How can I check how often a pest control company’s customers need re-treatments?

Start by asking how the company records a return visit. If every visit goes in one pile, you cannot tell routine service from fixes. Ask for a few months of tickets, tagged by reason, and compare them with technician time and chemical use. Free re-treatments cost money that never shows up as revenue, so check whether the books reveal them.

Next, look for patterns. Do callbacks cluster around a particular pest, season, building type or technician? A cluster may point to a method that does not work, or a person who needs training. Ask how the owner responds and whether any change was made in the last year.

Finally, think about customers. Ask how many cancel after repeated callbacks and how complaints are handled. Speak with a few, with the seller’s permission. Then consider what you would change after closing, and how you would measure it. Your accountant can help you work out the true cost of a callback so you can see how it affects margins. Ask whether the company has ever changed products or methods in response, and what the results were afterward. Ask the technicians directly too. They usually know which homes and products cause trouble before the paperwork shows it.

Key takeaways

• Separate scheduled visits from callbacks in the ticket data.
• Look for patterns by pest, season, building and technician.
• Count the cost of free re-treatments in the margins.