Customer Communication

Editor’s Note: This article was reprinted from Techletter with permission of Pinto & Associates, Inc.

Often a callback or contract cancellation has nothing to do with the service that was provided, but has everything to do with information that wasn't provided. For example, a regular customer is unhappy because she's just discovered fleas and expected that her quarterly service for cockroaches would prevent them. No one explained to her what was being done and what could be expected as a result.

First-time customers, especially, don't necessarily understand what to expect from pest control service. They may have unreasonable expectations about results or unreasonable fears about "poisons" or odors.

Don't wait for the customer to ask questions. Give gentle explanations at every opportunity. This is the basic information that your customer should have when you leave:

THE PESTS

• What pests you found during your inspection
• Where the pests live and breed
• What conditions caused the problem
  

THE SERVICE

• What you're going to do and why
• What to expect from the service; what not to expect
• The cost of the service
• What the warranty covers
• Preparations that must be made by the customer
• Whether or not the customer can expect some odor
• When the customer can expect to see results
• How long control can be expected to last
• Precautions the customer must take
  

FOLLOW-UP

• Schedule for any additional service or monitoring
• Steps the customer should take to help prevent the problem in the future