Saela Pest Control

Full disclosure: this review is for just my experience with the sales agent. I did not go with this company and it looks like they have plenty of happy customers.

We have been in the Treasure Valley for about 10 months, having moved from another state last June. We have been using another pest control company and we have been happy with them.

This young guy comes to my door this afternoon. He’s a nice enough guy, which is why I’m giving two stars. I greeted him according to my experience since moving here: friendly. He asked if I already had a pest control service and when I said yes, he asked what company. When I told him, he then informed me of what his company does that my company does not, and to his credit, did not bad-mouth the company I’m using. He dropped a few names of neighbors he claimed were already using Saela.

His first quote was well over two times what I am paying per year for service. They like to come every two months, not unusual, and my company comes quarterly. Still, his per service fee was over 60% higher than what I’m paying.

I like my company, and told this guy so. Over the course of about 15 minutes, he dropped his per treatment price by over 30%, but was still about 60% higher per year than what I’m paying. He would not take no for an answer, and at one point when I thought he was going to email a proposal for me to ponder on, he was actually signing me up! When I said, “Just to be clear, I’m not switching”, he stopped typing on his IPad.

When I repeated that I liked my company and had a relationship with my technician, he said something like, “It’s pest control. You’re not inviting him to dinner.” That was a little off-putting. Finally, my wife came to the door to check on me, I told the guy that I wasn’t ready to switch yet another time, and this time he took off.

This was the first time since we moved to Idaho that I felt pressured by a sales person. More reminiscent of the state I came from. I would not use Saela based on this experience alone. I learned through my research that they are a large company that was bought out by Terminex. If you like large companies, Saela may be the one for you.

I had to cancel my services with this company for many on going reasons. I have been with this company for several years but this past year we have experienced several issues. This summer we received an email that the company would have to reschedule the service on the date of the reschedule the technician sent a text that they were on the way but never showed up. When I called the following business day I spoke with a manager and requested to cancel services with the company he begged and pleaded to keep our business with a discount and promises of better service we decided to give them another try but made it very clear this was the last chance. Fast forward I received a notice for service on a Saturday a couple weeks ago but was busy at the time of receiving it so on holiday Monday attempted to call to reschedule to hear they where closed I left a voicemail requesting to reschedule. When I received a text as a reminded of the appointment I called the company and said I had left a message request the reschedule the agent was pushy and rude along with refusing to reschedule. I received a message from the technician letting me know they where on the way and I told them I had tried to reschedule with no luck or help from the agent, the technician took care of the rescheduling and posted a complaint on my behalf. Today was the rescheduled date. I received the normal email then a text message as reminders. I have requested many time we be placed on the latest time frame which per the company is from 4pm to 8pm. The technician gave a time frame that did not match this but we were going to try to figure out how to make it work. I received a text this morning from technician asking if they could come early as we are the only Nampa job today. We where unable to make an earlier appointment work for us so all agreed to 2pm. I left work to meet them at the scheduled 2pm when they were not here at 2:08pm I text the technician asking if they where closed. When I received a reply they said I was not on the schedule and they assured I had rescheduled and that they would figure out what was going on. When they got back to me said there must have been a misunderstanding and I was back on the schedule and they would head this we. I asked how far out they where and they replied Meridian. I let them know I could not wait that long for them and that I would call the company. While talking to the company and requesting our services be canceled I got the run around from the agent and then the manager that they can just do the service and then can reschedule to do the inside. It took me over 30 minutes in the phone request cancel over and over before they agreed to cancel all services. They have made to many mistakes to continue doing business it is time to find a company that values the customers time.

My 5 stars is from the excellent service by my technician Caleb. His professionalism made for a very positive experience. He asked the right questions from his notes from the last visit and rechecked problem areas including a narrow and extensive crawl space. At the end of the visit he informed me of what he had done, potential problem areas and what to keep an eye open for. His service makes Salea an excellent company.