Yes - Caveat Emptor indeed !! (what the **** is he on about ?? I hear you scream at your screen)

It's a Latin phrase that means "Let the Buyer beware" - often used in legal circles.

"But I thought you were a Pest Control and Washroom company ?"

Yes - we are - don't worry - we're not diversifying into a legal practice !

The reason why we bring this up is that we think that there are some basics that buyers of our type of service should take into account before buying - there are some very strange practices going on out there and you could be hoodwinked and end up with a very sub-standard service.

Another phrase comes to mind - "Buy cheap - Buy twice" - let me explain........................

We had a call from a customer the other day to ask how they would go about terminating their account. When we asked why they told us they had recieved an exceptionally cheap quotation (now, common sense says that the exceptionally cheap price should be avoided as much as the exceptionally expensive - so it "felt" a bit odd from the off) - we asked to see the director and he agreed.

The director showed us the quote and yes - it was very cheap. The quote however did not have a survey report attached to it nor did anyone know the person who had sent the quote in.

We spoke to the company that had submitted the quotation and it turned out that they had not even visited the site and they had undercut the price that they thought the work was being charged at 3 years before when the work was being done by another company that they used to work for.

Obviously people run their businesses in different ways and it would not be fair to comment on this. This is where "Caveat Emptor" comes in. Most people are expert in their own business and they may not be expert in Pest Control and Washrooms. We thought it may be useful to offer a "Checklist" of common sense items so that you can "sense check" companies that approch you for this type of business.

Without further ado - here goes:

a) Have they done a site survey ? - you need to do this to see what the issues are on site and to come up with proper cost effective recommendations

b) If they did carry out a survey - did they use a torch ? - most pests are nocturnal and you need to look hard to find them in the day time

c) How long did the survey take ? - not a 5 or 10 minute walk around

d) Did they wear overalls or heavy duty work wear ? - to do a proper value survey you need to get on your hands and knees, go into cellars and into lofts. Yes - if you are doing a proper survey you will get grubby !

e) Have they offered you written references from good quality businesses ?

f) What information have they given you as to their workforce ? - how many of them are there ? What training has been given ? Can they show you up to date certificates ?

g) What professional trade association are they members of ? - the two of note are the British Pest Control Association and the National Pest Technicians Association

h) What pesticides have been costed for ? - is it the cheapest or the most effective and palatable ? What detail has been offered on this ?

i) What visit frequency has been offered ? - is it at least 8 inspections per year or is it less to facilitate a cheap quote ? - remember that Rats and Mice can breed (6-10 in each litter) every 28 days and often treatments of less than 8 a year will not control rodents

j) Can they offer other local sites that you can visit to check their real quality ?

Quite a list - but vitally important if you are looking to best "Value" and the highest standards.

If you would like to run through this in more detail please contact the office on 01282-866554