SVM-12 (AL-2/00) We currently are having trouble at our branch office with harassment from representatives of Terminix threatening to destroy our equipment and causing difficulties with our employees. These people are not only unfair to their customers, they are also unfair to their honest competition in business. We want you to know there are honest PCO’s out there that try to do a good, ethical job that resent Terminix’s business practices as much as you do.

SVM-11 (TN-2/00).  I work at a university, and thank God we have just rid ourselves of a seven-year nightmare with ServiceMaster. I read this morning in the Memphis Flyer about ServiceMaster’s relationship with the outgoing Head of the Memphis Public School System and her renewal of their contract. It is comforting to know we were not the only ones being taken to the cleaners.

SVM-10 (12/99).  ServiceMaster is also being sued for firing a whole crew of airplane cleaners in New York because they would not shave off their beards.  The workers are suing for religious discrimination.  It turns out that having a beard is important in their religion.  With ServiceMaster, it’s their way or the highway..

SVM-9 (12/99). Entities associated with, and possibly associated with, ServiceMaster are trying to steal my company. They are trying to make it so I can’t use my trademark and blocked me from using anything resembling my company name by registering over a dozen variations of it on the web. I’m getting bomb and death threats, my tools have been stolen, my office has been broken into. I’ve been immersed in this legal quagmire, and I can’t say I wish to make it my life.

SVM-8 (FL-12/99).  Had a horrible experience with ServiceMaster (supposedly a Christian-oriented business) when they took over and consequently fired all of our employees of five years or more because we were making too big of a salary. This was after they guaranteed we would NOT lose our jobs.  They care nothing for their employees or the consumers.

SVM-7 (NC-12/99).  ServiceMaster has long been known as a litigious corporation. Many times they have lost contracts in the contract services business and sued the customer (even when blatantly wrong) to “protect their good name.” They are known in the marketplace to then settle by having the offended customer settle by agreeing to not say bad things about them or provide a neutral reference. You might also want to research the article published recently concerning their lawsuit against former employee Ray Martin.  They tried to screw him out of money owed in commissions and lost a $1.2M verdict and of course have appealed.  I also was sued after electing to leave the company for a better job, and they settled by paying my attorney fees and having me promise that I would not call on any of their customers for 18 months. They are truly a bunch of hypocrites and are driving the stock into the ground.

SVM-6 (TX-4/99). Your main problem is probably with ServiceMaster.  They had a contract for maintenance in the Richardson, Texas, school district (buildings, grounds, etc.).  Working conditions were deplorable, many good people left, others were demoted replaced with ServiceMaster managers with higher salaries and poorer performance.  To make a long story short, there was a law suit by a former employee, an investigation by the school board whose findings were quickly buried, and a couple of local news reports which all quickly disappeared.  Once the contract was up a year or so later, it was not renewed, without explanation.  Some employees returned to work after ServiceMaster was gone. Unfortunately, ServiceMaster was there five years and did a lot of damage.

SVM-5 (WA-12/98).  I know how foul ServiceMaster is. I’m employed by them.  It sickens me daily to see how consumers are treated and how they treat their employees. If it were easier to get a job, I would not be stuck in an awful job that I hate.

SVM-4 (10/98). I worked for ServiceMaster Consumer Services for one and one-half years. I received a job offer that increased my pay by $20,000 a year; and since I am a single mother with three children, I took the new job.  I gave my boss a 4-week notice, and I was extremely professional during the entire notice. The events that have occurred in the past two months have shocked me beyond belief.  I have been slandered to my new employer by my boss, including him even calling her and offering to share things out of my personnel file, which I might add is illegal.  I have no money to fight them in court due to the fact they are suing me for the $3,200 they paid me while I was on maternity leave.  This billion dollar a year corporation, that supposedly “honors God in all they do,” obviously does not worship the same Lord that I do. It is also obvious that they need $3,200 more than my small family does. I have the utmost respect for you and your efforts to expose the true company that exists in ServiceMaster. If I can in any way help you expose them, please let me know. I worked in Human Resources, and I can tell you many things regarding discriminatory practices that I have witnessed with my own eyes.

SVM-3 (8/98).  I got involved with ServiceMaster once. It was the sorriest experience of my life. If they put half the effort into doing the job as trying to screw you around, they’d be okay.  It’s like their goal is to rip you off no matter how much effort it takes them.

SVM-2 (8/98).  From my personal experience, I’d say that ServiceMaster is corrupt. It amazes me that they can survive doing business the way they do. I would recommend that anyone avoid them like the PLAGUE.

SVM-1 (5/98-former franchisee).  We are still exploring options to expose what ServiceMaster has done to us.  If they make restitution to us along the way, great.  If we can keep others from falling into the spell of those who profess to honor God in all that they do, then this is all the better. It is amazing to me as well that this is the world we live in now. I have believed, and still do, that right will prevail in America. This is what has made our country what it is, courageous people who stood on principle alone, even against their own fellow citizens, to do what is right and in the process raised us all up to a higher quality of life and freedom.  I am torn as all men are who face the decision to go on a crusade or to stay home and do the safe, more secure things. What do we want out of this?  Justice.  Fair restitution. The knowledge that others would be saved from what we innocently and painfully had to endure. These are the motives of decent folks and reason enough to put our families at a degree of risk.