5 tips to ease customer worry about kids and pets

Alex Koenig, writer at Noble Pine/Sterifab

As a pest management professional (PMP), every interaction you face is with a concerned customer who is eager to return some peace of mind to their home. But you are likely to encounter customers with an additional worry: their pets and/or children.

Parents and pet owners can sometimes be tough customers, but with the right guidance, they can walk away just as happy with your services as any other client. Sterifab recommends the following tips to reassure customers with pets and kids that they are protecting both their home and everyone in it.

1. Identify the problem.

Very often, customers may not realize that their toddler (or German Shepherd) is the root cause of the pest problem they are experiencing. Young children are messy, and customers need to know that not keeping up with the mess is a huge draw for all kinds of pests, especially when that clutter involves food. It’s inevitable that a three-year-old is going to spill crumbs everywhere, but your clients need to know how critical it is, from a pest control perspective, for this mess to promptly be cleaned up. Likewise, customers with pets should be very wary of where they leave their pets’ food. If their cat or dog often leaves food out in its bowl for hours, this could be a major beacon to rodents. This is especially true if food is left outdoors. Teach your customers how their habits in caring for their children and pets may leave them susceptible to a pest problem.

2. Clean up.

The most active measure you can tell the customer to take ahead of a scheduled treatment, is to clean up the areas being treated. This will make your job quicker and easier, which makes for a more satisfied customer. Tell them to make sure all toys, books, clothing, etc. are safely away from anywhere you will be applying pesticides. In addition to making your work more efficient, it is a good practice that will help your customers protect their families.

3. Wait for the treatment to dry.

It may come as second nature to PMPs, but it’s critical to remind customers to wait a few hours for the treatment to dry before reinhabiting the affected spaces; especially if they have young children or pets that normally roam around the house. Keep your customers well-informed and aware of how long they need to wait.

4. Take extra care with birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

For smaller pets, have the customer move cages and tanks away from the area being treated if possible. Cover them so as to prevent any airborne particles from getting in. Fish tank pumps should be turned off until the treatment has dried.

5. Place rodent traps strategically.

While you need to place rodenticide where the rodents will encounter it, try to use bait stations and traps in areas not easily encountered by children or pets.

With the above tips in mind, educate your customers on integrated pest management (IPM) and prevention methods. They will feel even more comfortable with your work.

The post 5 tips to ease customer worry about kids and pets appeared first on Pest Management Professional.

from Pest Management Professional https://www.mypmp.net/2019/06/03/5-tips-to-ease-customer-worry-about-kids-and-pets/
Sacramento CA