Attention to Detail Drives His Success

For Tom Kuligoski, having one door closed opened the door for another opportunity he had never considered.

Kuligoski graduated from college with a criminal justice degree, but at the time there were few openings in the Saginaw, Mich., area for law enforcement professionals — and he wasn’t interested in commuting or moving to Detroit. When a friend mentioned the perks of being a service technician for Rose Pest Solutions, he applied and was hired once the company had an opening (a few months later).

Now, 18 years later, Kuligoski is PCT’s 2023 Commercial Technician of the Year, a celebration of a career still very much active, but one that almost wasn’t.

According to his direct report, Ray Roenicke, district supervisor for Rose’s Saginaw office, Kuligoski is the type of employee they wish they could clone. “He’s a tremendous technician with a unique ability to provide service,” Roenicke said. “I wish I had 10 of him. He has the ability to service large, audited accounts that require a lot of work and a lot of responsibility.”

Kuligoski works in the “Thumb” of Michigan — an area in the lower peninsula of the state that encompasses Saginaw south to Flint and east on I-69 to Lake Huron, and areas to the north. It’s a very rural area, and Kuligoski likes the tranquil drives along his route.

“The ‘Thumb’ is kind of different; it’s more rural, less cities and more villages and small towns. My clients are organic farms, food warehouses, grain elevators. It’s kind of why I like doing this route,” he said, noting how nice the ride is during times of the year such as fall. “Today was rainy, but the colors are starting to change so you have golden cornfields, and the trees are turning yellow and red. It’s a relaxing drive and the people themselves are a little easier going.”

WHAT IT TAKES. Kuligoski has spent the majority of his career servicing commercial accounts. His route is approximately 95 percent commercial, and Roenicke said Kuligoski has the perfect personality and temperament for dealing with commercial customers.

“Tom has that personality where people love him because he has the ability to deal with all types of people,” Roenicke said. “One time, he had a situation where a client kind of went off on him about something, questioning him about paperwork they thought was missing. But Tom got him to calm down and come to an understanding of what was going on and that nothing was missing, and the customer ended up apologizing because he was having a bad day.”

Having a day-in, day-out mentality is truly important to achieving success as a commercial technician, according to Kuligoski. Also, never overlook the importance of calling a colleague, he said, as nobody is all-knowing. “Being a good technician is going in every day, doing the work again and again,” he said. “You need to ask yourself, ‘Would you be happy paying for the service you just provided?’ I look at it that way. I get in situations, and someone asks for something, and they might not need it, but I try to break it down and give them real-world solutions. We are getting our roof done at my home, and hopefully we are getting the same quality work that I would do.”

AUDITED ACCOUNTS. Many of Kuligoski’s clients require third-party audits. Roenicke said those customers depend on Rose so much they are more like partners.

“Audited accounts require certifications to be able to do business with certain facilities [such as big box stores and supermarkets] and they require the audits, and they have to document the reason why a situation occurred,” Kuligoski said. “We’re here to offer solutions. You don’t get results unless you have the cooperation and partnership with the client.”

Kuligoski’s daily route is anywhere from two to six customers, and each stop could range from 20 minutes for small companies to three or four hours for the large ones. Kuligoski said he doesn’t even look at the clock. “You just go to work. Today, for example, I have a big sugar factory, so I’m checking devices, logbooks, talking to contacts, checking light traps and whenever the work gets done, the work gets done.”

For doing top-notch audits, one of the keys is meticulous record keeping. “When working, I use a handheld device, and I’ll pause and take notes,” he said. “We have a section for technician comments. I tell them to read the tech comments and that’ll tell you what we caught, if something was broken, if something had to be resolved, because that’s a summary. On these accounts, you have to go slower because you don’t want to forget to write something down on the report.” If Kuligoski finds something broken during the audit, he’ll make a note — “crushed by forklift truck” for example — before moving on, he said.

Kuligoski says he then gathers all of that information and goes over it with his contact (like a plant superintendent), so they can hear from him firsthand. If he is able to take pictures and show them, he will. For example, if he finds a door broken or a gap in a wall, he will snap pictures to show the client. More than likely, he said, they already know, but the photo backs it up, he said.

COMMUNICATION KEYS. There are many hallmarks of creating a great relationship with a customer, but two of the most important are providing solid customer service and being a good communicator. This ranges from giving insight into services that are requested but not necessarily needed and offering suggestions outside a normal inspection’s realm that could affect pest control success, to simply staying in touch with the occasional text when necessary.

“I had a client contact the office and say, ‘I know he’s not scheduled to be here until November, but I’m having an issue.’ And so it’s nice to call them right away and let them know I’ll be there in a few days,” Kuligoski said. “It’s important to be thorough, but also quick in response. Provide the same service you would want, with a fast response and updates, let them know ‘I found this,’ or ‘I did that.’ Even a text works.”

Most clients don’t even call the office — they call or text Kuligoski directly about everything. “There have been times when I might be off on a Monday and the sugar factory client will call and ask if I’m OK because I’m usually there at 8 a.m. And I remind [the client] it’s my day off this week. I’ve been seeing people for 15 to 18 years, and you talk about their kids, your kids, sports, vacations. Having real personal relationships — I think that’s important. So even if there’s a price increase in our business, we have a bond and they’re thinking, ‘We’re not going to get rid of Tom.’”

STAYING EDUCATED. Kuligoski is a proponent of ongoing monthly training. “There are new things to learn, there are important new invasive species or new equipment, or you’re using new pesticides and new labels that are changing and starting in two months you can’t use them,” he said.

Kuligoski said he thinks that with some pest control companies, you can tell who does continuing education and who doesn’t. “I’ve been to places where they are treating things they shouldn’t, so education is always ongoing,” he said.

Kuligoski’s advice for new technicians is to “be willing to learn, solve problems, take it a day at a time. Hang in there; you will bear fruit the longer you stay with it. But you have to be dedicated to it and when you have a route like this, you are your own boss. It’s not a hard job, but you have to be disciplined. Every morning, you offer solutions and see the results, so it’s a great feeling.”

The author is a Chicago-area- based contributing writer.