I never have had an issue with this in the past, however as of late, i am getting customers that have tried solving an issue, fail, then contract me to bat clean up. Which is fine, however, they are slipping baits in my cages after i leave, moving the traps to places they feel they should be, and so on. I kindly explain my logic behind why i choose to do what i do but they at that point they basically talk down to me like i have no clue!
Bottom line, takes 2-3x longer to close out these jobs! And that kills the bottom line $
Advice?
Not saying i know everything and can not learn any tricks along the way but using same baits and same sets they failed at seems endless and pointless.

I think a lot of the problem is that we live in a world of instant gratification these days and if the problem isn't solved the first night then that must mean my magical wand is defective...

But the flip side of the coin, if it is solved the first night they feel they over paid for how little "work" was put in lol
Cant win for loosing sometimes

Nic, this happens all the time. I have what I consider a pretty fool proof method. I usually take three cages per job but at least two. You tell the customer that you are going to set your cage where you hope to catch the animal and that you will set "his" cage anywhere he tells you to.

Now it's a competition and the rules are, you won't touch "his" cage and he can't touch yours. This is kind of a win-win situation for you. You will be surprised at how many times the customer wins and they love it, but my favorite is when the customer has an animal in his cage and he thinks he won and then you point to the animal in your cage too.

I also have customers who tell me exactly what they want for bait. It's usually something like black walnuts so I dip them in squirrel paste and the customer never knows the difference. I've actually come to enjoy the challenge of taking on the bossy customer.

Two days ago a customer told me that he really thought that I had set my raccoon trap in a pretty dumb place and he was sure I wouldn't catch any raccoons where I set it. But he wanted me to know that since I caught four raccoons in that cage in four days, he felt that he should congratulate me on my knowledge of raccoons. I thanked him and said that if I hadn't learned anything by the age of 71, I probably never would.

Good stuff Paul!

Like that way of thinking

This isn't 100% applicable, but my brother in law through the years though being full time USAF and around the globe ultimately also became a master of tile work and on the side did lots and lots of bathrooms and floors and so forth.

Now, as you'd imagine, many folks would like to see, or watch, or even lend a hand.

His sense of humor is quick and one of the best I've had the pleasure to hear in my lifetime.

His line when asked, "do you mind if I watch or lend a hand?"

Either of these he responds with the same response....

"Absolutely, if you'd like to lend a hand or help out the cost is double."

Obviously he states it with a light tone, but it gets the point across that if you the client want to get involved
in my process it is going to cost you more....

Since I don't trap on a daily basis that one I haven't dealt with, however I have had the condo complex that wants
their handyman to tag along while I do their bat inspection and exclusion work...

My reply in these situations has been that I work alone, my work is covered by my warranty and insurance and
that while I understand they'd like to add skills to their handyman, it is something I can't conform to.

Haven't had one of the few that I've stated this to not nod and agree even if their handyman was all excited about
doing this.

**

With bird exclusion I have had of course a number of folks believe that what I was prescribing they might tweak
themselves, or that they knew better. Just recently a client of mine from a few years ago when we launched had
a rogue pair of pigeons who decided even though all shaded and sheltered portions of the roof were excluded properly
they would nest on the open roof until a good site opened up... She could hear them up there and wrote me stating

"Good morning Justin, I noticed this morning I can hear the birds right over the bedroom area. I tried to turn on the furnace
(we had a few cold nights recently) and it didn't turn on and I fear the pigeons have entered the system and somehow caused it to not
work. Please come when you can and let me know what you think."

I wrote her back in the best tone and understanding nature I could (she is a super client, great lady) and slowly explained that the
exclusion materials prevent any entry under or within the ductwork and central air setup on the roof, next explained the central air
in on the roof but the furnace is in her home either in the garage or a utility closet.

Finally that I would get by and check on what was going on, but that before calling an HVAC tech to go check the circuit breaker box
and see if maybe that was it. I added that often I forget to check this simple thing in my house when things aren't firing up...

She replied an hour later, the breaker was flipped and she was thankful etc.....

***

Ultimately I think you need a stick or schtick (whichever one is more effective!)

You hit it on the head that when you catch overnight folks often look at you like that price was steep since it was so fast, however
the converse is eating into the bottom line.

What about putting a clause in your paper contract or stating in your verbal exchange if not using one for normal trap/capture
operations that states something like.

"While we understand the desire of some clients to move or modify our trapping equipment, you hired us to resolve your wildlife
issue professionally and within this time frame. Any modification or alteration to our equipment when set on your property extends
the potential timeline and therefore our operating costs that we must pass on to you the client...."

Lol!

I laugh as I write it, I'm not sure folks would take kindly to this and maybe Paul's method is better, though for a smaller operator I can
see having a "dump" trap that they get to play with being a hassle.

****

Another option that might help, what about putting a metal tag say 2x2" or bigger depending on size of traps that has some "NO TAMPERING"
statement?

We used to use trap tags that stated (these traps are being monitored by video cameras). Lost far less of these traps than others on public land operations in MI.

***

I guess it depends on how common as well, if it is commonly occuring the cost is potentially higher to you in terms of loss and then is worth
more effort and explanation to the client to get them to leave your gear where you put it.

***

Think I'm rambling now....



Justin

Nic:
My theory is the customer is always RIGHT even when the customer is "WRONG"!
When being dictated to on how the job is to be done, do it the customers way
and at the end of a time frame hand them the bill regardless of the # of
animals caught. If no animals are caught, set the job up you way and charge them
the second time.
The customer is always right even though you bill them twice!!

pick65

Just to clarify; after setting the "customer's cage" exactly where they want it, they hardly ever touch it again. And on the few times that they moved it, the often caught the animal, which made them even happier.

Now you might think that since the customer moved the cage and caught the animal, that they would never call you again since they pretty much did it by themselves. Just the opposite is true. I think some of them hope they get another animal so they can call me up again.

Fire them. No tamper policy in service agreement that they need to initial next to. One chance IF I like them or they have repairs approved (which tend to be one and the same ) after that per service agreement traps are pulled with no refund. Will PM you our exact wording.

Lots of good ideas

PM sent

Retiree's are the absolute worst. They have WAAAAAY to much time on their hands with nothing better to do than screw around with your equipment.
Next are the ones that try to pick your brain so they can do it themselves, and not pay you!

Hey Bob, I'm in both categories. The only trouble is when someone tries to pick my brain, the pickin's are pretty slim.

We all have had this happen if you have been doing this very long.

After a couple of times you learn how to handle it or you should.

If and when this happens again all I do is have a talk with the customer regarding the interference with our set up.

I give them a choice, leave them alone or we walk immediately. I ask for the set up fee that they owe us and politely leave. I tell them to call someone else who will be better able to tolerate their actions.

I have walked off a few jobs in my days.Thats one way to get me to leave, another one is to try to play "lets make a deal" on a service price.

Good ideas, all.
I'm with Bob J. & Charles. Got a K.I.S.S. clause in the contract: 1. We are exclusively doing the trapping. 2. No tampering permitted.
Had an extreme case a year or two ago: nice Ward-n-June type family, raccoons were going thru their yard & on their deck but no entry, kids & dogs involved. After much deliberation, I set my traps in carefully-chosen spots. Trouble was, the wife just couldn't leave the traps alone: stuck hot dogs/food scraps in the traps, moved them (you know what can happen when a Williams trap isn't secured...?). First offence resulted in a verbal reminder, 2nd time it was a note telling her to reread the contract. After the third time, I gave her a choice: since she had breached the contract, I could start a brand-new job with brand-new contract terms including my on-site check daily. Or I close the job and let her do her own trapping.
She complained to the BBB; I clearly explained the situation and my reasons for the no-tampering clause. The BBB agreed with me.

Way to stick to your guns!

All of my traps have cables attached and when ever possible are locked in place. Contract clearly outlines state statute regarding tampering with traps.

The only trouble is when someone tries to pick my brain, the pickin's are pretty slim.

So a penny for your thoughts would be price gouging?

I have a large corporate account that told me yesterday they want daily status reports.

Now this is a large gated community that I just recently acquired because the previous company had dead squirrels left in the cages and residents are very animal friendly.

Personally I do not want to be a slave and forced to call daily just to tell a already over worked secretary that traps are empty or that we caught 1 squirrel. I would be fine with calling on every Friday or Monday and giving them a status of the week. But daily seems excessive to me.

Nate,

Maybe this first time around they will get the feel of who you are and how you are different, you make your funds, deal with the bother
and ultimately they should come out seeing you as the new gold standard and can drop back on that daily call need.

Seems like you have a good client to show what a pro is versus a hack!

When and if I consider something is over the top according to normal protocol guidelines that is not practically necessary, I bill extra for what I consider inconvienence details/time vested that must be carried out. We do this alot with high protocol businesses or companies as needed.

I play along for a one time request but the next time around I remember and learn and we will bill what I deem "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty" pay. I am sure most established businesses will bill for such detail attention and rightly should. My days are long enough without doing what I deem extra work. Some may have this extra time to fiddle on their PC's and smart phones and take photos etc. If you do, you most likely arent busy enough.

It will show them that you can follow their requests but it will cause additional fees due to the time scheduling for someone to route and handle the calls according their needs.

I have several accounts that request daily updates. Most are corporate, but a few residential clients in upper-end areas as well. I send status reports by e-mail each night.... never take time out of the daytime schedule. On many I even e-mail pics of animals caught, damages discovered, and before/after pics of repairs.

They know the e-mails will be in their inbox in the morning, and they love to see what happened the day before. I don't look at it as a bother, as these are always higher-end accounts, and this constant communication often leads to more work as they refer me to their friends or other business accounts.

I've even sent pics to clients during mole jobs. Caught 9 moles the first check at a new job (3-acre lawn, looks like they cut with a scissors). Lined them up on their landscaping timbers and took a pic. They were super excited when they opened their e-mail the next day and were able to see the results of the first day of trapping. I picked up 3 new mole jobs from those folks telling others about my results and communication.

The most common e-mail reports are done during large bat exclusion jobs. Might be every 2 or 3 days, but at least they are aware of the progress and how things are going.

Along with what Ron just said about picking up new jobs. ( This is probably a complete reverse of the topic ) I am very proud of one of our technicians today.

He had a customer in a subdivision that we service for voles and other rodents. He noticed that all her neighbors had damage and she didn't. He gave her a bunch of our cards and told her if she gets 5 of her neighbors to take our program, hers is free. She was excited about doing it.

Whether he lands those jobs or not, I think we have one tech that has really figured out the program. Instead of customers running the job, we've got customers promoting the job. ( He just told me this and I had to pass it on )

It sounds like they are responding to complaints of the residents with how the previous company acted. This could be a great selling tool for other gated communities once you work out some of the bugs. I'd see if you could email a daily report instead of calling. That way, there is no debate over if you called or not and the numbers recorded.

If they are open to it, then I'd setup a standard "report" that would have me filling in slots and then emailing it. Once they get comfortable with the reports and gain trust in what you do, then I'd see if they were open to changing it to a weekly report. Also, as this looks like more work to produce than just a phone call, it allows for an small administration fee.

You have such a way with words Eric,

Quote.

This looks like more work to produce than just a phone call, it allows for an small administration fee.

I'm actually all for phoning the customer daily as long as you invoice with something more foolproof(i.e., paper or e-mailed invoices). As others have said, once they get used to the idea that you are actually providing the service professionally, the need to hear from you every day will be less important to them.
Look at it as an opportunity to excel (and prove it on their terms!) with very little effort on your part. Get a good Bluetooth earpiece ($40 or so) and call 'em when you leave the job. I am a firm believer in keeping customers updated, and the easiest way you can relate to customers (we're not talking about billing here, just keeping them informed) is to talk to them.

Excellent tips Bob, Ron, Eric and Dave!

Thanks for sharing! Should thank Nate for the post additionally!

Make the trap tampering fee higher than the animal removal fee.

You must have read my contract.

If they want to move your traps or bait them with something "better" then why did they need to call you in the first place?

No, no, no... Once my traps are set and in place, I don't want anyone to touch them till I get back. Anytime they ask about helping me or what they should do, I tell them straight up, the fewer hands on the job, the better. I can normally convince them that our quarry will more likely be spooked off the trap if it's tampered with or even visited too much.

What I hate is when they try to solve the problem themselves and only call you as a last resort. At that point the critters are trap shy and people wise and harder to catch. And have their handy man follow me around? NO! If they want that, I'm charging and "instructor" fee.

I did head one off this past week. A guy called me to give them a price on a beaver job. They had a creek running along the back property line of a Church and the beaver had dammed it and flooded the Church yard. I gave him a price and he said they would get back to me after they checked with this other fellow down the road. It was at that point I warned him, "That's fine and I understand, BUT... If you hire this guy and he can't solve the problem then my price DOUBLES." He made one phone call and I had the job within 5 minutes.

And why does every body want to kill my bats?!
I checked a bat job Thursday and the old lady that lived there was proud to tell me, "We killed one!" I thought she was having a heart attack when I told her that they are Federally protected.

Again, I have to say.... "The more I learn about people, the better I like critters!"

Eric that is exactly what I did yesterday.

I stopped in the office and explained to her that busy season is coming and remembering to call as I leave will present challenges if I am already on the phone with other customers and that a nightly email would be better for everyone.

Explained to her that I am already sitting at the computer returning countless other emails so the chances of forgetting are much less.

Thanks Paul. With age comes wisdom..........usually. :0)

--Eddie

Further questions on this subject: how do you know/prove tampering? Do you employ some kind of lie detector that shows when trap's been reset? How do you handle somebody who is trying to learn your methods and cut you out of the picture?

Most trappers know the condition / position of the trap, lure/bait missing,feces hair etc., and any ground disturbance that is noted that has changed from the prior visit.I can tell if an animal has been released, caught or the cage tampered with 99% of the time. The sign is there if you pay attention on your visits.

Hard to fool an old observant trapper not saying it cant be done by a seasoned individual but not likely by a run of the muck consumer.

I know after a day or two with no calls from the customer reporting a catch that I will make a call or do what we call a courtesy call.You get a feel for things after a while that you know you should have caught the first day or so. So that means either you really didnt catch anything, the animal is caught and they didnt call or it was caught and they took care of it without reporting.

"How do you handle somebody who is trying to learn your methods and cut you out of the picture?"

Let them. We are talking about trapping so if the want to pay my service call to learn how I would set a groundhog trap so be it. While we will take the "just catch the critter" jobs in all honesty they are not of great interest to me and we tend to move them along by pre-qualifying our customers.

Now if it was a bat exclusion or other repair I would steer them to another training source besides hiring me to do the work and watch. All of our customers get a solution, with materials listed to provide that solution and if they follow my report they can proof their own home if they are willing. Personally I believe all customers deserve a solution to prevent wildlife entry into their home. That solution does not mean I have to perform the work (we want to) but I will never tell a customer only I or a WCO can perform any such work (in most cases).

The one exception is on my written report I will write - "Install stainless steel chimney cap(s) to prevent wildlife entry and limit water intrusion etc etc." I will not write down cap size on their copy.

What Bob J said times two. I'll bet even you couldn't mess with my cages that I wouldn't be aware of it.

Charging per animal will bring out the worst in some folks, who will try to clear the catch so they don't have to pay.

I haven't done a study on this ( probably because I am not a college with a government grant ) but it occurs to me that those customers that I really get involved with and are the most likely to move my cage to what they think is a better position, are also the quickest ones to pay the bill.

I normally run across two types of customers: The first one is scared to death of any type organism and he is absolutely my favorite.

The second one is the guy who does everything and he doesn't understand why he can't catch them himself. He will be the first to compliment you on solving his problem, but will never call you again. Fortunately his wife will; several times!

P.S. I would love to charge by the job instead of the animal, but you guys don't live in Wisconsin! " I only have one squirrel and you guys are going to charge me $429 ?" "No way." 23 squirrels later: "Boy, I wish I would have paid by the job!"

I just tell them, it doesn't look like you need me to do anything you got it under control, call me if you need me, start to walk away, I can't remember any one letting me go, But I have left on a couple!