Pest Management Professional, February 2019

COVER STORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34 remember you helped her out but every time she walks out on her driveway she will see that oil stain and remember your company vehicle did it For PMPs who do not use software to track their vehiclerelated expenses King advises diligently investigating their options When looking at software think bigger than where your company currently is and instead consider where you want it to go Its very stressful when you have a prospect on the line and you really want to service them but you cant because you know your software wont be able to handle it he says GPS and routing tools help extend the life of vehicles because technicians are not driving an extra 50 miles several times a day he points out adding Add that up and thats a lot of wear and tear and expense Were able to reduce that by making sure were driving the most efficient routes we can MONITORING DRIVERS Driving habits can conserve or waste fuel however GPS devices in each vehicle allow you to better manage them For instance seat belt use hard braking speeding and idling times are monitored and corrective actions Insurance 13 are taken when needed Training technicians to drive defensively not aggressively helps too Truly Nolens GPS technology component keeps driver behavior in check with an audible warning designed to improve safety For the type of driving technicians might do without thinking hard braking accelerating cornering a noise goes off to remind them to relax Lawlor says Zoellner technicians are trained to keep in mind that when theyre driving our company name and phone number is on the vehicle Darren says So dont ride peoples bumpers or cut people off or speed Dee notes that their GPS systems help track fuel costs for each vehicle She also uses GPS to see drive times When it appears technicians are spending too much time getting to service calls she will work on scheduling and routing improvements Part of the cost of doing business is buying fuel Darren says Its not something we have much control over other than making sure we schedule jobs appropriately so were not driving back and forth across the city FIGHTING FUEL COSTS For Truly Nolen efficient routing practices help reduce the likelihood of getting burned by fuel costs Remember there was a time not that long ago when fuel climbed to 3 per gallon Lawlor says We were almost losing any profit we made because fuel was so expensive For Zoellner Exterminating fuel costs currently are low and thats having a positive impact on the companys bottom line Were spending half of the money to fill our tanks compared to what we were spending just last year Darren says CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 An ant behind bars peers out from the back of this The Pest Rangers vehicle 36 February 2019 Pest Management Professional mypmp net PHOTOS THE PEST RANGERS ISTOCK COM TANAPHONG Average Vehicle Expenses Leasing Purchasing 40 30 Fuel 17 Repairs Maintenance SOURCE PCO BOOKKEEPERS 2019 STATE OF THE PEST CONTROL INDUSTRY AND OPERATING COST STUDY