Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

My name is Jay Tankersley and I am a Service Manager for Bulwark Exterminating located in the Raleigh, N.C. branch. I was filling in for one of our field technicians when the following incident took place.

I greeted Mr. Smith at his front door, a Bulwark customer for a little less than a year. As I started to do his treatment he began to follow me around in silence as I sprayed his home with our standard pressure spraying procedure. I assumed he was checking to make sure I did a thorough service. I completed the entryway treatment and de-webbing without a word from the customer. Upon completion of the service I filled out the customer service invoice and asked if there was anything else I could do for him today? He said “yes” and asked me to follow him back around the perimeter I had just sprayed. He said, “Every time your company comes to do my service, after words, I walk around my house and there is this very distinct visible line in the grass completely around my house where you have just treated”.”  He then asked me what was in our product to cause such an effect on his grass. Sure enough there was a straight line indented about 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide and running the length of the home, around the backside and down the other side. As we were walking along the far side I stopped about half way and looked up at the roof line. I then smiled at the customer and said once you install some rain gutters the indented grass line should disappear.

Bulwark has gone through a few different stages in its marketing.  To say the least, finding a consistent voice that really communicates what your company, culture, service, ideology, and values are all about isn’t as simple as it might seem.  Some people refer to this as branding, others call it public relations, or simply put its your public face.

Well as the new year rolls in, we want to visit this thought just a little bit more.

“Live a pest free life.” Catchy phrase that we promoted for a little while.  It conveys the hope and aspiration of what a pest control company delivers to its customers.  But it sounds almost too cliche.

“Like Family.” Perfect for how Bulwark views and treats all within its sphere of influence.  Employees, customers, we want all to feel at home with us. But is it too vague?

“Small enough to care, big enough to deliver.” This seems to hit the nail on the head.  Bulwark is the perfect medium ground between small family owned companies, and the larger corporate pest control services.  Bulwark still remains a family owned operation and services thousands of US homes.

“Do you have a Bulwark protecting your home?” Now this is a play off the definition of Bulwark, a defensive wall or barrier.  So in light of the definition we hoped that people would catch on to the goal of our service.  Get the bugs out and keep them out.  But, like a bad joke, if you have to explain it then it doesn’t work.

Needless to say, at this point, we still have no really marketing message.  Bulwark’s pest control service simply rolls forward by providing good service.  Business comes from referrals.  Referrals come from providing good service.  In the end, if we perfect what we do best, pest control service, then we won’t have to do the talking at all.  Our customers will do it for us.

“ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS.”

To sum it up… Live a pest free life by getting your Bulwark today from a pest control service that is small enough to treat you like family but big enough to do it right.

I was in San Antonio Texas to do my Thursday termite route. I went to a customer’s house at 10 am to do his free termite inspection. I rang his doorbell and proceeded to ID myself as Randy with Bulwark Exterminating and that I was there to do his free termite inspection. He asked me where I was going to start and I told him I would do the outside then come back and do the Interior.  He asked me if I brought a ladder because the home didn’t have a pulldown and that’s where he was hearing a chewing sound coming from. I told him I did indeed have a ladder and I would bring it when I was coming inside. The home was a two year old two story, xx home. I drew a diagram of the outside as I inspected it. After I finished I knocked and then went inside. I inspected the inside and then went into the attic to see I what he was hearing.

I climbed into the attic with my flashlight and could see a lot of mouse droppings but no termites. I climbed down and went to find the customer. He asked me if I found anything and I told him I had good and bad news.  What’s the good news he asked. I told him, you have mice in your attic not termites. He said that’s great, what’s the bad news. I told him” You don’t have any Insulation in your attic.”

He said “You have to be kidding me.”

“I’m being 100 % honest,” was my reply.

He climbed up the ladder and looked around with my Flashlight.  “Someone stole my insulation out of my attic!” he exclaimed very loudly as he came dome. “How am I supposed to pay to fix this?”, he said to himself.

I informed him that since there wasn’t a trace of insulation in the attic that it most likely was never done. He said “But they have inspectors to check that.”

I agreed with him and told him “Sadly, it must have been missed.” I suggested that he call the xx office in the subdivision (they were still building in the neighborhood) and tell them about it. He called and they told him all homes were insulated when they were built and that if his was missed then they would insulate it and set up a time for their inspector to come look at it. The customer told me that his electric bill was always really high and he couldn’t understand why but now he knows why,… thanks to some mice.

He was a happy man when I Left.

Randy Schulle

San Antonio, TX