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Key takeaways
- The list still holds: Dr. Frishman first presented these technician frustrations at a Whitmire Institute of Technology session 37 years ago, and with a few technology tweaks they apply today.
- Most irritants are management habits: skipping thank-yous, scheduling stops with too little time, backing the customer before hearing the technician, breaking promises and ruling by fear.
- Equip people before you blame them: the George story shows a proper flashlight holster, issued with the uniform, prevents the problem instead of punishing it.
Some 37 years ago, I presented a training session at a Whitmire Institute of Technology session about what owners and managers do that can frustrate technicians. With just a few tweaks to account for some new technologies, the ideas are as pertinent today as they were back then. Do you recognize any of them for your company?
- Send them to a seminar or webinar on how to control a given pest and then don’t give them the materials that they learned are good to use.
- Make them pay for their own flashlight batteries.
- Reprimand them in front of their peers.
- Forget to say thank you, good morning and hello.
- Show up late for work.
- Send them to a job without all the pertinent information they need, such as whether the customer will be on the premises.
- Schedule stops without enough time to perform their work properly.
- Tell them to use a pesticide or technique they know is illegal.
- Forget they have things going on in their personal life, like a dentist appointment, for example.
- Make yourself unavailable when they seek help.
- Tell them how great you were when you were a technician and that they “just don’t make workers the way they used to.”
- Back the customer in a conflict with a technician before you even hear what your technician has to say.
- Keep them in the dark as to your advertising plans.
- Keep them in the dark about your company’s growth plans.
- Deny them access to trade journals and other materials that may make them “too smart” and become a competitor. If you think they’ll leave you, look inward as to why that might be.
- Give them two uniforms and expect them to come to work freshly laundered five days a week.
- Drive your new car to the office and tell them how you have to cut their benefits.
- Promise them something and then forget to do it. Examples include a salary raise, approved time off or being able to attend a training meeting out of town.
- Rule by fear and intimidation.
- Show different rules for different technicians in terms of discipline.
- Mess with pay periods in terms of time issued or amount given.
- Provide unclean restrooms at the office.
- Provide unclean and messy lockers and work areas.
- Show no interest in their personal affairs, such as the health of a child, for example.
- Talk but do not listen.
- Schedule four stops all before 8 a.m. and send them out on the route at 7:30 a.m. While today’s routing software makes that harder to do, some companies still seem to find a way.
- Request a job be done a certain way but do not provide adequate equipment to do so.
- Expect technicians to work through lunch and breaks to finish their workloads.
- Expect uniforms designed for cold weather to be worn through the summer months.
- Think this is the complete list and do not try to analyze what else you may be doing wrong.
Shining a light on helping new hires
Once upon a time, a new technician named George was issued a flashlight and told why and how important it was to carry it into every account and use it. Six months later, the supervisor discovered George always left the flashlight in the truck.
His excuse was “I have to carry it in my back pocket, and it is rubbing a hole in my pants.”
Issuing George a proper flashlight holster with his uniforms and equipment would have solved the problem before it could exist. Of course, the flashlight holster should be the type that lies flat once the flashlight is pulled out. If not, it can catch on objects and become a safety hazard. AF
Questions PMPs ask about keeping technicians happy
What are the most common ways managers frustrate pest control technicians? Dr. Frishman’s list centers on everyday management habits: sending technicians to jobs without the information or equipment they need, scheduling stops with too little time, reprimanding them in front of peers, breaking promises about raises or time off, backing the customer before hearing the technician’s side and ruling by fear and intimidation.
How can an owner tell whether they are irritating their own technicians? Read the list against your company honestly. Dr. Frishman’s final item warns against assuming the list is complete, and his note on trade journals says that if you think technicians will leave you, look inward at why. Unclean restrooms, uneven discipline and ignored personal lives are signals worth checking.
Why does a flashlight holster matter for a new technician? In Dr. Frishman’s example, a new hire named George left his flashlight in the truck for six months because carrying it in his back pocket wore a hole in his pants. A proper holster issued with the uniform, one that lies flat once the flashlight is pulled out, prevents the problem and avoids a snag hazard.
