Dear Orkin Man… Bug off!
So a few months ago… I think it was August to be exact… we had a major pest control issue on our hands. We live on a golf course (though neither of us golfs) and we get a lot of bugs and other icky things around here… We were pretty tired of it, and of course, I had forgotten to call around. Well, one weekend, we decided to go with a big name company…. We saw the commercials, showing the guy in the white outfit with the red diamond on his hardhat inspecting houses… We thought.. “Wow.. they really take a look around!” and with our house having a crawlspace underneath, we figured there had to be some spooky things under there. Who knows right???
Anyway… We set up an appointment, and our local Orkin guy came out to our house a couple of days later. He walked around the house, took his flashlight to the pantry, and said… well… Here’s what we can do… We can spray, I can give you traps, and we can do it every couple of months… and it’s going to be $71 each time I come out here… He didn’t exactly do the thorough inspection that they advertise on the commercials, but since when did a Burger actually LOOK like it does on the TV? We kinda thought about it a sec, and thinking this was a good deal, and we needed something fast, we signed on… We told him that we needed to know before hand when he was coming, so I could take care of the dog, unlock the gates, and most of all, make sure someone would be home… Well…. he walked away with our contract in hand… and we were left hoping the following services were going to be better than this first one. Yeah.. Not so much..
The next services were less than desirable. I never got a call to let me know when our service was happening, resulting in me being gone from the house. Which in turn, meant that the dog was still out back, the back yard couldn’t get serviced, and neither could the inside. The last time they called me to tell me my credit card wasn’t being charged any more… I had canceled that card because it was stolen… He told me I could just pay by check when he came… I asked when he was coming… he literally said “I don’t know. They just give me a list to call.” Are you serious??? I was not going to just stick a check out there every day hoping that would be the correct day…
I finally had enough… I called customer service to cancel our service. I didn’t want to deal with them any more… I just had it… After talking to oohhh.. 4 different people… I finally got the confirmation that they were closing the account. I was offered A free service… I was given an apology… Thanks.. but I’m good… I just wanted to cancel. We had ended up taking care of most of our own issues since then anyway… It’ll save us money in the long run right?
Well fast forward 2 weeks later… to today.. I’ve got the girls in the tub, and I’m getting ready for my dental appointment… The door rings.. Well, I can’t exactly answer the door… It rings again.. I finally peek through the blinds in my room, and see an Orkin truck in my driveway, and the dog is going nuts! I got the dog upstairs, but could smell the bug spray… I called Orkin, and asked them why there was an Orkin guy here spraying… after I already canceled the service… and WHY was he in my backyard… All the lady says to me is.. “Oh.. it looks like you get a free service today”… Really??? The guy just jumped my back fence.. It’s Locked FOR A REASON…. Don’t'cha think??? Maybe if I still had an active contract, and the dog was inside… but no.. I canceled it… They have no business on my property…
Needless to say… I’m less than impressed with this company… and the only reason I’m writing this now, is because I’m super angry that they didn’t even seem to care when I called today… I didn’t complain until today… at least not in public…
I called around, and other companies in my area cost waaaay less.. and they seem very genuine when I talk to them. I’m going to end up going with them …
..and now if you’ll excuse me… I have a root canal that needs to be done… you know.. because that’s something fun that everyone should do… NOT…
Powered by FireStats
Monica, they sound very unprofessional, to say the least. And to “give” you a free service after you said NO, wth is up with that? I hope your new service is better, and got my fingers crossed for your root canal. Hope that's better real soon. I don't blame you for letting Okrin have it.
This may not be the nicest way to do it, but it could be the most satisfying. Get one of those little simple signs that say no tresspassing and put it where they would have to see it before jumping said fence. If they do, call the police. Having the police investigate one tresspassing should mean you never hear from them again.
Thanks Monica for sharing excellent information. Your web site is very cool. I`m impressed by the details that you`ve on this site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles.