Debug Pest Control

How did you get started in the pest management industry?

My father founded Debug in 1993 as a one-man operation. In 2002, I joined fresh out of college. I worked as a general pest control technician for the first 5 years with the company. I traveled to both local and national industry events in an effort to increase my knowledge of both pests and the pest control business. During that time, I earned my Rhode Island and Massachusetts pesticide applicators licenses and helped grow our company in both states.

Tell us your most memorable moment so far in your career in the pest management industry.

In 2017 we joined the national organization, Pledge 1%, to further our commitment to the community. Participating companies dedicate either 1% of their time or annual revenue. In previous years we donated to local sports teams, churches, and other smaller causes. We wanted to have a better structure with our community involvement so I promoted someone in house to Chief Heart Officer. She is responsible for all things good! She manages weekly affirmations, company parties, gift cards for employees exhibiting core values, and schedules volunteer time with our charitable organizations.

She first conducted a survey with our employees to determine what causes they were most passionate about. These ended up being charities and causes that have impacted our employees and their loved ones directly. So, we selected organizations like the Huntington Disease Society of America, the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and the Rhode Island Food Bank to work with on an annual basis.

What is the guiding principle behind your success with Debug Pest Control?

At Debug, we think it’s important to show how much we care. “We Care” is one of our most treasured core values and one that we strive to demonstrate every day. We care about the health and happiness of our customers, their families, their pets, and their homes and businesses. We care about our employees and their families. We care about our communities. We care about our environment and the natural world.

Why did your company choose to earn the QualityPro certification?

We wanted to differentiate ourselves by being held to a higher standard. Using QualityPro background checks and drug screening has helped us hire really trustworthy employees.  The QualityPro badge is on the walls in our office, it’s on our trucks, and it’s on our website. It inspires our staff to buy-in to this commitment to providing the best service. When you have standards, values, and a process, it helps you grow a company. We’ve been lucky to have a 92% employee retention rate since I have been running Debug.

Our training, education, and advertising standards have also been elevated by our QualityPro certification. We have been Quality Pro certified for over ten years and couldn't be more excited to see what the next decade has in store!

Overall, what do you think the most valuable aspect of QualityPro is to your company?

QualityPro has guided us to become the best company we can be. People are letting us into their homes and businesses, so we must have a relationship built on trust. We start that process by hiring QualityPro people.

QualityPro is more than testing and training. It’s more than a badge. It’s a commitment.

--Bill Horgan

Owner, President

https://www.debugpestcontrol.com/