South Carolina - 5/01.  I was an employee of Terminix for three years...now have my own (albeit small) pest company. The procedures we followed at my branch were absurd to say the least.

Georgia - 5/01.  I am not at all surprised.  Being a former employee, I have seen Joe Finney, at the time a manager for a branch of Terminix in Marietta, GA, offer customers $100 and play down their damages without having any idea as to the extent thereof.  Obviously being in a position to criticize, I can nevertheless swear to it that they were anything but “service” oriented.  The unspoken motto was “sales will bring them in the front door and service will send them out the back.”  It is a numbers game with this particular institution; and as long as there was some net gain at the end of the year, that was all they cared about to put it mildly.

? - 5/01.  I, too, am an ex-Terminix employee. I read every single letter from the ex and current employees, and it all sounded like a broken record.  My first day with Terminix, I rode with another new guy who had experience with another company.  We went to two houses.  He showed me how to treat for general pests.  The rest of the day, he sat in the truck while I bluffed my way through the rest of the day’s work. That was all the training I ever received.

As for complaints about pay, all true. They rip you off any and every way imaginable. I worked 12-hour days, six days a week for years. My reward? Being denied health and dental benefits when I needed them most. Wife pregnant? Sorry. Improper paper work. Dental insurance files lost in the mail?  Tough luck.

As for customer service? The customer be DAMNED!  Chemicals were rationed to the point you were basically spraying water. A customer with termites?  Those aren’t termites!  They only LOOK like termites!  Termite damage? It was there before we came on the scene and therefore isn’t our responsibility!  The contract clearly states live termites MUST be found before we approve damage repairs.  (Of course, the termites were disturbed and left when initially discovered). Bottom line? Greenbacks.  Every branch manager is paid a yearly bonus that’s a percentage of that branch’s fiscal year profit, generally 10%.  Oftentimes, this yearly bonus would equal or exceed their 40-50K salary. This scheme gives great incentive to the branch manager to keep wages, chemical and repair costs to an absolute minimum.  Every dollar NOT paid out is money in his pocket.

Arkansas - 4/01.  Could some of this be catching up with Terminix?  I work as a partner doing termite repair for Terminix. Well, I did. We had to drop them from our client list.  What could be the reason a small-town carpenter would drop a National account from their client list? They don’t pay!

When you begin work with Terminix, you are told checks are paid three weeks after you turn in your bill. Well, first it was four weeks waiting, then up to nine weeks.  We told the folks we would no longer do business with them, but they blamed the delay on an ice storm.  Giving them the benefit of the doubt, we agreed to do a job about 75 miles away from our homes.  The original agreement was that they would pay one carpenter for driving each way and pay for fuel used.  (They were too cheap to put us up for the night, which should have set off bells and sirens; but we wanted to do the right thing and gave them one more chance.)  That was four months ago, and we still have not received our check.  BTW, travel time was not allowed; and fuel will not be paid for IF we ever get our check.  Perhaps they should not contract work they can’t afford to pay for.

There must be financial problems at Terminix for something like this to be going on.

? - 4/01.  I worked for these bums for six months and all I could take.  They are in for the quick buck.

Tennessee - 4/01.  [Due to length of submission, excerpts only.] I have no doubt these are real stories from real people. I want you to know, that in my opinion, you are providing an invaluable public service by warning people of how the largest pest control company in the world all too commonly treats its customers.  I should know.  I used to work for Terminix as a branch manager.  It’s not that Terminix employees are inherently dishonest; it’s just that the ability to properly perform their duties are hampered by unrealistic expectations, a shortage of resources, and an overall lack of proper training.

I am not proud that I sent untrained and disgruntled employees to the homes of our customers in possession of highly-toxic chemicals.  I still feel bad about having to “parrot” the company line to get out of paying for damages and shoddy work common sense would dictate we were liable for. I knew I was being dishonest when I was forced to fabricate lies about how the termite damage to a customer’s home was not the fault of our negligence, when indeed I knew otherwise. I couldn’t take it anymore, and I finally gave up and quit.

? - 3/01.  I am a former branch manager of Terminix and have many issues with Terminix’s operating procedures. I always attempted to put the customer first, something that is difficult to do considering the large number of customers and the bottom-line mentality. I can’t honestly say I have a warm feeling towards Terminix considering how I was treated or how employees in general are regarded at corporate level.  I also know many quality people in the company that do attempt to provide good service. I feel the Terminix mentality is to deny wrongdoing until a lawyer is mentioned, then proceed to ascertain what the least expensive method is to get out of a situation. To share blame, I feel Orkin is just as bad, if not worse. Their current termite guarantee will not renew past five years.  This, I’m sure, is due to their lack of faith in the product or services they render.

California - 3/01.  It’s good to see what you are doing with this site. I too know firsthand about Terminix’s repeated wrongdoing in California, for I was once a termite specialist working for Terminix.

Maryland - 2/01.  I was a Terminix employee for about eight months, and some of the things they do to people is unheard of.

New Jersey - 1/01.  I was an “inspector” for Terminix in the early 90’s.  I only did it for about four months, because the company was so unethical. They train you to feed off of existing customers.  If you have the pest control service, they want you on the termite contract and vice versa.  My best advice is to not work for this company. If things are going well in your branch, they will cut your territory and hire more people, which means they are taking money out of your pocket.  The actual service wasn’t bad, but you don’t get what you pay for.  It is wise to stay under their termite service contract, which is paid once a year.  This will come in handy when you want to sell your house.

Web mistress note: Based on others’ experiences, I vehemently disagree with the last two sentences -- unless, of course, you can afford litigation if the buyers sue you for nondisclosed infestation and/or damages.

Florida - 1/01.  I have been a Terminix technician for four years now. I read all the complaints and wasn’t surprised at all.  I have worked in two different states for Terminix, however, I received superior training. I did book work for three weeks, rode along for two weeks after that with employees who trained me; and for the first week, the branch manager met me at all my service calls.  However, when I transferred to another branch in Florida, I was appalled at the service practices. The pesticides were being used in a careless manner, everybody did the splash and dash, whereas I was trained using IPM methods and baiting.  I lost an account because I refused to power spray around the building, in 30 mph winds; nonetheless, this was an ocean front property, which would have allowed the pesticide drift directly into the ocean. I was ridiculed by my employer and fellow employees for wearing my respirator, gloves, and protective equipment.  I was informed these protective devices were not necessary, and I may scare my customers.  I would also inform most of my customers not to be in the home while I sprayed or to leave for several hours after, until it completely dried.  Terminix has no regard whatsoever for the safety and protection of its employees or its customers.  As long as they have the check ready, they want you there.

The other thing that makes me irate is the so-called Quality Index all technicians must abide by.  I have changed its name to the monthly performance review that we have no control over.  Being in Florida, many of my customers are elderly, and eventually die.  When a customer dies and the service is canceled, we are charged back with that cancellation. Also when someone moves, someone cancels because the office girl was rude to them, or the bill was messed up, which is usually not of the technician’s control, they are the ones who ultimately pay the price for it.  A run down of the Quality Index is this: I have a route of $10,000 a month, if I have less than 3% loss on that route, I can make 25% of the $20,000, which is $2500 in my pocket.  However, if I have more than a 3% loss, I only get 17%, only $1700.  So in short, a $300 loss can mean $800 out of your pocket. Also many people don’t know that your bonus comes out of the branch profit, and if the profit looks high, the manager gets a big bonus, so usually the manager isn’t too upset about the high loss numbers, it just means more money for him.