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California 7/99-E1 (TE1-12). My husband has been employed by them for many years and both of us have gone through so much stress with them. For example, Terminix claims that it pays their employees overtime and time and a half. However, employees’ salaries appear on the check stub in one lump sum. There is no indication how many dollars one is receiving for overtime and/or time and a half for that two-week period. When my husband approached this issue, Terminix called him into a meeting with a lawyer sitting by and explained that Terminix does indeed pay overtime and time and a half. In actuality, Terminix does not pay overtime and time and a half for commissioned jobs, which make up 98% of what most employees handle. How many companies need a lawyer sitting by when an employee has an employment related question? This is just another of Terminix’s intimidation tactics.
Since 1991, my husband has not received one single pay raise. Terminix also does nothing to build employee morale. Besides not giving pay raises, employees are not given yearly performance appraisals, nor are the EVER given a pat on the back or a thank you for doing a good job. Instead, they are told to work harder and longer hours and make the company richer. Terminix employees are told to look honest customers in the eye while they know they are ripping them off by doing insufficient chemical applications. Terminix is a shady little organization, as is ServiceMaster. They are only interested in money had care not at all about their customers or employees. My husband puts in 12 hour days, but the pay he gets from Terminix doing those long hours, he can get in an 8-hour day elsewhere. Terminix is nothing but a nightmare company.
This company is known for hiring employees without checking out their records thoroughly; thereby, they have on several occasions hired folks with past criminal records. One example of this happened six years ago when an employee by the name of Mr. X was working for them. This individual would offer to moonlight as an accountant for several people he was doing exterminator work. Terminix would even recommend him on such a basis and assure these customers that Mr. X was a responsible individual. He would then steal checks worth several thousand dollars from these individuals, one of which happened to be a charity. When these individuals turned their complaints over to Terminix, Terminix did nothing for these individuals and simply shut the door in their faces. Terminix would also not cooperate with the authorities who questioned them about Mr. X. Instead, they came to his defense and kept him on as an employee. This individual then committed identity fraud on several of his co-workers. In one such individual’s case, $200,000 worth of merchandise was bought on fraudulent credit cards. Again, Mr. X was not fired. Mr. X was allowed access onto the Terminix property day and night and employee personnel files were kept in an open area where anybody could get to them. When problems with this employee were reported to the branch office as well as the corporate office in Memphis, Tennessee, Terminix refused to take any responsibility for their employee’s actions. Instead, they turned their backs on the whole situation and did nothing to help their employees. They threatened employees with termination if anyone spoke about this openly. Terminix is an extremely unprofessional company. Their employees are overworked and underpaid and TERMINIX REFUSES TO PAY OVERTIME even though most of the exterminators work 10 to 13 hour days. They also ask that their employees purposely overcharge their customers and perform inadequate extermination duties, but charge the customer anyway. For example, if an outside area needs to be sprayed during a rain storm, it is obvious that the chemical spray will be washed off by the rain. However, the exterminators are instructed to go ahead and spray anyway. Thereby, the customer is screwed out of both money and service. Also, each exterminator is told not to spend more than 10 to 15 minutes at each call, which is realistically impossible to achieve if one were to do a good job. However, if they complain, their jobs are threatened. Terminix is only interested in money and they don’t care who they have to step on to get it. They care nothing about their customers or employees and are running an illegitimate operation and getting away with it.
? 7//99-E2 (TE1-11). I am a pest control technician with Terminix. Please don’t blame us. Your complaints that I have read are all very true. The company does not pay us or allow us to do proper work. I personally give every customer my 100%. In some cases, that means I don’t get paid for it. Terminix doesn’t only cheat the consumer out of millions upon millions of dollars a year, they cheat their employees as well. We are forced to cheat you. Now that sucks. Watch your tech mix his chemicals then ask to see the label and read the ratios. In most cases, you are paying for water. That is why you still have problems as far as re-treats go. Your tech does not get paid for that work, so don’t be mad at him or her for no shows. How much of that shi* feeds our families? Blame the managers. Do not let them rest until they personally solve your problem. That is supposed to be their job. Complain to Memphis and don’t stop. Be on the phone day and night. It’s a free call, 1-800-835-5869. Beware, the salesmen coming to your house is trained to, if not able to find a problem to invent one. Usually termite, because this is the treatments that make Terminix the most money. The Sentricon system for baiting termites takes approximately two years to even begin to produce an effect. This costs the consumers a lot of money and even more importantly a lot of wood damage to their property. Protect your elderly parents/relatives/friends. They are the most victimized. Good luck to all.
Pennsylvania 6/99-GE1 (TE1-10). My husband worked for Terminix for 12 years when they decided they didn’t need him anymore. They, without any notice, began transferring him from branch to branch. It wasn’t until they cut his pay, again without any warning, that he left and looked for legal counsel.
United Kingdom 4/99-G3 (TE1-9). I worked for Terminix in the U.K. for a few years (they bought out several local companies over here.) I was employed as a pest control technician, and I have to say their training is very poor. All of their training is in house and any exams/tests taken are all marked by an employee of Terminix. (You can appreciate, the pass mark is always very high!) I had a service round of approximately 120 to 150 monthly customers...quality of service was never the key...just volume. I really sympathize with you and your situations. As a footnote, Terminix took over one company in the U.K. and within six months had lost over 70% of their client base!!!
Connecticut 3/99-G1 (TE1-8). Terminix is facing legal actions against them in the states of CT and NY. They are currently suing me for alleged violation of employment agreement. They have made allegations that are not true, and I will be producing witnesses that statements were made about bankrupting me with legal fees, etc. Good luck in your attempts to find justice.
? 1/99-E3 (TE1-7). Your story is all too familiar with me. You see, I was a licensed Branch 1, 2, and 3 termite tech for Terminix for five years; and you wouldn’t believe the things I was told to do. I’ve seen so many illegal activities take place, I couldn’t count them all. Have to admit at times I felt really bad about what they had me do, or not do. I was in charge of fumigations and soil treats. Where to start? Well, from hauling vikain gas illegally, extremely dangerous, to falsifying reports. You name it, and I saw it or did it, under direct supervision of the management team. I was actually encouraged to do such things and was told to keep my mouth shut. I did so many jobs where the people didn’t even have termites and were told they had, really sad, it seemed to me. I know for a fact they went after the elderly, and for good reason. They trust and have money or credit. In some respects, you couldn’t blame the salespeople involved. They were under tremendous pressure to sell jobs -- bottom line, had to make budgets. I was also given a figure, that is dollar amount to perform each day, from $1,000 to $5,000, in one day. Impossible loads. How to do it? Cut corners; I mean really cut corners. Let’s just say we ban-sprayed a lot of homes which is not really legal or ethical. Real estate was a freebie, vacant homes a joke. I’m willing to bet at one time 75 percent never had termites, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at the reports issued by licensed Terminix employees. I’ve seen salesmen do everything from putting termite debris under a house to sprinkling drywood frass in someone’s attic just to sell a job. It’s all about money. They don’t care about employees or people. It’s the great American scam. I could write a book on the things I saw and did. If you have any questions about Terminix, I’ll probably know. I was a dedicated employee, caught up in their system. By the way, I did pest control also; and well, let’s just say we had a saying, “Splash and dash.” If you run out of chemical, shoot water, they’ll never know; web the house good; and go.
? 1/99-G3 (TE1-6). I used to be a so-called “inspector” for Terminix. That was the pleasant name for salesperson they used. I was one of the “Top Dogs” for awhile, my name was always on the top of the sales board. That was until I started seeing the whole picture. I was promising these people a rose garden that, I came to realize, would never ever bloom! At first, it was one bad incident, then another and so on and so on. It finally came to the point where I was disgusted with myself. I was straight out lying to people. At times, I couldn’t even keep a straight face. Even if you put aside the fact that they really did not care about the customers (except getting new ones), their so-called “technicians” that do the treatments don’t have a clue on what they’re doing. I’ve even heard of technicians running out of pesticide (because the company was so cheap), so they would just spray water around the house, but the customers wouldn’t know the difference. It would amaze me every day how screwed up and unorganized they ran the whole operation. I finally quit and found a great company that takes care of their employees, which is more than I can say for Terminix. I’d advise people in need of pest control to stay as far away from Terminix as possible, and I am dead serious!
Missouri 1/99-GE3 (TE1-5). I’m really sorry that happened to you. Unfortunately, it does not surprise me. I have been an employee (pest tech) for Terminix for 3 years; and I will have to say, they SUCK!!! They certainly don’t treat their employees any better. Every month, the threaten their employees with termination. I have seen many cases of such happenings similar to yours, and how the situation gets ignored. That is why I’m in search of employment elsewhere, preferably with a company that cares about “PEOPLE.” I have a family of five to support, and I have been worried every month if the next month I’ll still be employed.
? 12/98-E3 (TE1-4). I was employed by Terminix for 18 months as a termite inspector. Terminix and I parted ways about a month ago. The reason for this separation came about because I could no longer sell their products with a clear conscience. They commit fraud every time they go to a customer’s home. I have documentation to prove the claims, but I recently took a position with a competitor and do not want to jeopardize my new source of income. The point I am trying to make is do not choose Terminix to treat your home for termites or any other pests for that matter if you want to be successful in solving your problems.
? 12/98-E3 (TE1-3). While I understand how you feel about Terminix -- hey, I worked for them and know they are a bunch of money hungry cheats in more ways than one. It’s not fair to hold them accountable for damages to your home outside of those caused by pests. The water damage to the roof was water damage -- not pest related, so why would you trust a pest firm, any pest firm, to tell you about your roof? Would you let your lawyer tell you about an illness??? Keep up a good fight, cause Terminix screws people every day. But put the blame in the right spot, like doing termite jobs using no chemicals!!!! Look into that someday when you have a chance. Now, I am not saying it happens mind you (ha ha); but I wonder how they make all that money come swarm season with so few workers out there. Fight on.
? 11/98-E3 (TE1-2). Terminix bought out the pest control company I worked for the past 9 years, and, of course, we signed a non-compete agreement with Terminix when they took over. Their intention was to shut down the office (employees would be out of a job); so they didn’t even bother to get a business license for that location. Last week, the Department of Health shut down the office and informed us that any certified technicians that continued to work out of that office could lose their certification, meaning we could not work in our state. Another employee and I pooled our resources and struck out on our own. In just one week, we have taken back many of the customers we had. Our lawyer says that due to the circumstances, we should be okay; but today, Terminix fired their first warning shot.
Oregon 2/98-G2 (TE1-1). FYI. Terminix doesn’t treat its employees any better.
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