{"id":3774,"date":"2019-01-01T08:50:04","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T22:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ppmmagazine.com.au\/?p=3774"},"modified":"2021-03-23T07:27:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T21:27:08","slug":"helping-people-is-its-own-reward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/professional-pest-manager-magazine\/helping-people-is-its-own-reward\/","title":{"rendered":"HELPING PEOPLE IS ITS OWN REWARD"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEST INSIDER: In this feature, we share stories from pest managers and leading figures within our industry to give you an insight as to how they deal with the various challenges of the pest control industry.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Formerly a head chef, Ben Hansen<\/strong>\u00a0(main picture) had been in the hospitality industry for 12 years \u2013 a gig that kept him busy working countless hours, including nights and weekends. \u201cMy wife Lara said, \u2018You\u2019re miserable to be around; find another job,\u2019\u201d he recalls. \u201cSo, I changed trades and got a job with a company called ProPest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since that day, Mr Hansen hasn\u2019t looked back. In 2009, three years after that life-changing decision, the couple acquired ProPest Pest Management and ventured into the world of pest control as business owners.<\/p>\n

They initially worked 24\/7 as a two-person team, but eventually the hard yards paid off. Today, the Rockhampton- based, central Queensland company has a large team of technicians and three arms: pest control, first aid\/ compliance training, and industrial cleaning at mine sites. Ms Hansen wears many hats as the director, chief financial officer and HR manager, while Mr Hansen \u2013 never satisfied with remaining still \u2013 focuses on finding new avenues for business growth. \u201cI like to think of it as \u2018performance- based punishment\u2019,\u201d he says. \u201cThe better you do, the more you get to do, which is actually very rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rewards don\u2019t come without challenges though, especially in rural Queensland. For starters, coordinating farm and mine jobs across large distances means technicians can drive up to 350km a day.<\/p>\n

Each job also requires a fair degree of problem solving, not to mention attention to detail and extensive knowledge on how to target specific species. Mr Hansen and his team have faced plenty of tricky situations, from eradicating termites that climbed up 75m of Telstra conduit, to removing 37 pigeons and 1,300kg of faecal matter from a customer\u2019s roof cavity. \u201cSix months down the track, everyone\u2019s health has improved in that house. Removing the pigeons, faeces and bugs has completely changed their lives,\u201d Mr Hansen explained.<\/p>\n

One of his most memorable jobs, though, was discovering a nest of termites living in the same area as a swarm of valuable bees during an inspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found termites living out the back of the client\u2019s house in Rockhampton, but she didn\u2019t want to kill the bees that lived in the same area. They were her pride and joy; she\u2019s had them for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A termite nest next to a beloved bee hive proved an interesting pest problem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr Hansen was determined to make his customer happy, believing that \u201conly ten per cent of what we do is the actual job. Ninety per cent of what we do is how we deal with the customer and relate to their problems.\u201d\u00a0To solve her termite problem, he decided to try Altriset<\/a>, Syngenta<\/a>\u2019s non-scheduled termiticide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen any new chemical comes out, there\u2019s lots of research available and you can find out a bit of its history,\u201d said Mr Hansen. \u201cI ran the product past the client and showed her all the literature. She made me swear black and blue that if I touched her bees, I would replace them! She was under the impression that chemicals kill everything and didn\u2019t realise that products can be so selective these days.\u201d<\/p>\n