Page 34 - May/June 2019 W.C.T. Magazine

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soffit vents and a section of attic insulation that had been rolled up in a pile. To anyone with experience it was obviously done by a human. There were also several inch and a half service holes from the enclosed garage into the attic. These were the only openings I found. I told the homeowner what I’d seen and showed him the insulation. The soffit vents just needed adjusting and put back in place. The homeowner then told me another NWCO had already checked the house over and told him that he needed over $4,000.00 worth of work including trapping and exclusion. He had also been told that the insulation was a nest and that there were trails in the insulation all over the attic, which there were not. Upon being told about the other NWCO, I went back and checked everything again to make sure that I hadn’t missed anything. This type of NWCO gives us all a bad name. He’s trying to make a living in an area that won’t support it and carries a huge
overhead. His advertising alone will bring him down.
Three strips of duct tape over the holes to see if anything was using them, adjust and refit the soffit vents, a quick check of the ridge vent ends, a “call me if you have any more problems,” and job done. I will retain that client and his word of mouth recommendations. The other person is getting bad reviews.
Scare tactics and bats go together like kids and candy. People have a fear of them. I’ve seen battle hardened soldiers duck and cover around a flying bat. Because of my age, I don’t do a lot of bat work anymore. I have a very competent person that I solely recommend because I have worked with him and know he is honest and guarantees his work. I did a bat inspection where there was very little guano, just a dropping here and another there. Maybe one bat had been there for a night or two, but another company had told the homeowner that it would cost $8,000.00 to seal the house and replace the insulation.
They said that the insulation must be replaced because of the possibility of disease, bugs, etc. and that they would all get sick and possibly be attacked in their sleep if the exclusion work wasn’t done. The homeowner thought it was a bit high and wanted a second opinion. The truth and exclusion work were done for a lot less than the big bucks quoted by the other people. Once again, we keep a customer and they lose a client base.
I received a call for skunks under a shed. I did the job and the homeowner did his own exclusion. He did a nice job of it too. I would have like to have had the add- on, but not this time. As we were talking, he was telling me about another NWCO they had hired for chipmunks. They had not been satisfied with him as he was high priced, didn’t show up when he said he would, didn’t do what he said he would, and actually showed up drunk once. They said that he was belligerent and they could smell the booze on him. Not good and it looks bad for the profession, but I guess that there are a few in every job description. However, that is another client that we will keep and the other person has lost forever, as well as all of the bad reviews he will continue to get from the client. What did one of the articles in WCT Magazine say? A dissatisfied client will tell 95 people or more, those will tell more still, and a satisfied customer will only tell five or so. I’ll take both the 5 who heard the positive about me and the 95 that heard the negative about the other person.
Honesty is the best policy and be a professional about it whether you are full- or part-time. I have out lasted at least four, soon to be five, other NWCO’s that I know of in the area and will continue to be a full- time part-timer for as long as I can. n
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