhelming and may have lots of “bugs” to be worked out, training personnel is often the worst part of incorporating new software into your business.
I have heard and asked several companies that produce software for pest management professionals about the percentage of the program actually used.  In most cases I hear the same reply: “PMPs only use about 20 percent of the program in their businesses.” So often I ask, “Then why do we have all these bells and whistles?”  They just smile and say, “Well, it is there if you want to use it.”
Now, let’s talk about other industries, most specifically, our commercial customers. These industries have had software innovation incorporated into their operations for many years. They have faced and overcome the “people” quotient in terms of software training and implementation. Most importantly, they have come to expect a certain degree of sophistication from their service providers (that would be you). So now if you choose to work in the commercial sector and want that juicy contract with the food producer or pharmaceutical operation or restaurant chain, you’d better be aware that they expect — or rather, demand — 24/7 access to their service information, as well as real-time downloads of service information.
Pest control companies that already service these accounts have developed software programs loaded on handhelds, maybe even laptops or tablets, especially designed for the collection of data they want. So to compete you also need to offer these technologies.
 There are several systems out there for you to choose from. Some require you to buy other office software for the handheld to relate to, while a few do not. Systems have to be set up based on discussions from the customer to streamline them and develop what they want to see. Emphasis here on what they want to see!
The interesting thing about this technology is the cardinal rule of life; the only thing certain is change (yeah, I know the death and taxes thing too). Now, many customers talk about the Smart Phone, mobile service systems, real-time downloads via wireless systems and downloads to computer systems within the plant or operation where service was done.
How did we get here? And what are the obstacles? In my opinion here is the bottom line: If we would have been paying attention, we would have seen this coming. Instead of having our customers coming to us and telling us what we have to provide them and in what format, we would have gone to them and shown them what we have and what we will be providing. Everyone wants something different. Why can’t we all have a set of common parameters we can all work with, and develop a reporting system everyone is happy with? However, it would appear we are way past that bit of strategy…

The author is president of George Rambo Consulting Services, Seneca, S.C. Fax questions to him at 864/654-2447.