Pest Management Professional, February 2019

encourage savings by rewarding good behavior We suggest our technicians use specific gas apps on their smartphones to track the cheapest prices in the area he says We also have a contest for the technician who finds the lowest price per gallon of gas for the quarter Fuel receipts are required for each fill up and technicians are required to take a smartphone photo of the receipt and email it to the office for review When you know prices are 210 per gallon average and a technician turns in a receipt for gas at 225 per gallon we give a courtesy call reminding them that gas prices are important and we want to get the best prices possible at each fill up Sheffield says They will respect what you inspect Truly Nolen a pioneer in using vehicles as marketing tools has its technicians tool around town in mouse cars Each Inspect All vehicles miles per gallon are monitored Every Friday all drivers are required to enter their mileage into the companys fleet management app Technicians with The Pest Rangers know theres a fleet fuel card in every vehicle They can go to any gas station enter their employee ID number and their mileage Every Monday King receives a report that shows where they bought fuel how many miles per gallon they are getting and other data to help manage fuel costs King is adamant every vehicle gets an oil change and tire rotation every 5000 miles As a result some trucks can go 40000 to 45000 miles on their tires You cannot go to Mrs Jones house and leak oil in her driveway Thats bad for the companys image and thats the only thing she will remember King says She wont COVER STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 36 PHOTOS ZOELLNER EXTERMINATING TRULY NOLEN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 Accidents happen D arren and Dee Gooch owners of Zoellner Exterminating Catoosa Okla found out the hard way that a Ford F 150 is no match for a speeding semi truck One of their technicians who had just found out she was pregnant was rear ended by an 18 wheeler in a construction zone on the highway She was driving the 40 mph speed limit but the truck driver was doing approximately 75 mph The impact pushed her truck into a center wall and totaled four other vehicles First responders said if she had been driving a smaller truck she could have been killed Thank God she was in a full size vehicle Darren says She walked away just a little sore and bruising Her pregnancy was not affected she eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy but the truck was a complete loss The Highway Patrol and firefighters on the scene said the only thing intact on the truck was the cab Darren says The truck bed was crumpled like a taco Although the cab was completely enclosed everything in it flew out and was demolished The semi hit her so hard there were tools 300 yards away Dee says Her iPad was about 100 yards behind the wreck The equipment had to be replaced the insurance company settled the claim six months later The accident was a real kick in the gut says Darren You dont realize how much one vehicle down can affect your revenue routes everything He says drivers who saw the wreck and recognized the companys truck called the company well before the police and their technician called to tell them what happened People passing the wreck would call our business number and say Im praying for you guys I see one of your trucks Darren recalls People we didnt even know left messages about the wreck First responders asked about the companys safety data sheets SDSs and spill kit which flew out of the truck on impact Dee says She recommends securing them in the vehicle An annual review meeting of what to do and whom to call in case of an emergency is good practice too DS 34 February 2019 Pest Management Professional mypmp net