Terminix here. Get out your check book.
I recently had Terminix Pest Control quote adding Blown-in insulation to my upstairs attic.ย I didnโt even know they were in that business.ย It was recommended by my monthly Terminix โbug guyโ as a possible way to eliminate the few rare silverfish he has not been able toย completely resolve and also reduce my heating and cooling bills.
The Quote!ย Holy โฆ how much?
A sales professionalย came to my house, borrowed my ladder, looked in my attic, drew up a sketch of the area to be insulated, and prepared a formal quote.ย Fortunately, prior to all that, I did a little research on the Internet pricing blown-in attic insulation myself.ย I foundย two sourcesย that were consistent at $0.40 โ $0.45 per square foot; installed about $375.ย Iย checkedย material cost at Loweโs and found I could purchase theย material for approx. $159 (21 bags x $7.56 per bag).ย ย Before he presented the quote, I warned him that I didnโt believe he would be able to be competitive, since the reason I changedย my annual termite contract to another company was because Terminix was way out of line on their prices.ย Nevertheless, he completed his survey andย proudlyย presented his quote.ย ย ย $1,740.00 Installed!ย He pointed out that that was โright out of the bookโ and heย may be able toย do a little better with some seasonal discounts.
WOW! Out of the park!ย But not aย Home Run!
My jaw must have dropped to the floor and all I could say wasย WOWย โฆ(dead silence)โฆย WOWโฆ (dead silence) โฆWOW!ย He asked ifย maybe thatย wasnโt what I expected?ย I said, Iย told you in advance that I didnโt think you could be competitive, but not only are you not in the ball park, youโre not even on the planet.ย I told him he must have misfigured something (like maybe a decimal place).ย He quickly pulled out his three ring binder and showedย me a fancy set chartsย to defendย his quote.ย I quickly pulled out myย Internet research on wrinkledย โpost-itโ notes from the pocket of my flannel shirt and showed him how I arrived atย prices more in line with $350 to $400 installed.
Terminix Blows the Blown in Quote!ย –ย Minor Bugs!
In reviewing the details,ย we agreedย on the square footage of 868 within a few sq.ft.ย ย We agreedย that I already had 6 inches of R-19 rolled fiberglass insulation installed properly.ย ย We agreedย that I needed approximately 5+ more inches of blown-in insulation to get me up to todayโs new government recommended standardsย for our area of R-38.ย ย We totally disagreedย on the number of bags required to get the coverage I needed.ย ย With the help of his handy dandyย chart he arrived at 45 bagsย of insulation required, instead of the 21 bags I calculated.ย The number of bags then drives all the other costs in the quote, especially the labor.
After I showed him how he was misreading hisย own chart,ย he agreedย he needed to re-calculateย his quote.ย I showed him how to read his chart correctly and he returned to his carย to re-figureย the new quote.ย His new estimate, 21 bags.ย This took his original quote down from $1740.00 to $710.00.ย Then he added some seasonal discounts to take it down to a total of $640.00.ย WOW! again,ย $1,740.00ย down toย $640.00ย with the stoke of a pencil.ย Believe it?ย Just by asking a few questions.
Boomers Beware!ย – Whatever it takes to Boom-bazzellย the Boomer!
Next heย was proud to tell me that it included the environmentally safe pest control chemical of Borax and that unlike most other insulation it was fire retardant.ย I told him that I believed that most rolled insulation like the type already in my attic was also fire retardant.ย He said itย wasnโt (sorry, he is wrong).ย I pointed out to him, that if it wasnโt then I would be wasting myย money because the old insulation wasnโt going to be removed per this proposal.ย He said that putting the fireย retardant material on top of the other insulation it would smother out any fire that started in the other layer of insulation.ย ย Do you think thatย made me feel a whole lot better?
He also guaranteed it against โbugsโ and went on to tell me that if I ever saw a bug again that I could call and Terminix they would come out to re-spray free of charge.ย By now I was getting amused.ย ย I pay a monthly fee for service withย Terminix that has the same guarantee.ย Since I wouldnโt see any bugs in the future, I asked him if I could get rid of his buddy and the $36.00 per monthย I now pay for my monthly service.ย Of course he backpedalled and said, โnot really because it would onlyย cover the upstairs of my two story houseโ.
My Concerns โ What really โBugsโ me!
What bothers me about this whole thing is this was a very simple job.ย ย Any sales professional(?) should have been able to walk up to my house without taking a single measurement and known that $1,740.00 was not a reasonable number.ย What also bothers me, is that if Iย had not known anything about construction or had not done some research on my own I would not have asked the questions I did.ย He would haveย been happy to sign me up to a contractย to sell me a $640.00 job (or really a $350.00 Job)ย for only $1,740.00 without blinking an eye.ย Furthermore, it concerns me that some little old lady has probably unknowingly already paid prices like this in the past.ย ย Obviously, I declined his offer!ย I was nice however, and told him I would consider it in the future, thinking that heย mustย have feltย lucky that Iย hadnโt thrown him.ย He then said that I needed to hurry becauseย after late spring they wouldnโt do these jobs becauseย it was too hot to be working in attics.
The Follow up!ย DEAL?ย orย NO DEAL?
Two weeks later the sales professional actually called to ask what I intended to do about the insulation job?ย I honestly told himย that, due to his lack of knowledge on the subject,ย I had no confidence that Terminex should even be in the insulation business.ย I said it really โbuggedโ meย but, I was giving him the benefit of the doubt that it was all an honest mistake.ย Because I was considering it an honest mistake, Iย had no intentionย of filing a complaint to the Attorney Generals Office or the Better Business Bureau.ย He agreed that he had misread his charts, but thought that I really should re-consider this great deal.
You gotta be Kiddinโ me.ย $1,740.00 down to $640.00 which is still almost twice as high as it should be.ย And, if I act now, 0% financing for 12 Months!ย How do you pass up that deal?ย โฆ I did!ย โฆย NO DEAL!
Papa says, Donโt be โBoombazzelledโ.ย Get competitive quotes!