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Florida 3/00-E1 (TE3-38). I am an employee of Terminix, although I wish I never had become one. There were never any safety procedures followed while fumigating at my branch, but only because they were never taught. Training at my branch was a joke. Two other new employees and I were given the answers to all the tests, and then we were given trucks to go out and inspect with. If you wanted a job, you simply had to play their game. You try to do a good job, but then management tells you you’re two slow, we want more productivity. That should be their slogan, “We want more.”
The tarps we tented with had so many holes in them, they looked like a net. How could the chemical stay in the house if the tent is blowing up like a balloon with every breeze? If the chemical was even shot at all. Working on two-story houses with steep roofs and no safety ropes. In high winds. In rain. We asked management a number of times for a lift to bring the tarps up to the roofs, which only met with laughter. Everyone in the termite department at my branch has either moved to other areas due to injury or are currently injured like myself. The company has not called once to check the status of my injury, only to inquire as to when I’m coming back. My boss even had the audacity to assume that I would return to fumigation. Doing the same thing that landed me in the hospital and in a brace. The tarps we are required to lift weigh anywhere from 200 to 250 lbs. Sometimes more if they are wet or dirty, and we often have to carry them up two stories. We have to straddle the tarps over our shoulders and balance them with our necks as we walk up the ladders. I can hear the cartilage in my knee grinding every time I stand up. The body is just not meant to take that kind of abuse, and Terminix could care less. I am, just as every other Terminix employee, a number. It is strange how someone puts themselves through this hell to make ends meet, while the company they work for gets bigger, greedier, and less caring for the very people who put them there. The facts are that Terminix does not care for their employees. They do not care for their customers.
Ohio 4/00-G1 (TE3-37). I worked for the Columbus, Ohio, outfit in sales; and they had me service after the sale. I had no training in this field at all. I would make a sale and then spray for bugs not knowing what the heck I was doing! I watched tapes for a week and then they had me out in the field. I worked for three weeks and then quit because they wouldn’t pay me for what I did.
California 3/00-GE1 (TE3-36). Terminix is ill equipped to do California escrow termite inspections. They are the worst customer service company in the world. I worked for them for 3.5 years, and I can tell you that they are crooks. I was a branch manager for them in Santa Cruz, California, and did a great job even though I was handed a stack of 15 complaints just like yours the day I took the job. The so-called inspectors are salesmen and aren’t qualified to inspect for real estate transfer.
Tennessee 3/00-GE3 (TE3-35). I used a sales manager in the Terminix call center in Memphis, and I have never experienced a more unprofessional, hypocritical organization in my life. That company is more worried about their employees’ compliance to a draconian dress code than they are about the satisfaction of their customers. I worked directly for the VP of marketing, and I can tell you with sincerity that Terminix’s problems come from its poor leadership.
Georgia 3/00-GE1 (TE3-34). You are right on the money about Terminix. My spouse is employed by them and is desperate to get another job. But to add insult to injury, it’s not just shoddy business practices they commit. You would not believe the things that are allowed to go on in his branch, which are blatantly against company policy. God knows they don’t pay their employees. For instance, we are told that if a customer cancels a contract, the tech does not get paid his monthly commission, even when it’s out of his control that they cancel!
Tennessee 3/00-GE1 (TE3-33). I was at Sears Pest Control in the 70’s when they were taken over by Terminix, and again suffered the same fate in 1998 when they bought out Jamison Pest Control. As a lifelong Memphian, pest control professional, and an entomologist, I have seen Terminix at its worst. Within the pest control community in Memphis, they are known for poor-quality service and low customer satisfaction. This does not mean that every office is of the same quality. I can only speak of their general reputation in Memphis among other pest control professionals.
During the short time that I worked for them, I saw deliberate misuse of controlled chemical products, improper labeling of chemical products, and careless and reckless disregard for the public safety in using those chemical products. Again, I can only speak in regard to the one manager that I worked under, but it was my impression that all of this was done with company approval, though I do not know that for sure. I was told that I had to make 16 pest control stops per day and that customer satisfaction was of no concern, since we had a sales department that could sell new customers faster than the old ones could cancel. I refused to do what I regarded as cheating customers by taking their money and only giving them 15 minutes of service. I was threatened with dismissal and soon after that, I quit.
In the 70’s, Terminix was owned by Cook’s Industries who sold it to ServiceMaster Corp.; but in 1998 when I once again came in contact with Terminix’s policies, I quickly found that most of their policies had not changed in those twenty years. They still did not have any regard for me as an employee or the customers that we serviced.
Massachusetts 2/00-GE1 (TE3-32). I am an ex-Terminix tech. I worked for them for almost seven years, and every lawsuit against them is justified. I am presently with another company and have not had to lie to anyone since. DO NOT trust this company or any of its representatives. Whatever they sell, they get a commission on! Use the ‘Net’ to check on bugs or what damage looks like, go to pestweb.com for pics, then get several quotes and ask for references! I hope this saves someone from a financial and mental struggle.
Tennessee 2/00-E1 (TE2-31). My husband worked for Terminix for nine months. He was subjected to the shoddy practice of “getting the money always comes first,” and he was told when he became ill that it wasn’t their responsibility!! We went through doctor after doctor, and were finally vindicated to find he was “CHEMICALLY POISONED” using Dursban, Malathion, and Diazinon. He was instructed to use them, mixed to ILLEGAL concentrations, and not to EVER wear a respirator or protective clothing, so as to not scare the customer!! The customer should BE scared! Terminix has no regard for human life! No regard for their property! My husband did sue. A workers compensation case was settled out of court because the judge and the attorneys (ours and theirs) advised it. He was given $13,000 after the attorneys got their share. He is now on disability, has been diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and will suffer the rest of his life. His medical condition is unchanged since this incident years ago! Never better! We have lost our major source of income in him, our children don’t have an active father any longer, because of TERMINIX! They single-handedly destroyed our lives! I could write a book, and might! CONSUMERS and EMPLOYEES BEWARE! This could be you!!!
Connecticut 12/99-E1 (TE2-30). In November 1999, I met with two inspectors from the state of Connecticut who were interested in what I had to say as a former employee of Terminix. While I was working there, there was an expose on CBS. It aired about late 1994 or early 1995. At the time, I called the station’s headquarters in New York City and told them it was about time somebody let the cat out of the bag about this piece of ---- company that ripped people off the whole time, yet smiled while they did it. I don’t know if what I had to say will make a difference in the Connecticut lawsuit, but I hope that it does. When I first found out about the state shutting down the Terminix’s here, I called everyone I knew so they’d watch it on the news. I was so happy. Unfortunately, they are still allowed to operate while discovery procedures are ongoing.
Arizona 12/99-E3 (TE2-29). I’m a former Terminix employee; and boy, let me tell you that you’re on the right track here. Terminix says they provide very good training to new employees. Ha ha. They give them a book and tell them to read it for the state test here in Arizona. LOL. Then after you get certified, you get a route to run. Poof! No training on the job, just books to read. They also state that their supervisors oversee the employees on a normal basis. B.S. I worked for them for one year and never once did I see a supervisor in the field. Also, they arrange the routes so you’re working 6 days a week, 14 hrs. a day, so understandably mistakes happen.
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