Having been subjected to some very shoddy treatment by “Pepsop” after being a loyal customer for 6 years, it was with great hope that we signed up with PCI for a pest control AMC despite the costs being considerably higher. To be frank, the initial interactions with their highly communicative professionals at the pre-signup stage inspired a lot of confidence.
The first physical interaction at the time of pest control operations was an extra ordinary experience with the manager Mr. Vincent supervising the seemingly thorough and intense investigation and subsequent treatment. They seemed like sleuths at a crime scene with gloves, masks and flashlights probing every corner of the house with a vengeance. We were quite impressed with their efforts. We never even wildly imagined that pest control could be such a serious job.
We were told that there would be a follow-up call to obtain feedback on the after effects of the treatment which never happened.A couple of months later we suddenly noticed very tiny insects (like ticks) crawling all over the place including our bodies. Their bites caused an itch that resulted in reddish inflammations similar to mosquito bites. Not having experienced this kind of an issue in the past, we were quite intrigued to even fathom the name of this pest leave along determining the cause. Obviously we called our Pest Control Lifeline - PCI and were assured that somebody would come for inspection after calling. A few days passed by without any call from PCI and when we called them up, they weren’t aware that nobody called/visited and assured us that the technician would call us up in some time. Sure enough we received a call from him stating that he had called up for an appointment but nobody allegedly answered the call. This was a blatant lie because neither our memories nor our call records have any trace of a call from that number. Finally, he showed up the next day, inspected the premise, identified the issue as a possible infestation of ‘crazy ants’. However the person who came to treat the place subsequently identified the issue as that of ticks and proceeded with the treatment.
When there was no respite from the perpetual itch that all of us suffered from, we again called PCI. This time, lo and behold, Mr. Vincent the manager answered the call. While I was mentally relieved that finally I could confide my tale of woe in him, he seemed in a tearing hurry to pass the call to somebody else (earlier at the time of signing up, he was the sole point of interaction). Again the same routine followed. The inspecting customer service executive Mr. Vishal Sorte showed up and this time identified the problem to be one of ticks/mites arising on account of the pigeons that nest around the apartment. He advised us to make certain changes to prevent pigeon nesting to get respite from the issue. We found it strange that people who call themselves pest controllers should help us get rid of pests and not merely suggest measures. In case they werent equipped to undertake implementation of the suggestions, they should have tie-ups with entities that do so. Moreover, when we told them that implementing their suggestions would only be preventive in nature and that they would still have to treat the premise for the ticks/mites that have already infested the house, Mr. Vishal Sorte sounded as if if they were doing us a favour by saying that “It’s not generally feasible to do so many treatments for one issue, however, once you are ready let us know.. we will try and do a small treatment”.
Mr. Vincent’s words, when he came calling during the first treatment, still rings loud in my ears … ”We don’t just treat the symptoms of pest infestation, we identify and strike at the root cause…”. In this case, they wanted us to strike at the root cause. Well, needless to say, our confidence in their capabilities as pest controllers has been strongly dented and we neither have any intention of renewing my AMC with them at the end of its tenure nor will we ever recommend their services to anybody.
For everybody out there planning to sign up with PCI, please be wary of their sweet talking ways and seemingly professional approach while signing you up a prospect. However, it may no longer be your privilege, post signup. To be fair to them, it could have been a one-off occurrence; however my limited experience with them so far hasn’t been encouraging at all.
Can anyone please suggest an effective pest control agency?
- Thank You! We appreciate your effort.