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Review 3/27/2009
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Mance, (owner of Rapid Pest), was over at my home in the Palisades a couple days ago. He and his partner spent two intense hours thoroughly destroying the termite colony in our large old dusty attic. They had a large powerful tank that pumped gallon after gallon of a non-toxic chemical until ALL the wood in the entire attic had been soaked. He promised that he was going to spray "every square inch" of my attic to "ensure that no termite is left behind". I honestly feel that there is not one living termite in my home. It's a good feeling....esp after worrying about them for so long.
We've had that termite colony in our attic for years, but i never took care of the problem because every time i consulted a big termite company, they always wanted to charge so much money. Every termite company uses the same approach: they send over an inspector/consultant who always gives a phony marketing presentation and a shiny brochure. They do anything to justify their huge fees. I once had to tell a technician from a big company to stop what he was doing and leave because i could immediately tell he was rushing thru the job and cutting corners. This really offended me because the inspector/salesman had impressed me with his slick marketing speech and beautiful brochures.
Another time there was this company that told me the ONLY solution was to tent the house. This was really discouraging and stressful because this would have been a logistical nightmare. My entire family would have had to move into a hotel for a couple days, and we have two very old dogs we would have had to relocate. I also have my business in my home, so this would have turned my life upside down. And then there is all the food I would have had to remove to protect it from the toxic gases. I realized later that the only reason they were pushing me to tent my home was simply because they wanted to sell me their most expensive service plan. I came very close to doing it because they made me feel i had no choice. It caused me a LOT of stress.
I decided to see what I could find on Craigslist.com. I saw Mance's name and called him direct on his cellphone. I could tell immediately that he was professional and just as knowledgeable as all the other inspectors i had dealt with over the years. But in addtion, he sounded sincere. There was none of that fake presentation stuff going on. It was a real one on one conversation. He came to my home a couple days later, did a full search of the premises, and gave me a great price.
The best thing about using a small company like Mance's is that you have the president/owner of the company doing the work themselves.....as opposed to some young tech who probably hates his low-paying job.
Mance also has a really good attitude and personality. His assistant was equally friendly and knowledgeable. They both educated me on the overall problem and gave me a simple plan for how to proceed from here. They will come back in about six months to re-inspect my home to see if any termites have come back.
I will gladly act as a referral for any potential customers. There is so much false marketing out there in this industry.....so i'm happy to help someone else find an honest & hard-working service. Small companies rule over the big phony ones.
Paul Yonet
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