Posted:13-January-2021
Prokill franchise - Never too late to learn!
Rob Howard is one of the only people to have joined Prokill with previous pest control experience – but he still found plenty to learn!
I first got into pest control by accident rather than design. I was 27 years old working for a skip company, in a position that I found to be very uninspiring and rather monotonous - as a driver. One day while scanning through my local rag, I spotted an advert for Rentokil. No particular post was mentioned and my immediate thought was “Aren’t they are the people who get rid of rats! I will look into this”. I consequently applied and the guy that interviewed me Jim (who subsequently turned out to be my team supervisor), and I found that we had a lot in common, both being ex Royal Naval Servicemen. I was with Rentokil for approximately three years and in that time passed all the accreditations allowing me to become an advanced technician.
Wanting to expand my horizons I applied for and secured a post with a large West London Local Authority as a Pest Control Officer. Following on from that, when the Manager retired and left some six years later, I became the Senior Pest Control Officer for the Unit. At this level, I was ultimately responsible for a team of six pest control officers, the maintenance and general running of the depot, procurement and storage of all chemicals and equipment and the running and upkeep of the service vehicles used by the officers.
I held this position in various guises and title changes for the next eleven years, until late in 2010 when swathing Government cuts were imposed on all Public Sector and Council budgets and the axe began to fall on vulnerable Council run areas. Because Local Authorities are not required by statute to have a pest Control Unit within their Borough (their duty being to ensure that land is inspected within the Borough and that it is kept free of rats and mice at all times), The pest control unit became a vulnerable area and therefore an easy area to be targeted for budget cuts.
Now the writing was on the wall and I decided it would be best to jump rather that get pushed at a later date, so I opted for voluntary redundancy. Realising that my heart was still in the pest control industry, I considered my options and decided that buying a franchise, hereby putting my twenty years experience to good use, was the way forward. Upon studying the market for available pest control franchise businesses, I quickly realised that only one had the standing, experience, accreditations, professionalism and drive that I was looking for and this company was Prokill Professional Pest Prevention!
The Prokill induction training was of great benefit, even to a grizzled old pest controller like me; and even though I had been in pest control for some twenty odd years and had become heavily involved in many technical aspects of the service at my previous level, many things about the pest control business had changed.
For instance, be it a new pest species coming to the fore, or the changing face of the chemicals that we are allowed to use, to the legislation and the rules governing the storage, application and disposal of the insecticides and rodenticides (who had heard of green issues twenty years ago????), down to things that I had plain and simply forgotten. I also greatly benefitted from the other aspects of franchisee development including the sales, marketing, accounting and book keeping modules of the induction course.
I was also faced with the prospect of being self employed for the first time in my career, which in itself is a very daunting prospect. I thoroughly enjoyed my five weeks in sunny Bournemouth and was warmly welcomed by the Prokill Limited team whom I found to be extremely friendly. From the training team and pest control technicians, to the sales department and the staff in the main office, all of whom I found to be very pleasant during my stay there.
The socialising aspect was a welcome bonus considering I was the only person under training at that time. I was even invited to join them on night time shoots by Prokill’s very own sniper, Martin! I really enjoyed going out with the technicians and getting involved with their various contracts and jobs which ranged from a high end specification technical knowledge contract, in a world renowned beverage company, to mole and rabbit hunting on a golf course. Whilst not forgetting the standard Rats, Mice and Cockroach problems which are the bread and butter of most pest control businesses.
Although I am now my own boss and my time is precious, I still find the outlet of playing football a great way to release any tensions. I am also an avid skier and although I didn’t manage to get away this year, due to the changes in my business life, I fully intend to remedy that next year using the profits that I will undoubtedly obtain through this new venture.
Thanks to Prokill I am now able to adapt my new business around my family lifestyle commitments, whilst still enjoying the freedom of the occasional weekend away with my lovely girlfriend!
Interested and want to know more about Prokil?
The Prokil basic profile outlines aspects of their franchise opportunity
