Case Study - Rob Howard
Rob Howard is one of the few people to have joined Prokill with previous pest control experience – but he still found plenty to learn!
Rob tells his own story…
I first got into pest control by accident rather than design. I was 27 years old and working as a driver for a skip company, something which I found very uninspiring and rather monotonous. One day, while scanning through my local rag, I spotted an advert for Rentokil. Although no particular post was mentioned, I decided to apply. The guy who interviewed me – 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. When the manager retired, some six years later, I became the senior pest control officer for the unit. I was 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 but late in 2010, when major cuts were being imposed on all public sector and council budgets, the pest control unit became a vulnerable area and so I decided it would be best to opt for voluntary redundancy.
Realising that my heart was still in the pest control industry, I considered my options and decided that buying a franchise, thereby 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 drivethat 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 – despite having been in pest control for some twenty odd years, including many technical aspects of the service – many things about the pest control business had changed. For instance, new pest species coming to the fore, or the changing chemicals that we are allowed to use, not to mention the legislation and rules governing the storage, application and disposal of the insecticides and rodenticides. I also greatly benefitted from the other aspects of franchisee development including the sales, marketing, accounting and book keeping modules of the induction course. Being faced with the prospect of self employment for the first time in my career was 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.
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 – but 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! 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!
