The following complaints/information regarding ServiceMaster and its subsidiaries (with the exception of Terminix which appears on other pages of this web site), are unverified.  I believe them or I wouldn’t post them; and you must judge for yourself if you believe them.

(SVM-1).  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-2).  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-3).  ServiceMaster/Chemlawn/Truegreen bought our company and threw people around like they were rag dolls.  I stayed with their firm for almost one month before I actually began to find out how they treat customers and some of the unreal expectations thay have from their employees.  When they have a buy out, they will tell you everyone will or should still have a job.  What they don’t tell you is that you will be demoted, your work hours will change dramatically, you will work at least six days a week, given a goal to hit, and rarely, and I mean rearely, ever talk about customer satisfaction.  All their in-house contests are based on how much can be done, how much money is brought in.  No one at Chemlawn/TrueGreen in Wisconsin ever said little to nothing about the customer when these employee contests are run.  I had to quit after 30 days of what I saw, and this was just a small area of what I saw.  It scared me, and I left.  I actually could write a 50-page book on these people, but I really don’t want to get into it.  Just thought I would let you know about just a small part of their customer service and the type of misleading people I think they are.

(SVM-4).  I am researching ServiceMaster and their sister companies in an attempt to find other claims against them in regard to chemical exposure.  My husband at the age of 33 suddenly died this past December of leukemia.  He worked for TruGreen Chemlawn for a little over 3 years mixing and applying their chemicals.  I also worked for the same company for 3 years and know all too well of their deceptive practices.

(SVM-5).  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.

(SVM-6).  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-7).  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-8).  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 demoter 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-9).  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-10).  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-11).  We’ve had a bad experience with ServiceMaster as well.  We had a “batch-style” garbage disposal (you wash the food down, then insert a metal turnstop which activates the motor).  It was a 1/2 hp system and stopped working.  We called in AHS [American Home Shield] who responded to the call with a less-than-worthy service technician.  The only available batch model was a 3/4 hp.  They stated they would replace it with a switch model that was 1/2 hp (“matching” the existing); but since the contract does not cover ancilliary items such as electrical, we were SOL.    We were around and around with them that they were not replacing the like item.  We had a batch system and could not accomodate a switch system without electrical work.  They stated they were replacing a like item in features with the 1/2 hp.  We went so far that we threatened to sue, and they cut us a check for $88.  This was a second incident and certainly our last in dealing with the company.

(SVM-12).  I am in the process of building a similar page (which is near completion) describing my experiences in management with TruGreenChemlawn, a sister company of Terminix and part of the ServiceMaster family.  The experiences that I’m referring to are related, but limited to, the illegal dumping of pesticides and the suspension and forced resignation that I was given after reporting said activities.  The irony is that I was the Marketing Manager in the San Diego Branch of TruGreen.

Note:  A web site of this nature did appear on the Internet for a short period of time; then disappeared.  The domain name is now owned by ServiceMaster.

(SVM-13).  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-14).  I have been having difficulty with American Home Shield Warranty Co., a subsidiary of ServiceMaster regarding air conditioning, heating, evap cooler, and ductwork for the past five years.  I basically have no heating or cooling.  I have called, written the company, BBB, Attorney General’s Office, Dept. of Insurance, Registrar of Contractors to no avail.  An attorney is very expensive.  The $5,000 to $10,000 for an attorney would fix my air conditioner.

(SVM-15).  We, too, found termite damage in our home after closing (and a clear-of-termites letter).  This company was Chief Termite Service out of Memphis.  I have also had a terrible time making American Home Shield live up to their contract and canceled it.  This type of consumer fraud can be stopped, and I will never deal with any of the companies owned by ServiceMaster.

(SVM-16).  I have for years battled with this company.  I find they have what I would consider to be the most ineffective company in pest control and in their attempts at lawn maintenance feeding.  The only thing they have down is being able to call on the telephone to schedule something and then do nothing that they are told to do.  We have a lawn of nearly 10,000 sq. ft. and they would come in and feed it in less than 5 minutes many times.  If you called, they would send someone back; and that service would be 5 minutes.  Their pest control is no better.