What's the Price for Service?!?!
Updated: Aug 29
We are told frequently that our pricing is:
Too high, and the current provider offers service for $50-$100.
Too high, other providers have given quotes for service between $50-$120.
Too high, we can do it ourselves for cheaper.
Too high, we will find someone else that is cheaper.
We always honor the potential customer’s opinion and choice to go with another provider. At times, the potential customer may engage and ask us why our pricing is so high. We happily explain that depending on the size of the property to be treated and what it is treated for:
Product cost can range from around $47.29-$182.82+.
Our Admin. fee is $62.11, which helps keep the business running.
Our Service/Labor fee is $60.00+, we feel that our techs should be compensated well… this is a labor-intensive job, with exposure to the weather, as well as other dangers associated with driving and daily work activities dealing with pests and wildlife.
This means our service prices can range between $156.19-$304.93+. This may not be the "normal pricing" for Pest Control Treatments. We accept this. The one thing we know is that the more customers, means more things can be ordered in bulk, and in turn can potentially lower the pricing. From working for other companies, we know how most other companies train, perform service, and price services. We know they run 16-20+ services per tech, per day. 20-30 minutes per “stop”, 30–60-minute lunch… maybe. Free Reservice/Call Backs! Salespeople/Doorknockers. Contract/Service Agreement. General Pest-Quarterly Services is all that is discussed. Rat and Mice coverage is included at no additional charge!?!? Did I mention that most of the other companies offer a free treatment if you see any pests? All that for $69.00-$120.00+tax/quarter. If you’re signing up with a company at the door, I bet the person selling the service has mentioned (if you have stated your happy with your current provider) that your current provider is missing things; they are probably doing a couple of your neighbors that’s down the street, later today or tomorrow! There have been companies that have offered my parents free service to switch providers. My dad’s favorite is when they tell him that his current provider is not treating properly. He will ask them what they have found that has been missed. Ants, Spiders, Roaches, Mosquitoes… you name it, and they say he’s got it… at times he will ask them to show him where these issues are so he can point them out to his son that provides the service. I’ve had other customers' state
the same. I see posts on Facebook and Nextdoor about how some are very aggressive and pushy in their sales tactics.
We have been open for 3 years; 2022, started our 4th year. Every year, we as a company, discuss all prior year's numbers. Our 1st year, I knew we were going to take a loss... we were underpricing ALL services. Our 2nd year, we started to price match to the "Big Guys". Year 3, we got slammed with new services for The Big E's Special Treatment Plan. During the end of year #3 (2021) and the beginning of year #4 (2022), we started to check pricing of product as everything was starting to raise in cost. It
was during this time, that we realized, there was no way we can compete with “The Big Guys” unless we compromised the way we perform our services and treatments. We have decided that we are not here to provide the Cheapest Service or Treatment, we are here to provide the BEST, Most Effective Services and Treatments.
So, why this “Crazy High Pricing”?
Here we will breakdown the pricing for our General Pest Treatment Service.
All of these products listed below can be found here:
The cost of all chemicals/products used adds up to $210.15+tax and potentially shipping if doing the treatment, yourself. You will need equipment to apply these products as well. See the equipment here: www.thecolonypestcontrol.net/cost-breakdown
We break our General Pest Treatment Services into lot sizes for pricing purposes:
Lot Size up to 4,300sqft
Chemical/Product Type | Amount Needed | Our Cost | Do It Yourself Website |
| | | |
Demand G | 12.9lbs. | $26.19 | |
Demand CS | 3.2oz. | $18.98 | |
Alpine WSG | 30g. | $1.50 | |
Web Head | 1 | $0.62 | |
Chemical/Product TOTAL: | | $47.29 | |
Lot Size 4,300sqft to 8,600sqft
Chemical/Product Type | Amount Needed | Our Cost | Do It Yourself Website |
| | | |
Demand G | 12.9-25.8lbs. | $26.19-$52.38 | |
Demand CS | 3.2oz. | $18.98 | |
Alpine WSG | 30g. | $1.50 | |
Web Head | 1 | $0.62 | |
Chemical/Product TOTAL: | | $73.48 | |
Lot Size 8,601sqft to 12,900sqft
Chemical/Product Type | Amount Needed | Our Cost | Do It Yourself Website |
| | | |
Demand G | 25.8-38.7lbs. | $52.38-$78.57 | |
Demand CS | 3.2oz. | $18.98 | |
Alpine WSG | 30g. | $1.50 | |
Web Head | 1 | $0.62 | |
Chemical/Product TOTAL: | | $99.67 | |
We take these totals for product usage cost and add in an Administration Fee and Labor Fee to get our Service/Treatment price.
Our Administration Fee is what keep the company operating and growing. This fee covers: Truck, Gas, Service Equipment, Website, Email, Phone & Tablet, Computer, Insurance, Advertising, Office Equipment, Office, Licenses, Office Personnel Pay, Office Supplies, Truck & Equipment Maintenance, Employee Training Days, and other Business Operating Expenses. We charge $62.11/service for our Administration Fee. Just using the mentioned 19- Business Operating Expenses, $3.268 goes to each of the mentioned.
Our Labor Fee is how we pay the technician to perform the services and treatments. We charge $60.00+/service for our Labor Fee. When I started in the pest control industry, my starting pay was $10.50/hr., $15.75/OT hr. Working over-time is how we made money. Get to the office at 7:00am, first stop by 8:00am, and work until the route is completed. If the route consisted of New Customers, we would have 4-8, depending on how the sales team did the night before; if there was room for add on New Customers, or Re-services, we got them. We would end our day when between 6:00pm-8:00pm. It was normal for me to work 50-60+ hours every week. Am I complaining about working 50+ hours per week, no; but for $10.50/hr. I know, America, Home of the Free, and I chose to work for this pay, knowing the pay before accepting the job offer. What I am saying is this: Someone working 50+ hours per week should be paid more than $10.50/hr. to work in 100° weather. $10.00-$15,00/hr. for training, but once the tech has a customer base, pay should definitely increase. We also do NOT service 15+ customers per day. We also believe in a better work-home balance, so our technicians have a smaller customer base. A smaller customer base allows for a more personable service experience as well. We believe this will also help keep our employee turnover rate low, and in turn, allows your technician to provide services to you exclusively.
When we started Big E’s Pest Control, which then became Big E’s Pest & WildLife Management, we always wanted to have the “Family-Feel” company. I started by treating my parents’ house… and from day one, I always said, this is how every customer’s home should be treated. In fact, treatments and services are based on my parents’ property. The ability to gauge service times based on customers not being home (30-45 minutes), customer home with minimal conversations (40-90 minutes), and customer home with a chatty personality (60+ minutes). We accommodate and welcome all, and we allow time for our technicians to have these interactions. We are a Service Industry, and we provide a service, but we also need to be able to interact and have conversations with our customers. For this reason, we allot time on our route to be in a conversation with a customer, say “Howdy” to the kids, give a belly rub to the dog, and maybe try to figure out just exactly what the cat wants… wants lovin’ or wants to eat us, maybe a bit of both!?!?! Either way, it is always a good idea to talk about pests, so we know what we need to focus on more while treating and go over our plan of action with you, the customer. As my Mentor would say, “Do more than a 20-minute Splash and Dash; make a customer for life by treating them like Family!” We took this to heart by performing and testing services on my parents’ home. Part of our testing was “How long does a service take?” We needed to view this from many viewpoints:
Customer that doesn’t want to be bothered, is working from home, just do our job and email over everything… Interior and Exterior.
Customer that doesn’t want to be bothered, is working from home, just do our job and email over everything… Exterior Only.
Customer that wants to talk and B.S. about life, and still wants the interior and exterior done. We actually have customers that will chat with us about everything, and we can be there for 20-40 minutes just talking.
Customer is not home but trusts us to do the interior and exterior of the home without them being home (even though 1 & 2 state the customer doesn’t want to be bothered, they still have to answer the door, and we always ask if they are having any pest issues). The services still took between 45-minutes – 1.5-hours. Property Size for reference: 2,264sqft home on a 11,761.2sqft lot.
There is an unlimited number of scenarios that can take place, before and during service. On average, we would assume that the average service will take at least 1-1.5 hours, especially for a new technician. These Texas summers can put a beating on even the most seasoned technician!
We will NOT compromise the integrity of our services, reduce our standards, or lower pricing just to compete with larger companies. We never were the type to follow the crowd just to fit in. We strive for results from our services. If you are looking to change Pest Control providers, simply because you are looking for the cheapest pricing, consider this: Are you looking to change because it cost too much or are you looking to change because you are not getting results? If you are not getting results, maybe pricing is the issue… the only problem is, going cheaper will not get you better results! We challenge you to view a full-service work order from your current provider, are they using at least 4.3lbs of granules? 2-4 gallons of liquid spray on the foundation? Do they rotate through different chemicals and products, or do they use the same chemical/products every visit? Our goal is to gain control and then maintain that control.
Learn more about Big E’s Pest & WildLife Management here:
www.thecolonypestcontrol.net/about_us
or here:
www.thecolonypestcontrol.net/home
Learn more about our General Pest Control Treatments here:
www.thecolonypestcontrol.net/generalpesttreatmentoptions
Keep in mind, our General Pest Control Treatments are not exactly like the current services you may be receiving. We do not include Mosquito, German Roach, Flea, Rat or Wildlife services with our General Pest Control Treatments. We also do not offer Free re-services.
Learn about our General Pest & Mosquito Treatment Service Plan here:
www.thecolonypestcontrol.net/bigesspecialplan
Want to learn more about our pricing? Check out why our pricing is the price it is here:
www.thecolonypestcontrol.net/service-costs
Learn what is needed for a service here:
www.thecolonypestcontrol.net/cost-breakdown
We list the equipment and products that are needed and link them to where they can be bought. We also explain the pricing for our Pest & Mosquito Treatment Plan!
Learn about our business operating expenses and employee expenses here:
www.thecolonypestcontrol.net/business-and-employee-overhead
“Being the business owner and the sole technician in the field at the moment; I am willing to take $60.00 Off any regularly priced/quoted Pest and or Mosquito Treatment Service. In short, I will work for free, I only ask that I charge for the chemicals and operating expenses… if you feel service was outstanding, friendly, or worthy of being paid a wage, I would openly accept a "tip", but to show customers who are new to the pest control industry, or new customers that have been struggling to find an effective provider, that I am able to provide an effective treatment and service, it just cost more than $99.00/quarter…. I am willing to wave the Labor Fee for service, to show this!”
-Howard L. Ellsworth 8/2022
For $60.00 OFF mention this Blog Post!