Alterra
About us
Providing pest control for Residential and Commercial (non food handling establishments)
Business highlights
Services we offer
Pest control.
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 36% | ||
| 32% | ||
| 15% | ||
| 8% | ||
| 9% |
After leaving 5+ messages over the past few weeks with no return phone call, I submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau about Alterra/Terminix. We then got a phone call asking to schedule quarterly service but not addressing any of the issues from our numerous voicemails, or even acknowledging the voicemails themselves. We returned their message and again had to leave a voicemail in which we told them to not come service our home and instead to cancel our contract immediately at no cost due to their violation of the contract to provide any level of customer service. To our frustration we then received a phone call AGAIN last week to schedule our quarterly service. Since we were finally speaking to an actual human being, we made it clear that they should not provide service, come onto our property, or bill us for anything. The person on the phone said they would cancel our service immediately. We thought our horrific experience was finally over so you can imagine our surprise when the very next day a notice was left on our door that Alterra had serviced our home and saying that we were being billed $89.
As a side note, as I walked around our home after this "service" I saw no change in cobwebs and have actually seen an increase in spiders/bugs since they "provided service".
After yet another voicemail left for them expressing our frustration, we then heard from a representative who finally acknowledged our numerous voicemails and blamed their lack of response on them "moving offices." Moving offices or not, they have contracts with their customers to honor which is clearly not a priority to Alterra/Terminix.
Finally, I received a note from Terminix regarding our Better Business Bureau report in which they said they had performed the service requested. This was 100% untrue as we have not allowed any Alterra/Terminix representative into our home since this situation began.
Now, 3+ weeks after this all began, we received an email from the office in which we were asked (in an incredibly poorly written and hardly understandable email) to contact them in a timely manner to resolve our complaints. The fact that they have the audacity to request us to communicate with them in a timely manner when they have done the complete opposite is infuriating.
It did not help. Their pricing is great, I would say it is the cheapest.
The first visit took place on 10/1/2015 an a day when it was raining heavily. The rep left a slip of paper on the door stating that they applied Taurus SC (Code 16) around the foundation. I looked up Taurus SC and read the application instructions that stated the product should NOT be applied if rain was expected within 24 hours. Additionally, no de-webbing was performed at all. It was something I specifically checked that morning and when I came home late afternoon when I saw the slip on my door. I was surprised the serviced that day and expected them to reschedule.
I immediately called and left a message complaining about the service.
I received a call back the next morning asking to schedule a "follow-up" appointment to address the issues. I was told that their scheduling system does not account for weather or reschedule accordingly. So I can't blame the service pro completely. He was probably wondering why he was even out there to begin with.
Another service pro came out on 10/9/2015 and treated with three different chemicals (H.J. Bifen Granules, Cy-Kick CS, and Essentria D) and de-webbed appropriately. I was not present for the service.
My primarily concern is that they performed these services unchecked. Alterra has no rescheduling capability based on weather and rely on the customer to encounter an issue and schedule a follow-up or "redo" service.
I've been with them over a year and the service has been OK. It is a bit better than when I was treating the foundation with Ortho Home Defense, but I still see the occasional ants inside. It's a minor enough issue to spot-treat myself using Terro. If that did not work well then I would call back Alterra.
Earlier this year, Alterra offered a discount if you rated them and the service professional on Yelp. I just needed to list the name of the rep and make sure my first name, last initial, and city was listed. The service pros were friendly and helpful. But no such discount came through.
But the breach in trust over the 10/1 service was enough. I plan on discontinuing the service and shop for a new company. It's was time to reassess anyway.
Great company, good eco practices, friendly, professional and helpful employees -- what more could we ask for???
I would recommend people use another bug spraying company--not Alterra. They signed me up for their 12 month contract by ringing my doorbell and soliciting my business, which is not allowed in my neighborhood. The first service wasn't performed on time and made me miss work. Then after 2 services, I had to hire another company to spray because my bugs have never been so bad. They of course said they will have to charge me the $100 cancellation fee. I told the customer rep that I didn't think they were actually providing a bug spraying service and they must be spraying water on the outside of my house or something. She told me if I didn't pay it would be sent to a collection agency.
Licensing
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