Guest Column: Where Most Will Not Go

A stack of work orders, a time sheet and I'm off. I run through a mental checklist in my head to make sure I have everything necessary before I head out…and then I leave. At least at one point during my 8-hour workday I look to see where I am being sent, seeking to make the most of every task given. They aren’t always scheduled for that day, but they will need to get done, these pest control services at various places. 

I don't normally enter buildings, simply around and underneath (when a crawlspace is part of the service), entering the unknown and hidden most will not go. It'll be dark and dirty and — more often than not — dangerous. Still, I'll brace myself to face the depths of such an unpleasant place. I will face such changing elements, both outside and inside these dark enclosed crawlspaces, inspecting while making sure to avoid everything bad from snakes and other various kinds of unpleasant animals to animal feces and sharp plants. I will be hypervigilant every time at every place, making sure I do the most thorough service possible. See this. Watch out for that. Pay attention here.

"Are you here to spray?" is the usual question that each customer asks when they are present at the time when these services are done (an extra freebie we offer that isn't even for the insect we are making sure isn't active there). It's much more than that though. Much much more. It's making sure the tasks are done well (notice how I didn't say perfect), giving good customer service, all while encountering a great many unusual things through each work day. 

Sometimes days are good, and other days you wish you could forget; yet you get to earn income and help people through it all. My name is Matt Berg, and I work as a termite inspection technician....while sometimes doing general pest control services (non-termite related).