You’ve put a tremendous amount of work into building your business. But pests can quickly undo so much of that effort, causing failed inspections, shutdowns, contaminated inventory, and reputational damage.
In this blog, we’re going to show you how to find the ideal pest control partner for your business.
What Can the Right Pest Control Company Do for You?
How do you know if a commercial pest control company is the ideal fit for your business? Start by asking what they can do for you. There’s a lot more to commercial pest control than responding to pest issues when they arise. Your partner should employ a proactive, multi-faceted approach, preventing most pest threats before they arise, and when issues do occur, they eliminate them swiftly.
Here are four key areas you should use to evaluate a potential commercial pest control partner:
- Service Footprint
- Service Capabilities
- Service Delivery
- Communications, Reporting, and Program Management
The Four Key Ways to Evaluate Different Commercial Pest Control Companies
1. Service Footprint
The service footprint isn’t just a map of a company’s locations; it’s a measure of its operational ability to provide timely, consistent, and high-quality service across all of your facilities. A partner with a broad service footprint ensures that one call can solve a problem anywhere you operate, and that the standard of care you receive in one city is the same you receive in another.
Key Considerations:
- Geographic Reach: Consider your business’s geographic footprint. Do all of your locations need the same service intervals? Does your provider have the nearby locations to keep up and give you fast service when issues pop up?
- The Right Vendor Selection Model: Do each of your locations choose their own provider or select from a list of approved vendors? With a single pest control partner, you get better consistency and pricing synergies.
- Subcontractor Policies: Many pest control providers use subcontractors. While common, they can create headaches if not well managed.
Questions to Ask:
- What’s the overall reach of the company? Will they be able to service all of your branches, facilities, or offices?
- What is the average service response time?
- How do you make sure you receive consistent quality service across multiple locations?
2. Service Capabilities
The needs of a food processing plant are vastly different from those of a hospital, retail store, or office building. The partner you choose should have documented experience and specialized knowledge relevant to your industry, including a deep understanding of its specific regulations and audit standards.
Key Considerations:
- Experience in Your Industry: The right pest control company for your business should have experience building programs in your industry. Don’t be afraid to ask for references.
- Specialized Programs: Pests like bed bugs, birds, flies, and many others require specialized service programs to be successful.
- Expertise with Third-Party Audits: Auditing and reporting are crucial in many industries. Make sure you work with a pest control provider that understands this.
Questions to Ask:
- Are you fully insured? Can you provide certificates of insurance to all of our locations?
- Are your technicians licensed and certified in the states where they practice? Do you conduct background checks? How long do your technicians stay with your company on average?
- Do you have staff entomologists to support your field teams?
- Do you have experience with operations that receive routine regulatory inspections or third-party audits?
3. Service Delivery
How do they perform their service? Are they using “old school” techniques or cutting-edge industry best practices? Your pest control partner should always be investing in innovative technologies like remote digital monitoring, advanced data analytics, and more effective product formulations.
Key Considerations:
- Safety First: A strong safety culture is so important. Ask to see their Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and Experience Modification Rate EMR), both of which are metrics that compare them to other businesses in their industry.
- A Proactive Approach with Integrated Pest Management: IPM goes beyond solving existing issues. It evaluates the conditions of an environment to determine which proactive steps can be taken to prevent problems from happening.
- Commitment to Innovation: From 24/7 reporting platforms, energy-efficient technologies, newer and more effective products, and digital pest monitoring, the field of pest control is constantly evolving. Make sure you work with a company that is, too.
Questions to Ask:
- What type of safety training do your technicians receive?
- What’s your approach to proactive pest control? Do you use Integrated Pest Management in your services?
- Does your company have a green or environmentally friendly service program? Do you have any green certifications?
- Does your company have any technologies or proprietary products? How can they improve our overall program? Do you offer demos?
4. Communications, Reporting, and Program Management
Even the best on-site service can be undermined by poor communication. Your pest control provider should act as an extension of your own team. This begins with clear, consistent communication, from the service reports left by a technician to periodic reviews with a dedicated account manager.
Key Considerations:
- Regular, Transparent Communication: This includes everything from technician check-ins and post-service reports to account management updates.
- Access to Online Reporting Systems and Documentation: Access to online reporting can help you make better-informed decisions. If your provider doesn’t have an online system you can access 24/7, find one that does.
- Dedicated Account Representatives and Consistent Quality: If you have a problem, do you know who to contact? Can you rely on them to take care of the issue right away?
- Training and Education for Your Team: Let your employees help take your pest prevention to the next level. Your pest management team won’t always be present, but they can train your team to recognize issues and what to do next.
Questions to Ask:
- How do you regularly communicate and follow up with clients? Would we have a dedicated account manager or team? What are their responsibilities?
- Can I access an online reporting system? What types of reports are available? Does it have unique data insights or capabilities to identify pest trends?
- How do I schedule service? Is there flexibility to change scheduled service appointments?
- Do you offer value-added education and training resources for my team?
Protect Your Business – Choose Batzner for Commercial Pest Control
Choosing the right commercial pest control company is a crucial decision. Be sure to select one that can deliver across all four key areas: a consistent Service Footprint, specialized Service Capabilities, a proactive Service Delivery model, and transparent Communication.
At Batzner Pest Control, we are built to be that partner. Through our proactive, IPM-based approach and dedicated account management, we provide the effective results and clear reporting you need to protect your business.
Your business is too important to risk. Contact us today for a consultation and discover how a dedicated commercial pest control partner can make all the difference.
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