Orkin of Kelso, WA

Kelso, WA

We had used Orkin in the past and had no complaints, so we thought this time would be no different. We had a colony of box elder beetles in one of our deck boxes. The inspector came on 3/21 as promised and on time - he diagnosed the problem and took my payment information for a full year's service of monthly prevention and treatment ($717, including a discount for paying up front). He set up a time for a technician to come on 3/25. The technician didn't come, so one hour after the 2 hour window had passed, I called the the only number I had been given (an 800 number). The rep said, no, there was no service scheduled, so he connected me to the branch manager. She said it was a filing mistake and someone would come out the very next day, 3/26. A technician came as promised and did the work I asked. He wrote on my invoice that a follow up service would be performed in one week, on 4/2. No one came on 4/2, and when I called, a different customer service rep said that my follow up had already been done on 3/26. I said, no, that was when the initial service was done. There was still bug activity, so I needed someone to come out and follow up. He apologized and said he could get a technician to come two days later, 4/4, from 12-2, but it would be tight. I said, ok, but I am also pressed for time that day, and if he comes after two, I won't be able to be there. He told me if he doesn't come by 12:45, call again to get an estimated time of arrival. So, on 4/4, at 12:45, no one had come, so I called. This time the customer service rep (again, someone completely different) told me I had a balance of $205. I said, I shouldn't, as I agreed to pay up front for a year's service, and quoted the invoice I had gotten from the inspector on 3/21. I noticed then that my last name on the invoice from 3/26 was badly misspelled and asked if that would have anything to do with it. She said, no, is the credit card ending in **** your card? I confirmed it, and she said she'd "take care of it." She was unable to get ahold of the technician, so she said she'd send him a reminder text and have him call me. He called at 1:30 and said he was running late, that I had been scheduled for 11-1 (incorrect), but I told him I had been told 12-2. I also told him if he came after 2, I wouldn't be there. He said he definitely couldn't make it by 2, but maybe he could just work on the outside and leave an invoice on the door? I said that would be fine. I got a message on my phone at 5:30 (while I was out) from the same technician who said he was sorry, but he wasn't able to get there and he'd be happy to come the next day. By this time I was pretty upset and didn't want to talk to anyone for a while - it was clear the communication between departments was terrible and I was getting nowhere. I had already wasted 6 total hours of my time waiting for service that never came, and the bugs were coming back. To add insult to injury, I received a bill on 4/8 saying I STILL owed $205, for the initial service (which was the only service actually performed), follow up, and next month's service. Then my card was charged on 4/10 for $785 - when the initial agreement was for $717! I was too mad to be coherent, so I had my husband call on 4/11 to cancel our service and refund our money. They agreed to give us a full refund, and that was about the only good thing that happened! But they still kept the $205 for the service! By this time, there was absolutely nothing they could have done to make it right - there was no way I was going to wait around for someone to not come again. The service was rendered ineffective by the inability of someone to get out to follow up. And the thing is, I know it wasn't any individual person's fault - it's the company's fault for setting up such a bad system. I never got the same person twice, whether it was customer service or the technician. I will NEVER use Orkin again! (Note - I waited to post this because I was so angry and didn't want to think about it for a long time!)

Kelso, WA

The tech took care of the problem caused by the main office in Atlanta not relaying crucial information to him (our dog throwing up after the borax based granular bait application even though we kept her away from the area). He even came up with a reason for the problem (grain based coating causing her problems due to a grain allergy she has.) He made sure we had his cell number so we could call him directly with problems. I am happy with the local Orkin office and would not hesitate to give them 5's. But the main office is frustrating to deal with and I can't give them 5's for that reason.

Kelso, WA

I would have recommended him for the service type that we had before but he apparently has left and decided to become and fire-fighter and the guy we currently have now claims 11 years of service, I don't find him as reliable, as communicative and they're not coming when they're suppose to be coming right now, in that, they're suppose to come late in the day so that we can let them in the house and treat the interior. It's now been a couple of months since he has come at a time when we could let him in and treat the interior, so not as happy with my service as I was used to. They've done a good job. They do come out reliably, they are responsive for a callback. So, if you really want them back, you can call them, they will come back at a time and work, so. The pricing is moderately expensive. I talk with the guy, he is a little bit talky. The first thing he did was remind me that they had 11 years of experience and then after that it was kind of like, well, you know, the other guy came out at 4:30 when we could let him in the house, when somebody might be home and he's called twice now, that's the night before, and said he's going to be out at 10 AM, nobody is going to be home to let him in the house, so the callbacks are going to be a problem. I really liked the other guy. And I have not had the chance to sit down with the new guy and there are a lots of crawlspaces in the house but I don't think some of them he even knows about.

Kelso, WA

I had another pest control company working on our mouse problem and it was not resolving so I called Orkin. They assured me that they would be able to resolve the problem. In the three or four months that I had a contract with them they only caught one mouse and I'm not even sure if that one was real. It was mentioned on the invoice after I complained that they hadn't caught any. The exterminator did not mention the mouse in person and I never saw it. They did, however, spray around my house for insects, which I had not requested and they did not mention to me that they were planning to do this. Again, it just showed up on the invoice. With pets and young kids I do not want insecticide sprayed in my yard without my knowledge. When I called to ask about the products used the person I contacted had no knowledge of what was done at my house or what product was used based on the description on my receipt. The drawback of a big company was that I was talking to someone far away. However, I expected a big company such as this to have computerized records of services performed. When I signed up with Orkin they assured me that the contract could be broken at anytime. I was able to get out of the contract after a few months, when I was not happy with the service, but it was not easy. It took close to half an hour on the phone to convince them that I really did want out of the contract.

Kelso, WA

I called the 1-800 Orkin number to schedule an appointment for treatment of carpenter ants at a home I am currently remodeling. They quoted me at $400 not including the cost of the return services that they said would be needed. I scheduled an appointment for the next day in the morning between 7-9 am to have the work performed. I took time off of work for the appointment. At 7:12 I received a called from Orkin stating they could not keep the appointment because it was scheduled at the same timeas a meeting. Orkin said they could come at a later time but that there was nothing they could be because I scheduled the appointment at a time when they had the meeting. Actually, THEY scheduled me at a time when THEY had a meeting. I decided to go with another company that had better pricing, a better guarantee, and that is environmentally friendly. I'm glad Orkin cancelled because I utilized that time to comparison shop and find a better alternative.

Kelso, WA

The regular technician is very prompt and thorough. He has no problem answering my questions. Since having the regular service I have had almost no problem with ants and very little problem with spiders. The insulation in my attic was blown in and gives me an R90 (so I have told). I would recommend this comany to anyone else.