Pest Management Professional, August 2012

ADVERTORIAL Its all about the service Apex Pest Control needed a robust mobile solution to keep techs on the road servicing customers and not time in the office By Dan Jacobs I f ever a company needed a mobile solution it is Apex Pest Control The Oakwood Ohio based operation serves a broad selection of counties scattered across the northern and central part of the state Owner Jamie Stocker wanted a solution that he could deploy to his technicians without requiring them to return to the office every day He found an answer in the Pantech tablet computers from AT T using the ServSuite mobile app from Service Pro net It lets us have the guys out in the field Stocker says They dont have to come back to the office every single day Jamie Stocker Were using the Android tablet says Stocker president of the 43 yearold company The reason that we chose the tablet as opposed to a smart phone is size Im not out in the field but I can barely read the screens on a smart phone Theyre small We use an eight inch tablet The guys can see it and the customers can see it The ServSuite app is available on either smart phones or tablets and in either the Apple or Android operating system But its the functionality of the mobile devices that really make the solution effective for Apex Each night technicians synchronize their devices to get the next days schedule If they prefer techs can configure the app to download a weeks or even a months schedule Stocker and his team used a older version that ran on Nextel phones But the new version offers greater functionality Its not just the route they can see Using the ServSuite mobile app gives pest management professionals PMPs real time access to scheduled appointments and customer related information in the field Techs can enter servicing related details and capture both customer and employee signatures The app also has built in email capabilities With the push of a button techs can notify customers when theyre on the way They can also send copies of work orders and invoices Theyre also able to update customer contact information enter notes collect payments and review customer history This is a much beefier animal and its much easier to use out in the field Stocker says This enhances our mobile capabilities out in the field Stocker sees other advantages beyond the real time data and basic GPS functionality With the advent of the mobile application we are trying to roll out during the course of the summer a paperless environment he says The tablets do have the capability they can email the work order email the invoice to the customer All we have to do is hit a button to process the paperwork Stocker expects a 12 to 15 percent savings when he factors all the time and effort involved in customer invoicing Instead of buying paper invoices postage and paying someone to stuff envelopes he can now push a button and email the invoice Photos Courtesy Apex Pest Control Apex Pest Control pest management specialist John Jackson uses the ServSuite application on an Android tablet in the feld