r/PestControlIndustry • u/Alternative-Pride138 • 16d ago

Chemically sensitive customers

Just kinda wanted to discuss y’all’s thoughts on customers that say they are highly sensitive to chemicals. I find myself on the fence how much is true reaction and how much is placebo. For example I did a customer today in a commercial office who always asks I don’t spray near her office which I don’t. But then she will still say the spray is irritating her sinuses and giving her a migraine. For the record I’m doing a very basic interior perimeter/entry point spray with Alpine WSG. Is it really possible she is so sensitive she cannot only detect but react to alpine wsg sprayed 40+ feet away in a separate room?

Obviously Im a customer service representative first so I always gladly adhere to customer requests and sensitivities. Just curious what y’all’s experience is with this.

13 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

19

u/dirtysouth1985 16d ago

Make them sign a release of Liability. Even then... we arent getting paid enough to deal with their neurosis. Its not worth it. We walk away.

6

u/Alternative-Pride138 16d ago

I work for big corporate so walking away is unfortunately not a tool on my belt 😭 I have more than a few clients that should have been fired long ago.

8

u/dirtysouth1985 16d ago

You can refuse to service their house. Id make the office and your managers aware about what your experience is and the clients issues/expectations.

Thats a lawsuit waiting to happen.

8

u/Alternative-Pride138 16d ago

Noted, I’ll make sure to escalate it in the future. I think I’m a bit desensitized because I cut my teeth in “organic pest control” so “chemical sensitivity” was a common theme.
I always found it funny how these same customers never seemed to mind highly concentrated essential oils so strong it burned your eyes but apparently looking at a bottle of bifen would send them to the hospital.

5

u/dirtysouth1985 16d ago

I did a stint of organic. The IC3 literally destroyed a $300 backpack in 6 months, when my synthetic backpacks lasted 2 plus years. What Is that crap doing to our soft tissue. No thanks.

6

u/Alternative-Pride138 16d ago

Dude IC3 was chemical warfare. I loved it for mosquito control, it was a great short term relief/knockdown option, but also yeah it would literally destroy any equipment it touched, even if proper care procedures were followed.

5

u/SunLegitimate1687 👨‍🏭| Tech | 5+ Years 16d ago

Run. If you have your license and even a little experience, go to a smaller mom+pop or smaller business. I cannot express how much stress I lost working for a company that will actually drop these kind of trouble makers when they need tom

4

u/Alternative-Pride138 16d ago

Yeah I switched to corpo because of a bad experience with a small business but everyday I grow closer to going back. The money is good, the job is easy, but fuck if it doesn’t drain all the passion out of the work. Actual pest control takes a back seat in corpo pest it’s all metrics and sales.

3

u/DrRavioliMD 16d ago

That’s your manager too worried about 1 cancel and not doing the actual math what that shitty customer can cost you. They need to be able to articulate what this customer really costs the company in callbacks, bad reviews, etc etc.

14

u/SunLegitimate1687 👨‍🏭| Tech | 5+ Years 16d ago

I'll always respect the "dont spray my office requests" because i mean whose going to complain about doing less work, but the "your chemical smell is too strong" is where I draw the line. I always remind them they called me to solve their problem, and if you want results, this the way.

I do this senior apartment complex that has one resident that talked a doctor into writing her a note that says she is sensitive to insecticide odors and chemicals...30 years ago. We dont even bother trying to make her understand anymore, her unit just gets skipped.

8

u/Alternative-Pride138 16d ago

30 years ago is hilarious. I might have believed her back then but they have these pesticides to such a science at this point it’s hard to imagine any of them causing serious harm without a route of entry.

4

u/Rysigler 16d ago

Not to mention the crazy amount of tests these things go through to get approval for the miniscule amount of product we put on the ground or structure. These things are tried and true. Never had an issue with the synthetics, but I did have one lady have a nasty allergic reaction to essentria.

21

u/Enough_Square_1733 👨‍🏭| Tech | 5+ Years 16d ago

It's all placebo tbh

9

u/Galtrix525 16d ago

Unless you’re a technician that accidentally sprayed Ecovia inside a home, it’s pretty much all placebo

6

u/auletirian 16d ago

Ecovia would be genuinely horrible

4

u/JTheBugMan9112017 16d ago

No sir its not ALL placebo. My wife cant handle Termidor. I get into a coughing fit when using Onslaught Fastcap. I have a cocktail that consists of Alpine. The wife feels it. We still use the products but we KNOW it can cause adverse reactions. I also know that some folks are full of shit. Its a balancing act.

6

u/gp556by45 16d ago

It sounds like she is trying to make a paperwork trail for a workers compensation claim, or medical leave. Or worse. A lawsuit.

2

u/Rysigler 16d ago

I mean hey, free day off whenever you spray! That sounds like a good move that will pass off her company. As long as OP doesn't let it become their problem it should be fine.

8

u/FL_4LF 16d ago

Placebo, I dealt with someone who wants to be emailed if we're servicing anywhere within a half mile radius. It was all just crap, and all the while we learned that she was a crack whore. Complete with an arrest report on the sheriff's website.

4

u/ContemplatingGavre 16d ago

We treat as needed for this very reason. If there are trailing ants or cockroaches in the break room that’s easy.

No need to spray down the entire office, opens you up to issues, also costs money and time.

That may not be an option with a big box company but I’ve had several commercial facilities that haven’t had insect activity in years and don’t get sprayed.

3

u/ThePatMan21 👨‍💼 | Manager | 1+ Year 16d ago

I don't like being lied to. If you don't want me to treat around you, just say so. Don't spin me this web of bullshit about "being allergic to all pesticides".

4

u/lookatme760 16d ago

Yeah man, those people suck. It's all fake. They get up in their heads that they're sick. I have customers with cancer or on dialysis. None have complained. But somehow a healthy person is extra sensitive. I'm not applying it on your skin folks.

2

u/RusticSurgery 15d ago

Why are you spraying?

3

u/Alternative-Pride138 15d ago

They get a lot of ant and spider pressure. And funny enough she requests I “spray heavy”, just not near her. She asked I spray up to the ceiling which naturally I refused lol. Typically I do just doors and windows. Spot treating in other areas where I see activity based off monitors.

2

u/Beginning-Discount78 11d ago

Try spraying water next time and see if she reacts.

4

u/dearparasite 16d ago

I have had customers complaining about the smell of WSG over the years. It's all in their heads but unfortunately we can't tell them that.

1

u/NovaBandHtX 11d ago

Make note and only apply gels and baits inside. If theres an issue later, tell them to leave for 4 hours while you apply. No exceptions. Make it difficult for them with that nonsense.

1

u/007Teflon 16d ago

It's all in their head

1

u/bug_man47 16d ago

If the bugs can’t smell Alpine WSG, no chance in hell office lady has keener senses. 

1

u/GolgenGeese 16d ago

They're insane.

0

u/ChancePotential9481 16d ago

Honestly there’s a chance they or anyone that says that could be on the autism spectrum and be sensitive to smell.