Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed bug pest control firms (PCOs), Bed bug k9s, etc.
DO NOT HIRE TERMINIX
(8 posts)-
109er
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 3
Posted 5 months ago
Tue Oct 20 2009 10:39:00
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Hello All,
I would just like to get some information out there to the community. I live on the Upper West Side in Manhattan in a large multi-unit apartment building. About 2 months ago my roommate's girlfriend started getting bites when she stayed in our apartment. Lo and behold a PCO positively visually identified BBs and it was plain to see that we had a problem.
I immediately contacted my super who informed me that the building had a contract with Terminix. He gave me their preparation instructions and phone number and I called to make an appointment.
On the day of the appointment my roommate and I waited in the apartment and no one came. We called back and were told that no appointment was in their system. This was extremely aggravating but we made another appointment, not knowing what else to do.
On the day of the second appointment... again, no one came. I called to find out what was happening and they explained "Oh, the technician is sick, he's not doing any jobs today". Of course, I wasn't TOLD that my appointment had been cancelled until AFTER I had spent 3 hours waiting. I got a little testy on the phone and they sent someone later that day (luckily I had off).
One technician showed up and told me I had to leave the apartment for a few hours. I went to a coffee shop around the corner and when he was finished he called me from his van, already driving away to tell me he was done. I had no chance to ask him further questions or get his advice on what to do next. All he said was to vacuum up the dust he had spread throughout the apartment the next day.
Needless to say, our BB problem was not solved. So I called Terminix once again. They were supposed to come last Thursday. No one showed up. I made another appointment for this morning and called yesterday afternoon, spoke to the woman who made the appointment to confirm and STILL, no one has come to my apartment. When I have talked to them to find out what's going on they simply say that the technician isn't picking up his phone.
WHAT THE *#&%$!
So please, take it from me, do not hire Terminix for your bedbug problem. They are utterly and totally incompetent, their customer service is clueless and unhelpful, and they have 4 TIMES failed to perform the most basic and fundamental task of any business which is to arrive at scheduled appointments.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,259
Posted 5 months ago
Tue Oct 20 2009 10:57:42
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Far be it from me to defend Terminex (or any other PCO I've not used), but I did want to say this.
We frequently get mixed reviews of large pest control chains. Part of this is likely because the quality of individual offices within those large companies varies widely.
I don't know NYC geography to know if saying that the Terminex on the Upper West Side of Manhattan is specific enough to be of help to other bed bug sufferers or not. And I don't want to push you into revealing details of exactly where in the city you are, as I myself am very cagey for safety reasons about revealing exactly where I am in the greater Los Angeles metro area (as anyone should be).
As far as getting your problem taken care of, did you tell your super about their lack of professionalism, poor customer service, and ineffective treatment? It does often take multiple visits from a PCO for chemical treatment to work, so the fact that the bed bugs haven't gone away after one treatment (or at least that fact alone) isn't proof that the treatments won't work in the long run. However, better education of the customer (like, oh, I don't know sticking around to answer questions and give you info on what you can do to suppor treatment) and showing up for scheduled appointents would seem a given. At any rate, I would mention it to the super just in case a word from someone with a contract with them will get you better service. (The phone people from my PCO were always very rude to me on the phone when I called, unless they assumed and I failed to correct them that I was my landlord, when suddenly they were terribly helpful. I thought the same principle might apply to your PCO.)
But if you're comfortable telling people exactly which Terminex office you had problems with, your information will likely be more helpful to people.
We've also heard positive reviews of some Terminex offices (I think. I don't recall exactly) in other states or cities, so it's important that people know which offices to avoid.
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bait
senior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 520
Posted 5 months ago
Tue Oct 20 2009 17:48:11
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My first PC experience was with Terminix in Queens, NY. I spent about $800 (or was it $400 or $600 - can't really remember). It was a waste of my money and time. I got no shows, wrong advice, lack of communication, indiscreetness, etc etc. My friend used the same company/people and got rid of her BB problem. Go figure.
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I have to agree here, while you certainly sound like you were not properly treated both as customers and for bed bugs, it may not be fair to blame the whole company and perhaps the Mgmt may be a part of this as well. I am not now nor have I ever been affiliated with Terminix.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 6,173
Posted 5 months ago
Tue Oct 20 2009 20:09:48
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It's possible the building management had something to do with the lack of communication (I wonder if they knew about the cancellation).
I am not defending the company, but everyone should note that Terminix (and other large pest chains) vary in terms of service from place to place. They're not all the same, as buggyinsocal noted.
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yeah I would deffinetly let your super know, maybe he can cancel the contract for them not keeping up their end of it and then switch to a better PCO.
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109er
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 3
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Oct 26 2009 10:12:17
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Hi all, everyone has some good points here.
I don't know how Terminix is structured in NYC specifically but from my conversations with the people in their office it seems that they are located in Long Island City, Queens and send teams out from that location.
Thanks to the information on this forum and this site I was not expecting to be 100% rid of bugs on the first treatment. I have been quite willing to be patient and wait for subsequent treatments to do the full job. My problem is that despite speaking to everyone in the office including their supervisor I can't actually get a technician to my apartment to do another treatment and they seem totally unconcerned by their terrible customer service.
I have contacted my building manager and his response was that he will contact them and "take care of it". That was Friday; today is Monday; I still have bedbugs. Perhaps they don't schedule appointments over the weekend. Fine. But I had better hear from them very soon.
On a related note can anyone recommend potential legal services for BB issues in NYC?
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bb_gave_me_ocd
junior member
Joined: Nov '09
Posts: 78
Posted 3 months ago
Sun Nov 29 2009 9:52:16
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Did you try calling 311 and reporting? I don't know if it will help but it's worth trying. (I'm in NYC too.)
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