Western Exterminator

I have been a loyal client of Western Exterminator Company for eleven (11) years. On May 1, they had an increase of over 11% on their service, but failed to tell me until after my June 1 service. When I called the office, the representative yelled over me that I was not telling the truth, and then made fun of me when I told him not to do that. He said that he would have a manager call me. Well, it was just another office representative. When I called back to the office, the woman told me that a man never called me, that Jessica had. I told her that I had the message and it was a man. She kept insisting that I was wrong. When Jessica called me, she refused to even address any of these issues and just said ?I understand?. I had been paying by check for 11 years, and all of a sudden they want a credit card. I contacted the technician who has sprayed the house for the eleven years. I dealt with him over the last 11 years. I never had a problem with him. Since I had such a difficult time, he said that he asked the district manager to call me. The district manager didn?t even bother. He had someone send an unsigned letter stating that the prices had gone up $4 per service as of May 1. Well, my service went up $6.50. He didn?t even bother to sign the letter. It was addressed to ?dear valued customer?. Western used to be a family-owned company, but they were bought out by Rentokill. They raised their prices last August, by $5 a service, and now again in May, by $6.50 a service. I really do think that they are trying to get rid of the residential clients. When I contacted their office before the buy-out, the people were knowledgeable and friendly. Not anymore. I wrote a letter to their corporate headquarters because no one who is paying money for a service wants to be treated so callously. I doubt I will get an answer, but by letting people know about their lack of professionalism and that they can?t get their act together on how much you have to pay, I hope that they will learn. I suggest that you avoid Western Exterminator Company, unless you like rude customer service representatives and suspect pricing. **** This is an update of my last review, posted in early July. UPDATE: July 21, 2018. Their office gave me an email address to address my concerns. I sent an email on July 9, 2018, and still have not received a response. I have written certified letters, faxes, emails as well as messages through their site, Angie's List , Facebook and other sites. NO response of any substance. At this point, I just want them to acknowledge that I have cancelled my service. They have ZERO customer service skills in this office. The fact that they will not address their lack of notice for increase in prices, nor the yelling at me, calling me a liar, mocking me, and generally just poor relations is shocking from a company that is not mandatory and has a lot of competition. In my letter, I said that this situation could have been easily resolved if my initial contact with their office had been more professional. When confronted with a client who states that they never received a notice of the increase, the representative should have apologized, said it was an oversight, and referred me to a manager. Said manager should have offered some discount or something to resolve the issue, and also apologized. All she did was giggle and say "I understand". The first rep,Steve, yelled over me that I was not telling the truth, made fun of me when I said that you don't treat customers in this manner (his sarcasm was not lost on me), and was not referred to a manager. My issues were not addressed, yet I get a generic letter stating that I am a valued customer? How am I a valued customer when I was treated in such a manner? AVOID this company at all costs. The techs that spray your house might be ok, but if you ever have to deal with the office, they are totally devoid of any concern for their customers. By the way, this situation started on June 1, 2018, so they have had plenty of time to make it right. They just CHOOSE NOT TO. **** I am updating this because the director of customer service called me on July 23, 2018, about 11:20 in the morning. I returned the call in the afternoon, and left a message. He called me back a few minutes later. A couple of things stood out in the call, and I want to address them. 1. He started the call with the fact that they had cancelled my account on July 11. First, I would have never started the call with that. I would have listened to the problem, and then said that I wanted to let you know that we did cancel your account and that we apologize for the months of problems. Starting off like that was rather cold. 2. He stated that the company learned a big lesson in that you need to inform your clients before raising the rate. Really? He admitted that he would have had the same reaction as the customers that cancelled their accounts. Why didn’t they use that “insight” before instituting the increase? He said that they lost “quite a few” customers after this, but it is basic common sense to inform people of an increase of over 10% in prices. (NOTE: They told me 8%, but I was paying $59 and it went up to $66. That is MORE than 8% as $6 is 10% of $60) Are they that clueless? Was it laziness? Or was it just plain arrogance? It may not have been the increase in price so much as the way their call center handled the complaints. No one likes being yelled at, told they aren’t telling the truth, and ignored. That may have been the nail in the coffin. In any case, it is totally unacceptable, and it appears to be part of their culture. 3. The customer service manager kept contradicting himself in the conversation. An example is that he offered excuses for a lack of response to my correspondence (emails, messages through their website and other websites, certified letters, etc. over 6 weeks). He said that it is their most busy time with Mother Nature exploding on them, but then he back-tracked to say that was not an excuse. It led me to believe that the staff is given a list of “excuses” to give to the customers when they call. He said that the call center got hit with a lot of calls after the increase, but then said that they still should have shown more “empathy”. Again, with the excuses. 4. He stated that he had done some research into my case before calling me, but did not exhibit any sign that was the truth. I think it was just a line to try to appease me. He did not say anything that showed that he really knew anything about my letters, messages and emails. He referred to the last criticism that I wrote on Facebook. He claims that management takes claims seriously, but it took them almost 2 months to respond. How seriously can they take complaints? Again, I believe that they have antiquated customer service lines that they use. I think that the problems in the conversation can be summed up with the next point. 5. The worst part of the call was that he was very busy on his computer. I could hear him using the keyboard, and at one point, there was just dead silence as he typed away. Finally, I had to say “hello” because I am sure that he was more into what he was writing than the telephone call. As a customer service director, he sets the tone for the rest of the company. If he cannot call a customer and devote 5 minutes of his undivided attention to the call that HE made, then he doesn’t need to make those calls. Heck, he doesn’t need the position that he has. It was rude and further exhibited the lack of concern regarding their client needs. Overall, I have to say that I regret giving them 11 years of loyal business. They don’t appreciate their clients as they give it lip service, but no substance. The call further reinforced my view that they just don’t care about customers, at least from the point of view of the residential customer. They really need to “up their game” because pest control is a very competitive. I would recommend looking into other pest control companies that not only value their pest control service, but also their customers.

As always all went well. David was prompt. capable, friendly and thorough.

well done on time

We hired Western Exterminators on my sister-in-law's recommendation in 2012. Their technician Angela texts me when she's going to be in the area. She's prompt and does a good job. She told me if we have problems in-between treatments, she'll come back for free; we haven't needed her to do this.

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Used service over 12 years from CA to NV. Never had a bad experience. Very professional and on-time! It seems to be a corporate standard. I've actually never seen one ant in all these years...Grew up near their headquarters branch in Torrance, Ca near the blimp. I've seen their trucks for about 40 years

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I called several companies and they were not certified to do this work or did not know what I was talking about.  Western knew exactly what I needed and had the required forms.  They set up the appointment for me quickly and showed up on time and completed the work expeditiously.  Definitely professional and would hire again.

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He actually recommended them. They then charge $39 for monthly spraying.

They're on time. They call me every time they're gonna come out and they do good work. They haven't missed a time yet, they're reliable.

I like them, they are pretty good, they usually email or text me to let me know when they are going to be in the area and then I let them know if it is okay for them to come by or not, and they are good about rescheduling. It is preety painless.

I have been using this company for about 15 years for all of my pest control needs. They even use a pet friendly spray that will not effect my dogs. I am happy with their services and it seems to be working just fine.

We have no pests. We will continue to use them.

When I signed up with Western Exterminator Company everybody came out on one of the visits, including managers, to make sure everything was done properly.  

They were very professional and consistent. We never had to call them back for further service. They take a lot of pride in what they did. They seemed to be very knowledgeable about what they were doing.

They do a really good job.

They are excellent. I don’t have any bugs and if I have a problem they are very responsive. The price is fair. I use them every month.

So far, so good. They are excellent.

I have used them over the last 5 years.  They have always done a great job.  I like that they use pet friendly products, and that they always call me the night before they come.  They are also very courteous, and even make sure they wear booties before entering my home. 

The company always calls the day before to confirm appointments, the technicians are professional and friendly, and the price is fair.