Sentricon® System Helps Third-Generation Company Continue Its Tradition of Service and Growth
Something went wrong. Please try again later...
It might be easy for a company in its third generation to operate on cruise control, to stick with what’s always worked and not shake things up. But that’s not how Sam Hagopian III’s father or grandfather operated.
“My grandfather started in the pest control industry in 1978,” Hagopian says. “My dad worked with him after graduating from college, and I’ve been working with my dad in the business for over 10 years now. So, you could say we are a pest control family.”
Excel, which operates outside of New York City in northeastern New Jersey and has offices in eastern Florida, has seen remarkable growth in both its residential and commercial revenue in the last few years. And while that growth can’t be pinned on any single factor, Sam says there’s one product that’s helped him improve customer satisfaction and retention, employee retention and cash flow.
“We started offering the Sentricon system about five years ago,” Hagopian says. “Being able to add Sentricon to an existing pest control plan has really helped us bring additional services to our customer base. Our customers stay with us longer, they’re able to use us for more services, and it allows our technicians to be more productive. So it’s really helped us continue this fantastic growth that we’ve had.”
Excel’s new business manager, Nick Pulsonetti, sees the same benefits in the field.
“Sentricon makes our sales process much easier because we’re able to actually start the customer on that day,” Pulsonetti says. “Placing a Recruit AG FlexPack on an active termite tunnel or an entry point gives the customer the satisfaction of seeing that we’re starting the job that day rather than waiting for a mark out, which could take a week or so depending on how busy we are.”
Advantage: Sentricon®
The ability of the customer to see the treatment go in is just one of the many advantages the Sentricon® system has over liquid termiticides.
“Liquid treatments take a lot of time and a lot of product,” Pulsonetti says. “And customers don’t necessarily see the results of the service they’re purchasing. With Sentricon, it’s very tangible. They see the stations going around the home. Our technicians can actually pull the bait out and show them that it’s actively working, and that gives them the sense of security that Sentricon is protecting the house, that it’s actually doing what we say it’s going to do.”
In addition, installation of the Sentricon system requires little to no work on the part of the homeowner. Nick remembers one potentially troublesome termite infestation in the home of an elderly couple. While a liquid treatment would have required moving furniture and would have taken days to schedule and hours to complete, the combination of Recruit® AG FlexPack® bait stations and in-ground bait stations allowed Excel’s technician to perform the entire installation quickly, and with minimal disruption.
“The couple was relieved that there was basically no work required on their end,” Pulsonetti says. “They appreciated that the infestation was being treated immediately, and that the entire process didn’t take long.”
The “didn’t take long” aspect is one that Excel’s technicians, sales staff and customers can all get behind.
“With Sentricon, you’re going to be on their property less time,” Pulsonetti says. “Which is perfect, since a homeowner doesn’t necessarily want people in or around the house any longer than they have to be. So cutting down on the service time by being able to quickly install stations around their house definitely benefits us and our customers.”
Customers and sales staff aren’t the only ones who appreciate the benefits of Sentricon. Excel’s employee satisfaction and retention rates have improved, thanks in part to the ease of selling and installing the Sentricon system.
“Technicians like it because they understand how to do the service,” Hagopian says. “The installation is straightforward, and we train them well on how to do it. Our sales team also is happy; they love to sell it, so retention on the sales side has been great. Sentricon has really been a solid building block for our entire business.”
Always read and follow label directions.