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Texas - 7/05. I live in Abilene and worked for Terminix not quite a year. I was with another company that was purchased by Terminix, so after the acquisition, I became the Service Manager for the Abilene Branch. I never felt completely comfortable with the way they did business, but when I was told by the branch manager to flat out lie to a customer, it was the beginning of the end of my employment with them. The inspection was for a termite damage claim due to the ineffectiveness of the Sentricon System. Prior to our arrival at the site, he cautioned me to not say anything unless specifically asked. That request was not unreasonable I thought. What he said next hit me like a ton of bricks. He said there was a lot of damage, as he had been to the house at least once before to look at the damage. He instructed me to carry a can of aerosol insecticide, and should I find any live activity, I was to inject the active area with aerosol, give it a few minutes, then bring the damage to their attention. I was to state that this was "previous" damage. If I allowed the customer to see the live activity, then not only would the branch be responsible for another multi-thousand dollar claim, but more than likely, the regional manager would terminate my employment over it. I asked him if his intention was for me to lie to the customer. He said he didn't care what I told the customer, as long as I didn't tell them live activity was found. The last thing he or the regional manager wanted to hear was that we had to pay another claim. These orders were handed down from the regional manager himself. He said I had enough experience behind me that I could take the liberty to be "creative" with my findings in such a way as to benefit the branch and the company...as well as save my job. Luckily, I found no live activity at the site. This was probably due to the fact that he waited to get me to inspect it until after the remodeling was almost halfway over with. I told him that if it came down to it, I would have more than likely lost my job because I had never been one to lie to customers, even at the risk of keeping myself out of trouble. Needless to say, the amount of hassles and hard times exponentially multiplied for me until I finally called it quits and separated me and my conscience from the nightmare I called a job. I am now one of their competitors and I can rest much easier now that I can tell the truth. As a matter of fact, the company I am currently employed with actually ENCOURAGES the truth, at all costs. If you think Terminix treats its customers bad, you should try working for them! Except for the fact that a sucker is born every minute, I am not sure how Terminix stays in business, because employee relations and customer service are NOT their concerns. The only thing they strive for is to increase earnings for the stockholders and the "powers that be" in Memphis.
California - 5/05. I was an inspector for TERMINIX for three years and had to fight for my customers every time things went wrong. I went out on a leave of absence for a back injury and when I returned I was let go the same day. I have filed a law suit. Do not let these people continue to discriminate against you. Go after them. There are many law firms that will help you. If you need help, contact me. I will be happy to give you any info you need. They hired me under the impression they were a Christian company. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Like everyone says, "it’s about the bottom line." Employees or ex-employees may e-mail me at coronamichael@aol.com.
Dallas, Texas - 5/05. Everything you say on this site is correct. I am a current employee of many years. Terminix is falsifying contracts daily. I am happy for the ex-employees who have left the company and saddenened by the many customers who have been misled. I have filed many documents to officials of Terminix only to have nothing done. I too have to make a decision on what to do now. All I know is that I am an honest employee trying to make a living for my family, but I can`t sleep at night knowing that this kind of behavior cannot be stopped. The only response I get from Terminix is to resign. There are several technicians losing pay to (what I call bogus contracts) in pay incentives and also members of Service Mgmt.in bonus incentives. The only people I see profitting are salespeople. Maybe someday the right people will be affected by this and be able to solve the problem.
Louisiana 1/04-EM (TE10-119). I was an employee of Terminix for about three years. In that three years, I never had a complaint from a customer, always showed up for work, and did my job to the best of my abilities. I have read several complaints from ex-employees about spraying with water, not going to the house, and the way they were treated. I would never spray with just water. I would just tell the customer we were out of chemical. I did this on several occasions. A multi-million dollar company; and I was out of chemical, because a manager that saw it better not to buy chemical to show a little more profit. Now about the not showing up at houses. I didn’t do that, but I know a lot of people at Terminix that did do it. Damage claims were another joke. I was a termite technician, and I have found termites before going up a slab with pin holes in the sheet-rock on the inside; and the manager would tell the people it was ants and that they were not covered for ants. Some people were too smart for that, and he would give them some BS story about water leaks, foundation below grade, or a crack in the slab. I don’t care what kind of slab you have in Louisiana -- it is going to crack, so that voids your contract with Terminix. Another thing I didn’t agree with is hazard surveys. We were told to give them out, and I did until I found out what it was really used for. They said it was to inform the customer about possible conditions for termites, but it is actually a document that helps Terminix not pay damage claims. When you get termites, they tell you that you have been told to fix these areas, and that it is your fault that you have termites, when it was their job to find them before you even had damage.
In the office I worked in, I was the only one who would find termites. I wondered why until I rode with some other technicians. They wouldn’t even look for termites, or on a crawl would just crawl under a house and lie there for about ten minutes or until they finished the cigarette, whichever came first. In one complaint, I saw a person said they were instructed to spray in the rain. We never sprayed in the rain. We put out granules, which, in most cases, you could watch the granules float off in the water; but we were told to tell the customer it was just as good as the spray on a sunny day. People would believe just because we told them. You can’t do a termite inspection in the rain whether it be checking a house or stations if it is wet. 90% of the time they are not there. Like I said earlier, I worked for Terminix for almost three years (and in that three years, I sold for Terminix over $190,000); I always came to work; was never late for an appointment; and never had a complaint. All I got for my efforts were pay cut after pay cut. For an example, on a $2,000 termite job with 300 linear feet, my first year I would make $160 for that job as commission. My second year, it was cut to $45. My third year, it was cut to $15. Last year, I averaged $2,800 a month with my sales. Then in December, I was changed to an hourly rate. I got $10 an hour with no possibility of overtime and was told I would be making the same; but by my figures, it is $1600 a month. That was a $1200 cut a month. I talked to my manager about a raise and told him I would have to quit if I didn’t get a raise. He told me bye bye. So I quit. I was a good worker and was the top producer in my office every month with about 15,000 to 20,000 production a month, but Terminix didn’t care nor will they ever care. I would not recommend anyone to work for Terminix, because it is a bullsh** company.
Maryland 1/04-GB (TE10-118). I too have had the “pleasure” of working for Terminix. Let me just tell you that everything in this site is 100% true. I have also seen techs use water and no chemicals, never get out of the truck, or even go to the house; BUT THE CUSTOMER STILL GETS THE BILL.... I have seen inspectors who have “found termites” (but the foundation dirt is different than what the inspector finds), the office staff is no help, rude, and has no time for the customers let alone time to help a tech with anything. Now for management... Well, that’s another story. They could care less about the techs or office staff. As long as their numbers look good to regional staff then they are happy and screw everyone else. I couldn’t take it anymore. I am a hard worker and a team player. I was so tired of being the team. Paychecks, what paychecks... I would end up working about 65 hours a week and only get paid for 42, and that was after being told I would be fully compensated (ha-ha). I worked very close with my techs and made sure they went where they were scheduled to be and serviced the way they had to. I felt bad that I just left them with no notice and they have to work with the people they were stuck with, but I do have respect for the people who contracted Terminix and I do not agree with what Terminix will do to “SAVE A BUCK.”
The people who are invited by Terminix to have the Sentricon bait system installed around their homes... save your money. You’re talking about a little plastic tube in the ground on the outside of your house. Besides you’re lucky if the tech will check it anyway. Most of the techs just hand write a ticket and put it in the door (if you’re lucky) or clear it from the scanner and not even check the stations. I am not saying they don’t work fully (not at all) BUT that is if and only if the termites go into the station and not around them (in most cases). Then you play hell trying to get anyone out for the damage claim... let alone pay for anything. Make sure you read ALL CONTRACT info... You can save a lot of money on the lawyers. You can’t take them to court for anything. It’s in the contract you have to sign. So, good luck; and I hope I have been some help to everyone. ***DON’T USE TERMINIX***
Alabama 12/03-GB (TE10-117). As an ex-employee, I have witnessed most every situation I have read in these pages. I worked with other techs that might have sprayed your window sills with some chemical and called it an inside pest service to not having any chemicals to use and improvise. I also know of techs that have tagged your door and never applied even water! I’ve been employed by two offices over the past couple of years. The routes were terribly unorganized, only the older employees or a**-kissing new ones had a route that could produce a decent paycheck. I was told many times how Terminix cared about their employees but saw nothing in either office to back that up. No one cares about the customer either, they only care about the bottom line. The more they move into an international company, the worse things get. Now they are requiring under-paid, commissioned employees to spend more unpaid time in the office to facilitate a computer program that is putting hundreds of employees out of work. The management is lacking in most all aspects of work ethic and office policies. Most were grandfathered in before you had to take any kind of test to see if you had what it takes. I took over routes that had been neglected so terribly that there was no saving the accounts, but we (the techs) were expected to work nights calling customers, work days in and out of houses and businesses, and still come into the office to redo and reorganize, retype our paperwork now, three times more, then to download all of it in a computer and not get paid for doing it. Our usual checkout at the end of the day turned from a 10-minute job to a 2-hour-or-more project. I think there is a law about employees having to work for nothing that went out with slave labor, last I heard. Now I know Alabama really didn’t want to let go of that and at Terminix they haven’t!
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