Case Study - Glenn Patullo
I joined the Metropolitan police in January 1986, having served fifteen years in the army. I started out in Stoke Newington as a uniformed officer, before progressing to the Criminal Investigation Department where I was involved in all aspects of criminal investigation, including the illegal use of firearms, murder enquiries and illegal passage of controlled drugs. Latterly, I was a Detective Inspector in charge of an Intelligence Unit based in Hyde Park in central London.
In late 2006 I was approaching retirement and looking into a number of options for future employment – with three children and a new house to support doing nothing, although an attractive proposition, was out of the question!
On leaving the police I spent three months landscape gardening with a friend to pass the time while I considered my next course of action. In January 2007 I joined Ford UK as a Senior Investigator but due to contractual problems, things didn’t work as I would have liked. Not to be deterred I shifted focus and took up employment in Northern Ireland dealing with ‘Cold Case’ murder reviews. After a couple of years commuting between Northern Ireland and the mainland I decided I wanted to settle down at home and started seeking alternative employment.
I had always hankered after being my own boss and decided to look at the franchise market to see if there was anything that would interest me and it was there I first came across Prokill. I initiated contact with Geoff Whittle and over a period of weeks gathered as much information about the company as I could but due to personal circumstances I did not pursue the opportunity at that stage.
Whilst still based in Northern Ireland I applied for a variety of positions but was unsuccessful. Luckily Prokill recognised my experience and was soon to get the benefit of my ‘degree’ from the university of life. With Prokill still in the back of my mind I returned, yet again, to the idea of franchising. Initially, I considered accident investigation, criminal investigation and the like – I couldn’t seem to pluck up the courage to leave the comfort zone of what had been my profession for over 20 years.
Having gone through a number of options my thoughts returned to Prokill. From the outset it had everything I was looking for; it wasn’t 9-5, it had loads of variety, opportunities to expand and most of all I would be my own boss. Long discussions took place with my wife as we sorted through our finances. Things moved pretty quickly and in September 2010 I was a Prokill franchisee undergoing intensive training at our headquarters in Bournemouth.
My first year as a pest control consultant has certainly been a steep learning curve! Cockroaches, bees, bedbugs, rats, mice, wasps – I wanted variety and that is exactly what I got. I am also the salesman, storeman, van cleaner, typist, secretary, ferreter, mole catcher and goodness knows what else is yet to come. Since joining I have become the proud owner of three ferrets and am now on the way to becoming a competent ferreter. I have also achieved level 2 in the Guild of British Mole Catchers and will soon be applying for my firearms licence to broaden my skills.
I have also met some very nice people with problems they couldn’t deal with themselves and it has been very rewarding being able to help them, it is part of what makes the job worthwhile. Not that far removed from being a policeman actually! I won’t say the first year has been easy, what with the recession having had an impact on all of us in business but as it nears its end and I can see my portfolio increasing I look forward to my second year with enthusiasm. I couldn’t have achieved it without the help of the network and the other franchisees a number of whom, due to our close working relationship, I now class as friends. You could do far worse than investigate Prokill for yourself.
