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Waterbury, Connecticut - 4/06. Terminix is a rip off. I worked for them; and, yes, it’s true. I have worked in the state of Connecticut for five years for Terminix International. I was put in place when the state filed suit in 1999. I was a compliance officer in the Trumbull branch, Waterbury branch, and Wallingford branch. I was hurt in July 2004 and have had two neck surgeries. Terminix has turned its back on me after all I did when the state was going to close us down. I worked my tail off for this company. Now I can’t even get a return phone call. All I need is my employment and pay history for my lawyer. I never filed workers’ comp. I always planned to go back to work but now after going back twice and both times needing surgery, I have a plate in my neck. I suffer from bad headaches and I can’t work. After my last call dated 3/30/06 to try and get the new CEO of Terminix so I can get the help I need, I was called back by Amy Dancy, Compliance Chief. When I asked for the CEO name, number, or e-mail, I was told “Well, let me see what I can do.” So now I can’t have the CEO’s name? But the next day, I got a letter from Terminix certified stating that I have been on leave for one year as of April 11, 2006, as accordance with the one-year policy my leave status will be terminated. That’s just great. Now I’ll have no job, no health benefits, and still no help with something that is so easy to do. I have tried to call the region manager, Glenn Newman; no calls ever returned. I have tried everything. It’s sad.
Layetteville, North Carolina - 3/07. How can I express my regrets and stories regarding Terminix as a branch manager? I have so much to tell and do not know where to send it.
? - 10/06. I was searching the Internet and happened to come upon this web-site. The more I read, the more interested I became. After reading through a myriad of real customer complaints, I had flashbacks during my years of employment from 1988 through 1992 as a Termite/ Pest Control Technician. During those years, I witnessed first hand how the branch managers, while working with the service managers, would deflect customer problems and even seek counseling from their regional manager on how best to deal or not deal with customer issues that they were not willing to address. On one occasion during those years, there was a shipment shortage of pest control formula in which us technicians would use to mix with a specific amount of water to achieve the right chemical balance for application. Under the direction of the regional manager, he informed the Pest Control Team to just use water for their application until the shipment arrived. I always thought to myself, for the customers paying money to have a certified pest control technician enter their home, how can the customer check to make sure that the technician has the right balance of pest control chemical in their sprayer before they apply their application. The ugly answer is they do not. The ability to deceive the public in this arena is very great, and who is to say that Terminix doesn’t use these methods today. The termite chemical used requires water too. Maybe this could be a contributing factor as to why I’ve read so many complaints on this web-site. This is no different than if you were buying “Premium Gas.” How do you really know you are paying for premium gas from regular unleaded? The sign says so, but until it’s been properly tested, one can only assume.
Virginia - 10/06. I am a recent former Terminix employee and witness to federal violations, poor treatment of employees violating labor laws as well as public safety, and consumer issues such as fraud and neglect. Right now I’m out of work because of them and hopefully will find work soon, but I have no problem giving out the info about them. I am from Maryland and serviced the Charles County, Calvert County, and St Mary's County areas. The office was located in of all places Fredericksburg, Virginia, at 1120 International Parkway, Suite 129, Fredericksburg, VA. After I left them, I reported them to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and am currently fighting to get my last pay check from them with the labor board.
I’ll start with the training. Virginia law states that when you are hired for this position you are to be trained for no less than 20 hours with a certified technician before you can become a registered tech. I was a registered tech only yet I was the one training the new hires at this branch -- the only one training them!! According to law, I’m not legally allowed to do this. The first guy I trained did get 20 hours but was sent out with not enough training to treat homes and was sent out for at least a month without being registered to apply chemical. However, we had 2 more guys who were termite guys that only recieved 5 minutes of training from me per management’s request to treat for pest control with no former training. Lucky for me I was trained from another company so I knew right from wrong but the others did not and this puts the customers in danger. The other problem is that Terminix likes to schedule 15-30 stops a day on a tech, causing them to rush, which in turn makes the tech take short cuts, misapply chemical, and cheat the customer. Not to mention the dangers of misapplied chemicals or spills.
Management also, when faced with a huge pest problem in an account, will encourage techs to work around the laws when using pest chemicals and equipment. For example; the B&G sprayer. It is forbidden to use this inside a home to spray baseboards or even while people are in the home. Management has told techs on several occasions, “yes, it is illegal but do it anyways. We use 3 different chemicals in our B&G's:
1: KICKER ( INSECTICIDE) EPA Reg. No. 432-1145
Pyrethrins 6.0% Piperonyl Butoxide Technical 60.0%
2: CY-KICK CS EPA Reg. No. 499-304
3: TEMPO SC EPA Reg. No. 432-1363
If you look these up on a MSDS sheet which you can find for free on the net you will see that these are not safe for indoor use in the manner that Terminix uses them. The basic treatment they use is exterior treatment and inside around baseboards and entry points which is illegal. One drop of this chemical mixed with water can cause a world of damage; and if it entered the rivers has been known to kill thousands of fish and wildlife in the waters.
In addition to the training as far as being a registered tech, Terminix conveniently has their own state proctors to give the test. I too took this test and was given the answers to the hardest questions in a subtle manner so it’s not to be obvious but enough to pass. My Branch manager who has no knowledge of the pest control business and has only been with Terminix since Novemeber 2005 passed this test with a high score;; yet still does not know how to use pesticides and is in no position to recommend a solution in curing a pesty problem. In fact, Terminix hires most of their managers from outside the company with no experience whatsoever.
As far as cheating the customers. Each day I would have 13 regular customers on my route; yet, I was told to skip them for the new business, causing me to have over a hundred people who did not receive service. I have also gone to regular services only to be greeted by an angry customer that had canceled months prior to me coming, yet they were still in the customer data base. Terminix does not post cancels because it means the manager’s check will be shorted so they keep adding new clients and keeping the impression the business is growing yet to my knowledge 20% of their customers canceled and did not get removed. Another thing they could do by doing this is if they decide to sell a branch to a potential buyer they could use these false records to fool a buyer into thinking they’re getting a large customer base.
One more scam I know of is when Terminix sales people sell a service, they have a tendency to lie about what the customer is buying. Example: More than a few times I went to what I thought was an Initial pest treatment charged at $365 for the whole year when the customer informs me that Terminix said it covered termites as well. They offer a free termite insepection but not treatment with a pest contract covering only spiders, crickets, ants, and mice. They learn this after they signed a contract; and when some are lucky enough to get their money back, they are still in Terminix's computer as an existing customer.
If you would like more information about the pay we get or anything you want to ask, feel free to ask me anything. I want to help any way I can.
Tennessee - 6/06. Beware of this company. I have recently been working for them and left recently. They treat customers horrible and lie to them. I even overheard a sales rep say, "Oops, I overcharged this guy $500.00," and the other technicians said, "Oh, well." Not to mention the no-shows for appointments, refunds that don't happen or that will take a year to complete, excessive billing sometimes to the point a customer doesn't remember if they paid or not; and they actually have credits on their accounts of hundreds of dollars. The sales representatives do lie all the time about the pest to the customers. Sometimes, well not sometimes mostly all the time, they make the customer believe that their pest problem is bigger than it really is. They lie about what the pest can and will do to their home. People also have a lot of complaints about damages, carpet and termite damage. I would never recommend Terminix to anyone and all the people I know who still work there say the same thing. That’s bad when you work for a company you don't believe in, and this was at the corporate customer affairs office in Tennessee.
? - 6/06. I was a Terminix employee. Although I made great money while working there, the office was like a jail. The salesman that made the most ran the place and could say and do whatever he wanted. And if there was something shady going on, if you didn't keep quiet, you were the next person to be talked about. I am currently pursuing a lawsuit against my former employer and ask that if you have any questions or complaints please email me. I am hoping to push it into a class action. I already have a few others and just need a few more to push it over the top. I want the headline in the newspaper to say "They Can Not Treat Their Employees This Way."
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