Scott Monds began his first day as general manager of National Exterminating getting an earful from former termite renewal customers.
“I called them, and I asked them, ‘Why did you fire us?’ Basically, I was doing exit interviews,” recalled Monds, who wanted to learn what the company did wrong to lose the business. He made about 200 of these calls in 2015, up to five a day, in between his other duties for the Newport News, Va.-based company.
Surprisingly, former clients welcomed the opportunity to share, were generally kind and accepted Mond’s apology for not correcting matters before they left. “Customers were really upfront with me, and I was able to say, ‘Wow, I see a pattern here,’” he recalled.
Specifically, he learned: “We can do a much better job at communicating with customers than what we’re doing.”
He also realized it was a big mistake to assume customers knew anything about termites. Some former clients, he found, didn’t know what termites look like, why they’re attracted to structures, what termite service involves or why homes need ongoing protection from the pests.
“We’ve been in business for 45 years. We just got complacent and thought that everybody knew what we were doing” to bring value to the customer, Monds explained.
Losing termite customers is not unique to National Exterminating. Pest control companies on average lost 21.5 percent and retained 78.5 percent of termite service customers over the last five years, according the PCT 2022 State of the Termite Control Market survey, which was sponsored by BASF and compiled by Readex Research, an independent research firm.
To improve retention at National Exterminating, Monds prioritized communication and made it part of the company culture. Since then, calls from upset and confused clients have been “drastically reduced to nearly zero,” and fewer are late making payments, he said.
Better communication has forged stronger partnerships with customers, who no longer view National employees as “just the guy or gal who crawled under their house once a year,” said Monds. Employees also came to appreciate the power of good communication and how it can protect the company from liability, he said.
Monds shared with PCT five lessons he learned by listening to former clients:
1. Write Reports in Lay Terms
Customers do not understand industry jargon. Looking at annual termite inspection reports, they had no idea, for example, what a reference to “discoloration” meant for their home or termite protection.
“National is very fortunate to have employees that have been with us for 8 to 10 to 15 to 20 years-plus, but that also comes with a small problem. The problem is that everyone has done this so long, they forget that we speak a different language,” said Monds, who worked in the cabinet wholesale supply industry before joining National Exterminating in 2011.
To change this, termite inspectors were trained to make reports more detailed in language easily understood by the homeowner and to provide photos. This helped homeowners better understand specific issues that needed attention, such as standing water in the crawlspace.
In addition, inspectors began recording moisture readings on the reports, which provided a point of reference for homeowners. “If you have 25 percent wood moisture content, that’s probably a problem” that needs to be addressed, said Monds.
At weekly meetings, employees discussed what made for good and bad inspection reports and shared samples of each.
© Boris Roz | Adobestock
2. Call Out Issues of Concern
Do not assume customers will read the inspection report, even if it’s well written. Unfortunately, they get filed away because life is busy. But that also means customers are not aware of problems that may attract termites or that an additional termiticide application may be necessary in certain circumstances.
During exit interviews, people told Monds, if you had just told me, we certainly would have upgraded our termite treatment or taken steps to fix the moisture problem. Instead, they were surprised and angry when swarms appeared or when they had to fix moisture issues while trying to sell the house, even though these issues had been documented in reports for years.
Now, the office staff at National Exterminating reviews each inspection report and follows up with customers on issues of concern. They explain what the inspector found and ask if a senior inspector can come out to investigate further. Previously, it was up to the customer to read, interpret and act on the report findings.
This extra touch has been incredibly successful. “That was the communication that the customers needed,” said Monds.
3. Improve Inspector Soft Skills
Termite inspectors typically are not hired for their chatty and outgoing demeanor, but because they’re thorough and precise. “I realize sometimes they’re uncomfortable speaking with customers,” said Monds. And some of his inspectors were pressured to sell by former employers, which made them more reluctant to talk to customers.
Over the past five years, Monds has worked to get this group more comfortable engaging with customers. The goal for them is merely to tell the customer what they saw during inspection, and if they found an issue of concern, to ask if they can have a senior inspector take a look and offer a solution.
The approach is simple. “No pressure at all. It has worked very well,” said Monds. In addition to termite service, National provides moisture control and wood repair services and removes spray foam insulation to create termite inspection gaps.
4. Explain How Termite Treatments Work
Many former customers believed the termite inspector performed treatment during the annual inspection. Others believed termite treatment lasted forever. They “just didn’t know” an additional treatment may be necessary eight to 10 years after the initial application, recalled Monds.
To bridge this knowledge gap, National Exterminating began explaining in greater detail what occurs during inspection, how long termiticide lasts and why an additional treatment may be necessary (a termite infestation, disruption of the soil, etc.).
Retreating the homes of long-term customers resulted in stronger termite protection and more satisfied customers. It also increased revenue. In 2021, more than 660 existing termite renewal customers paid for additional treatments, a $354,000 boon to the bottom line, said Monds.
5. Take a Public Service Approach to Education
Homeowners probably don’t know what termites look like, and they certainly don’t understand how some decisions can reduce their home’s termite protection.
This became apparent when Monds learned that a customer of 10 years had been sweeping up “those insects,” a.k.a. termite swarmers, year after year without letting the company know, which is a requirement of National’s termite warranty.
Customers are your partners, so you must educate them, Monds reminded. To help do this, National Exterminating developed a flyer to show customers what a termite, a mud tube and a small swarm in a window look like. It’s very visual and presented “like a public service announcement,” said Monds.
Likewise, the company is alerting customers about spray foam insulation: how installing it improperly may void their termite warranty, limit the ability to retreat the property and prevent homeowners from securing termite/moisture letters needed for real estate transactions.
Editor’s note: PMPs must remember that the label is the law when performing termite treatments. Consult product manufacturers with questions.
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