PestSure Hosts Safety and Loss Prevention Conference, Rottler Named Board Chairman

DALLAS, Texas  – Designing and implementing an effective safety program is much like putting together a puzzle, you need to have the right pieces in place for a perfect fit. That was the theme – Solving Your Safety Program Puzzle - of the 2024 PestSure Safety and Loss Prevention Conference held Sept. 10-11, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

PestSure also announced that Mike Rottler, chairman and chief executive officer of Rottler Pest Solutions, St. Louis, Miss., has been named board chairman. Rottler takes over the seat from retiring chair Russ Ives of Rose Pest Solutions/Bio-Serv.
 
“It is my honor and privilege to succeed Russ Ives as the PestSure Board Chairman,” said Rottler. “He has led our organization through some challenging times with courage and strength and is one of the finest examples of a servant leader that I have ever witnessed.”

Rottler said he has always relished opportunities to work with his peers to not only grow his company, but also to raise the bar for the industry. Serving on the PestSure board has afforded him a unique opportunity to do both.

More than 150 PestSure members from across the country gathered for two days of interactive sessions, peer networking and information sharing on how to continuously improve their company’s safety programs.

“The Safety and Loss Prevention Conference is part of PestSure’s unique value proposition to our insureds,” said Todd Burke, COO of PestSure. “The program is loaded with timely and relevant topics that are specific to managing risk in the pest control industry. There is no meeting like it in the industry, and our insureds receive tremendous value by attending.”

Highlighting the education programs were a series of keynote sessions focused on timely topics that are significantly impacting the way pest control professionals operate their businesses and manage their risk.

The opening session featured a mock deposition led by attorneys James Foster and Joe Panatera of Chicago-based law firm Cassidy Schade. Foster and Panatera pointed to the sharp rise in "nuclear verdicts" – a verdict in favor of the plaintiff with a damage award surpassing $10 million - in auto liability cases and the importance of thorough deposition preparation.

“Corporate depositions should keep you up at night,” said Foster. “With nuclear verdicts becoming increasingly more common it is essential to prepare your company’s representative.”

Foster said plaintiffs’ attorneys will try to use your company’s safety program against you and put your company on trial versus an individual’s actions to win a larger verdict. A plaintiff’s attorney must provide a list of areas of inquiry prior to a deposition. Foster said it is critical to research these areas thoroughly so that the person most knowledgeable on the subject matter can competently represent your company at the deposition.

“You can lose a case in your deposition preparation,” said Foster. “Remember, whatever your representative says binds the company. You want the prep day to be the worst day for your witness – not the actual deposition." 

Panelists John Judge of Certus, Efrain Velasco of Lloyd Pest Control’s and Jason Miller of Nozzle Nolen shared their experiences of designing, implementing and enforcing no cell phone policies in their companies. Each talked about overcoming concerns regarding productivity, enforcement, and the risk of losing employees who violate the policy or leave because of it.

“The roll out message needs to be right, and it needs to be clear that it is OK for technicians and sales to not answer phone while behind the wheel,” said Velasco. “There will be hiccups as the process rolls out, but if you stay the course and remain consistent, you’ll see the results.”

On the topic of enforcement, Lloyd’s Velasco added that, “You know what your company can live with or without (when it comes to enforcing the policy). It could be three strikes; it might be five strikes.”

As for the impact on productivity, all three panelists indicated they had not seen any dip in productivity once technicians understood what was at stake and that waiting five or 10 minutes to return a call or text was not going to cost them a sale. To further the point on productivity, Lloyd Pest Control said it experienced the two biggest revenue months in the company’s history, after their no cell phone policy went into effect.

Other featured sessions at the two-day event covered a wide array of safety and loss prevention topics impacting pest control professionals including:

·      Unique Risk Exposures – Frank Fowler (Forshaw)
·      Supervisors: The Critical Safety Program Component – David Billingsley (The Billingsley Group)
·      Getting the Most from Your Safety Meetings – Tammy Rudbeck (Bug Busters) and Jay Yarsinske (Terminix)
·      What’s in Your General Liability Policy – Abby Thalachelloor (PestSure) and Tate Eperjesi (Sedgewick)
·      The BIG Book – Safety Program Manual – Annie Dahl (Sprague), Mike Voss (Cook’s Pest Control), Russell Jenkins and Mary Margaret Jenkins (ABC Home and Commercial DFW)
·      Beat the Heat – Real World Experience – Bob Gilbert (Blue Sky Pest Control)
·      Accident Inquiry – Why Bother? – Clay Williams (PestSure)
·      The Name is Modifier, Experience Modifier – Kristina Phillips (PestSure)