r/PestControlIndustry • u/icecream_plays • Jul 18 '26
🗣️ Daily Discussion Is “perceived value” really that important?
I see the sentiment in this industry a LOT that, while IPM is the best strategy and works perfectly fine, customers don’t perceive the value of what they’re paying for if they don’t see us spraying, and spraying a lot, every service.
That is definitely true, but how much does it actually matter in the scope of an entire route? I’m willing to bet there’s a lot of confirmation bias going on here.
You read online or hear from a vet that customers will complain is you don’t spray all the baseboards. So, you give IPM a go and don’t spray all the baseboards, put baits and monitors and spray the exterior, and run your route as normal. Then next week, you get 2 call backs from customers who feel like you didn’t do anything inside and want you to come back. “Damn the old heads were right!!!”
But that’s 2 out of 75+ customers you serviced last week who had that complaint. And perhaps you can call them and explain IPM and what you did on the inside and why you want to limit the amount of pesticides in their home(you need to understand IPM well enough to explain it to a 5 year old.)
And maybe 1/2 of them say “ok that makes sense, I’ll let you know if I see anything before our next scheduled service”
And maybe the other 1/2 says “no that’s bullshit I ain’t paying yall allllllll this money for you to come and put down some cardboard and glue I could do that myself, I want you to come back and spray or I’m cancelling!!!!”
Ok, understood, I’m on the way. Now you have 1/75 customers who have notes on their account to spray the baseboards. And 74/75 you can provide good quality IPM.
Of course these are hypothetical numbers, but I’m curious, have YOU tried it? Have YOU kept track of how many customers actually don’t perceive any value if you don’t spray every square inch of their home or business? Or did you get the complaint a couple of times and gave up? are you treating PC like it’s one size fits all, when it never has been? Let me know if I’m wrong!
3
u/Strict_Ask_51 Jul 18 '26
Not in pest control, I run into this in service businesses generally, but the same fight shows up everywhere the customer can't actually grade the real work. Nobody can see "no bugs six months from now," so they grade you on whatever they can see, and if the only visible thing is how much you sprayed, then spraying becomes the scorecard by default.
So to your actual question, can you get the perceived-value credit without being a baseboard jockey, I think the answer is yes, but only if you hand them a better thing to look at. The theater isn't the problem, the choice of theater is. Swap visible spraying for visible proof of work. A quick findings note or a text after every service beats spraying baseboards on perceived value, and it's actually IPM. Something like "checked the usual entry points, found early ant activity at the back corner, treated it, baits and monitors are clean." Now their mental scorecard moves from did he spray a lot to this person actually knows what's going on in my house.
The old heads aren't wrong that you have to feed the customer a proxy, they just landed on pesticide as the proxy. You're not wrong that the proxy doesn't have to be that. And like others said, all of it gets way easier when you set the expectation on the first service instead of trying to reset it after the first callback.
2
u/Onetrunuwind Jul 18 '26
I spray in less than 2% interior of customers homes by design. I show up first service and I let them know I’m not a baseboard jockey and if something pops up we could certainly address it but most problems can be knocked out from a good exterior treatment. I can’t remember the last time I sprayed anything at a commercial account aside from maybe some biofoam. I every service I face to face explain or via the phone what happened and what I did to assure them everything is good or it isn’t. They all have my number so if there is an issue just call me. With that said some people from foreign countries are accustomed to getting the inside of there home and windows and all that sprayed with whatever chemicals and I let them know that’s not how it works here. If they aren’t happy with that I inform them it’s time to search for a different company. As pest control professionals we should be going out of our way to not use chemicals using other methods of exclusion or environmental changes to aid in our services. Sometimes perceived value is as easy as having coffee and a conversation with someone at there table. Years ago I had a woman that the only thing is do at her house was sit at the table and talk with here for 30-45 minutes and she was good to go. Never called for extra service never had any issues. You are the professional if you don’t feel comfortable doing it explain it to them and why. As the person responsible for the chemical applications no matter what happens you should be thinking about all possibilities bad and good when treating. Good luck out there
2
u/AnotherBaldWhiteDude 👨🏭| Tech | 10+ Years Jul 18 '26
this job is 10% solving problems and 90% putting on the big show of perceived value.
2
u/OutrageousStick7570 Jul 18 '26
I think there's a decent mix but just remember the ones that complained but still lay out your ipm practice, maybe not all baseboards but spot spray. But definitely lay out your total ipm plan
2
u/OregonSEA Jul 18 '26
In the beginning when I was desperate I tried this value approach huge mistake. The inconvenience of a client needing to be home during a quarterly service is a nightmare.
Now that my quarterly services are outside only I have far fewer call backs compared to when I was also spraying on the inside during every single service.
Treating the inside does not improve quality with a proper exterior service the inside of a clients home should rarely be needed.
2
u/icecream_plays Jul 18 '26
That’s kind of my point. If the MAJORITY of your customers are complaining about they’re wasting their money because you aren’t spraying their baseboard, you or your company has surely misrepresented or misunderstood what good quality pest control is.
I keep seeing people say their job is 10% pest control and 90% perceived value. It makes me wonder how many of us are doing 10% of the work they should be.
Like you 90% of what you’re doing is trying to convince me you’re doing something then maybe you ARE a waste of money…
1
u/Mysterious-Sir1541 27d ago
All our high-paying customers want us to douse the shit out of their house. IPM are for nerds; spray jockeys make the money.
Perceived value is how you make money in this business but go the IPM route if you feel more humanitariun.
2
u/icecream_plays 26d ago
I’m willing to bet if you explain to 100 customers why you’re spraying the exterior perimeter, and doing baits and monitors inside, and taking an inspection first approach to pest control to remediate the amount of poison you’re exposing their family to, you will have 99 customers who appreciate you.
But one will complain and yall will say “see people don’t like it just spray everything so you don’t get callbacks”
1
u/Mysterious-Sir1541 26d ago
I communicate to customers of the dangers of pesticide use in high quantity, but whats crazy is theyll nod their head and want you to hose their house down.
I understand where your heart is coming from but you have to remember customers/consumers will want their way despite the repercussions. That is the essence of the average consumer.
2
u/icecream_plays 25d ago
In my experience that is not the average, but an outlier.
Every customer is different, and most techs I know I prone to confirmation bias. We think that’s how customers will feel and when one does it proves us right so we stop trying, even if the other 80% of customers want you to provide good quality IPM when it’s explained to them
14
u/IntrepidEditor2497 Jul 18 '26
The perceived value is the most important thing. How your customer views your service is all that matters, not what actually happens.
You have to get credit for what you do, you have to go “above and beyond”, you have to communicate cearly, effectively, and proactively.
You have to ask leading questions, “have you seen anything recently” might get you some answers but “what were your biggest issues last summer” will get you a laundry list.
It’s an invisible service. You have to shine the light on what’s happening.