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Repair Warranties

Consumers love warranties. Warranties give us a sense of security, that the contractor or manufacturer is going to stand behind their work or product. Increasingly, more WCOs (wildlife control operators) are offering warranties for their work. One of the more common warranties are repair warranties. I think this is a good development. It shows a maturation in the wildlife control industry. But how do you know the repair warranties being offered by WCOs are real versus a warranty scam?

Signing a contract
Understand the contract before you sign. Image by Pixabay

There is a joke in the WCO industry called the Tail Light Warranty. The Tail Light Warranty is, “Maam, my work is warranted as long as you can see the tail lights of my truck.” Funny but only in a sad sort of way. The purpose of this blog post is to help you avoid this kind of warranty and its siblings.

Repair Warranties

One industry practice is to warranty a repair against animal reinvasion. Sounds good right? But did you really understand the warranty? Often it will say that the warranty is only for the actual spot. If the squirrel chews a hole 2 inches to the left of the repair, it’s a new charge because the warranty didn’t cover that area. Now, I don’t think this kind of repair warranty is a scam. After all, the warranty is not for the entire soffit but for the spot that was repaired. But I do understand why a customer would feel misled or perhaps even deceived with a false sense of security.

Key Question to Ask

So before you have the WCO make the repair, ask him how secure the material is on both sides of the repair. In other words, how likely is it that an animal will simply move over two inches and gnaw a new hole (that isn’t warrantied) there? Ask if there are ways to harden the house to make it harder for an animal to access the structure to gnaw in the first place. Often, trimming tree branches, removing food sources etc. can help reduce the attractiveness of your structure to animals. Why are these questions important? Because if one animal entered your home, it is more likely that others will.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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iWatermark+

iWatermark+

Readers of this blog, along with those that have attended my trainings, know that I am consistently talking about the importance of taking photos. Time and time again, I speak to wildlife control operators (WCOs) who have seen some incredible things done by wildlife but when I ask them, “Do you have photos?”, they typically answer, “No.” Thankfully, more WCOs are beginning to learn the importance of taking photos. And with the quality and availability of cell phone cameras, there is no excuse not to take photos. Which brings me to the main point, what apps do I recommend that WCOs have to manage and manipulate their photos? One of them that I recommend is iWatermark+.

  • iWatermark+

iWatermark+ is an app that allows you place copyright information on your photos. Placing copyright information on your photos is essential for three reasons. First, it shows the world, who took and owns the image. As one whose photos have been used by others in a commercial fashion without compensation, I can tell you that it’s annoying to see your shots on someone else’s website. But the second reason is to help market your business. Placing a name on the photo helps advertise your company whether it’s a separate entity or you personally. Finally, iWatermark+ will remove location data from your image, if you want it to. In case you didn’t know, but every time you take a photo with a cell phone, the GPS coordinates are embedded into the image’s information known as the EXIF file. If you don’t remove it, anyone with some simple photo editing software can see the exact location where you took the shot, such as your client’s house.

So, do yourself a favor and check out iWatermark+. It costs a few bucks, but is well worth it. You can obtain a free version but I would suggest bypass that and go right for the pay to use version. Note, that I or my company have not received any compensation for this article, but I am willing to accept some.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Why WCOs Should Be Regulated

WCO regulations?

Wildlife control operators (WCOs) are individuals that charge a fee to resolve problems customers have with vertebrate (i.e. a spine or backbone) animals. In this regard, WCOs are very much like pest control operators (PCOs), who help clients with insects (animals that lack a backbone) such as cockroaches and bedbugs. You may know that PCOs are regulated but are their any WCO regulations?

Stephen M. Vantassel at the 25th Wildlife Society Conference in Cleveland, OH explaining how wildlife agency neglect of wildlife control operators harms wildlife and consumers.
Stephen M. Vantassel at the 25th Wildlife Society Conference in Cleveland, OH explaining how wildlife agency neglect of wildlife control operators harms wildlife and consumers.

What most people don’t realize is that in many states, WCOs have few regulations and in some instances virtually none. In other words, the WCO you hire may not have any official training in wildlife control and may not even  have a business license. This is one reason why I believe, WCOs should be regulated. But there are also other reasons.

I recently gave a talk at the 25th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society in Cleveland, OH (Oct 11, 2018). There I explained that state wildlife agencies that ignore regulating WCOs are not fulfilling their responsibilities to follow the North American Model of Wildlife Management. Wildlife control operators handle thousands if not tens of thousands of animals every year. Where are all those animals going? Are they being translocated, relocated, dispatched? If moved, what are the environmental impacts of moving those animals to new locations? If the animals are being dispatched, are there guidelines for dispatching and disposal of carcasses?  I recognize that the animals typically being controlled are not in danger of becoming extinct. But there should be some oversight given the volume of wildlife being handled on an annual basis.

Unfortunately, many WCOs oppose regulation. They mistakenly think that regulation is automatically bad. In fact, regulation means the government has an interest in protecting your work. The solution to bad regulation is not no regulation but good regulation. But that is a topic for another blog.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Customer Service Policy

What is your company’s customer service policy? You know, what policies do you have in place for handling difficult clients? I understand that some out there suggest the policy should be “The customer is always right.” Well, as well-meaning as that perspective is, I think it is absolutely naïve. Perhaps that customer service policy works for other businesses, but it certainly doesn’t work in the field of wildlife control.

Is this your company’s service policy? Should it be?
Is this your company’s service policy? Should it be?

Even if you haven’t thought of writing down your customer service policy, you should think about some standard principles that guide your business practices. For instance, how often should you adapt your wildlife control practices to the specific convenience needs of the client? Some clients, are, shall we say, “high maintenance.” These clients are always asking for time changes, additional work (that they aren’t wanting to pay for), extra time to pay, etc. etc. Some clients are all nice at the beginning but begin to “turn” when the job is nearing completion and the bill is imminent. They are happy at first then out of the blue begin to find problems with the quality of work or the pricing or the alignment of the stars. The excuses vary but they are always the same, they cost you time, money, and of course your piece of mind.

So let me ask you, “What is your company’s customer service policy?”  If you don’t have one, or you haven’t thought about it because all your customers have been great, then let me say there is no better time than the present to create one. A customer service policy will help you be consistent with all of your customers (note I didn’t say identical, I said consistent) and it will help you know when you need to fire that troublesome client.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

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Wildlife Control Operators and Charity Part 2

Wildlife Control Operators and Charity Part 2

City of Chicago from the air. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
City of Chicago from the air. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.

In my last post, I mentioned how wildlife control operators (WCO) can use their skills to give back to the economically disadvantaged. In this post, I wanted to suggest some organizations and departments that may help WCOs find suitable candidates for charitable work. What follows is a list of organizations you may to contact:

City housing authority, Salvation Army, Goodwill, Battered women’s shelters, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, park’s department, school buildings, social organizations, religious organizations, etc.

I hope this list helps you find a suitable recipient for your charitable work. Remember, the Holiday’s are about giving and your wildlife control skills can make it a blessed holiday indeed.

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest books are the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition and The Practical Guide to the Control of Feral Cats. He can be contacted at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.

If you would like your publication, video, or product reviewed, please contact the author at the e-mail above.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

About Stephen M. Vantassel

Stephen M. Vantassel, MNI, CNI, CWCP, ACP, ACE Stephen M. Vantassel's Bio Stephen M. Vantassel is the Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture (2015-present). Formerly, Stephen M. Vantassel was the Program Coordinator of Distance Education-Wildlife Damage Management for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources from 2004-2014. Stephen filled … Learn More

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