5 Questions with Mark Hitchings

In today’s competitive environment two things set your business apart: fast, efficient customer service and great technology.

Mark Hitchings, Eastern Sales Manager with Brother Mobile Solutions, explains how Brother is making it possible for businesses large and small to have the latest technology — always.

Meeting customer demands in today’s changing business world is challenging, especially in the competitive pest control industry. Serving customers at the point of service with clear documentation is critical and mobile printing plays a key role. Hitchings offers perspective on this important topic.

1. What are the top challenges in the pest control industry today?

The pest control industry today is highly competitive. There are many providers from which customers can choose, so it’s important for pest management companies to establish their brand by providing fast and efficient customer service. Meeting strict regulatory compliance guidelines to ensure safety is also critical. These challenges are driving the demand for technician efficiency and productivity in service delivery for residential and commercial customers.

2. What are the benefits mobile printing delivers to pest control technicians in the field?

A new generation of mobile printing devices provide clear benefits to pest control technicians, such as the ability to print documents on-demand at the point of service. Rugged mobile printers can withstand the harsh demands of field service work so documents and compliance information can be printed anywhere they are needed. Mobile printers also improve accuracy by eliminating the need for handwriting which is prone to errors.

3. What type of documents are printed at the point of service in pest control?

The types of documents pest control technicians print when serving residential or commercial customers include leave-behinds such as: statements of work, invoices, service tickets and a variety of compliance documents including inspection reports, warning labels, specific details of the pesticides or other chemicals used.

4. What key features should pest control providers look for when selecting mobile printers?

To meet the demands of the job, mobile printers should be compact, rugged and print either receipts or offer full-page printing capability. The devices should seamlessly connect to smartphones or laptops via AirPrint® or Bluetooth® technology. It’s important that these portable printers have good battery capacity or other power supply and easily fit in vehicles, shoulder bags, or ruggedized carry cases for mobile pest technicians. Choosing thermal printers eliminates the need to deal with ink or toners plus offers the flexibility to print in hot or cold environments.

5. How can Hardware-as-a- Service (HaaS) deliver benefits to pest companies when they need to acquire mobile technology?

In today’s challenging times, pest control, like many industries, may struggle to get technology projects approved due to cash flow or budget issues. HaaS is an easy way for these organizations to get the most advanced mobile printing technology into their technicians’ hands so they can best support customers. HaaS procurement moves the purchase from a capital expense to an operating expense — so there is no stress on the bottom line.

*The Brother Shift & Print Subscription Service (HaaS) is subject to credit approval.