Pest Management Professional, August 2011
business In Arizona we experimented with a fuel surcharge as low as 1 and we received huge push backs We had to drop it after a few months Keith Etheridge president and owner Contractors Termite Pest Control Since then Contractors has suffered 20 percent annual revenue drops on average forcing Etheridge to reduce his staff to 22 people and his salary to one third of what it was in 2006 when gas and almost everything else cost much less In Arizona we experimented with a fuel surcharge as low as 1 and we received huge push backs Etheridge says We had to drop it after a few months Alpharetta Ga based Strategic Industries enjoyed 20 percent annual revenue gains from 2008 through 2010 but that growth came to a screeching halt this year says president Douglas Barnes who boosted drivers daily fuel allowance from 70 to 100 Despite the added expense he decided against the installation of a gas surcharge and or price increases on products and services A surcharge wouldve been great three years ago he says But with the down sliding economy were better off eating a few hundred dollars and keeping our customers loyal Its our way of separating ourselves from the competition Combo counter Hamilton Ohio based Responsible Services increased all service prices by 2 to offset employees rising fuel costs but that only helped cover one part of the problem When we were notified earlier this year our garbage collection company would enact a fuel surcharge spiking prices 3 percent we responded Continued on page 21 16 August 2011 Pest Management Professional mypmp net
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