Earls Pest Control

"In response to the member's experience with Earls; The home was being treated on a monthly basis with the prior homeowners and there were no problems at that time. When the member moved in, remodeling was done on the home, including landscaping of the large yard and vineyard. This type of outdoor remodeling is most definitely going to increase ant activity and drive them inside the home. We attempted to service the member to eradicate her problem a number of times. Each time we went out to service, she refused our treatment plan to eradicate her ant problem. We understand completely if somebody does not want pesticides applied inside the home, especially anywhere small children are constantly at. Safety is our number one concern with any treatment plan that is rendered. Gel Bait is always an option for anyone that does not want pesticides sprayed in the home. She is correct in stating the gel bait will attract the ants, that is how it works. They take it back to the nest to feed it to the young which eventually dies out the nest. The drawback to this method is the timeline of 14 days to see the ants dissipate, it is up to the customer at that point to determine if they would like to use the bait or have the home sprayed which cuts down on the eradication timeline. Every month we end up returning to her place more than 2-3 times to continue to take care of the problem however every time we return we are not allowed to treat accordingly. When all avenues are exhausted and the customer is still not compliant, eradication of the ants will be next to impossible. The member also insisted she have the same technician (our service manager) each time she is serviced, however due to the nature of the business and his position in the company, we can only do our best to provide her with our service manager at each appointment. We promised to send a licensed, trained professional to take care of her and if she was unhappy with them that she could let us know. After an extensive review of the account, property and level of Ant problem the large home has, the member was upgraded to our "Premier Service Account" to ensure she receives the attention she requests each month. The price increase to $110.00 is the cost of this program which was based on the following parameters: the size of the home is extremely large (above 5000 sq. feet), the treatment plan conflicts which requires us to make 2-3 trips out to the home a month, and the particular scheduling needs the customer has. The original rate of the previous homeowner was $65.00, a standard monthly rate on a standard size home. However the previous owner received a discount on the property because he had multiple properties with us, had an exterior treatment of only part of the yard, not the vineyard and additional landscaped areas that were put in when the member moved into the home. Because of all these things put together, we felt the treatment plan had to be revamped. At Earls we pride ourselves on customer service and eradicating pests, however if a customer is non-compliant on a treatment plan we cannot get rid of the problem or warranty the work since it is not done correctly. We are sorry to hear of the member's complaint, we feel over the year that she has been with us that we have tried every avenue to help her and eradicate the problem but find we are having a hard time with cooperation and understanding from the customer. She decided to continue service with us, we hope that shows that she is partially happy with the service as we do warranty all of our treatments that are rendered as long as the treatment plan is followed accordingly."

"We are a bit confused on the "D" rating from this customer. We are not really sure what the complaint is about so we are posting a response in hopes to clear up any confusion for potential customers. It looks as if the rodent problem was eradicated for the member. Putting the bait up in the attic is a standard treatment plan for roof rats. The cost of $245.00 is quite competitive in the industry and is based upon many factors, such as cost of materials, the size of the home, they type of infestation and how long it has been there as well as how difficult the job is, which we do not know until we arrive. Using a professional for rodent eradication is the smartest and safest way to take care of the problem. Although it can get expensive, licensed professionals use a commercial grade bait that is quite effective and cannot be bought at a store such as Home Depot. Most importantly, proper placement and handling is imperative when working with poisons. This is why we always encourage our customers to not waste their money on store bought bait that does not always work, and does not require a licensed professional to handle it. We warranty all of our work for 60 days on all interior work that is completed. If at any time, our customers are still having a problem and need another treatment, we will come back out free of charge. We also come back out to retrieve any dead rodents or animals that may be found in the structure or in the yard of the home that was treated at no additional charge as long as we are contacted and notified of the problem. We are sorry to hear of the member's experience with us, as with any customer, if we had been notified of anything that he was unhappy with then we would have gone out to the property again to fix it at no additional cost. At Earls we pride ourselves on our customer service skills, pest eradication and a family business atmosphere. We have been in business since 1952, servicing the entire bay area."