Recently, I had a tick infestation problem at home and needed the services of a pest control company. And because the methods used to eradicate dog ticks likely involved chemicals and/or pesticides, I wanted to be sure the company I engage could destroy these pesky creatures in just one session; in short, I needed to ensure I chose the best pest control provider.
Rather than Googling for one and basing my hiring decision on unilateral claims these companies put on their websites, here was the process I went through to conclude that Top Pest Control Pte. Ltd was, for me, the best choice.
My Research Methodology
1. Assessing Facebook Reviews
I Googled the search term – Pest Control Singapore Facebook. The purpose – to read reviews on these companies Facebook page. The rational – Facebook reviews cannot be deleted by the page owner. As such, it’s usually the companies confident of their service and track record that open up their pages for scrutiny and review.
The company’s that showed up on Google search on 21 Sept 2020 (this list will change over time as Google promotes and demotes some sites) for the above search term were:
- Anticimex – Did not open their page for review
- Rentokil – Did not open up their page for review
- Top Pest Control – 4.9 out of 5 Stars
- Singapore Pest Control – 5 out of 5 Stars
- Singapore Pest Management Association – Not a pest control company plus they did not open their page up for review
- Execute Pest Control – 4.9 out of 5 stars
- WTG Pest Control – 4.9 out of 5 Stars
- Pest Busters – 2 out of 5 Stars
- Pest Biz Services – 4.4 out of 5 Stars
- Ensure Pest Control & Fumigation Pte Ltd – 3 out of 5 Stars
From the list, I shortlisted the companies with 4.9 stars and above to investigate. That left me with just 4 companies to choose from.
2. The Initial Shortlist
From the list above, the highest rated was Singapore Pest Control. At time of writing, they had on their Facebook page a perfect score – 5 out of 5 stars. However, I found it strange that all the reviews they had were from people living outside of Singapore, predominantly in the USA. Why would Americans want to review and rate a company who obviously does not operate in their country? This was thus a red flag for me and I discounted those reviews.
The other 3 companies, namely Top Pest Control, Execute Pest Control and WTG Pest Control had reviews that were more in line with my expectations. The majority of their reviews were from Singaporeans using their real Facebook profiles when posting reviews. Yes, I clicked on each reviewer’s profile to check if their timeline contained pictures with family and/or friends and had friends on Facebook that liked and interacted with their various posts. While not all of them fulfilled the above criteria, most of the reviewers did.
Lastly, I also looked at the other businesses these people reviewed to see if there was any unnatural pattern in their review habits which may indicate paid reviews but could not find any.
I was thus comfortable with these 3 companies. Unfortunately, I had to shortlist one so I visited each of their websites to find out more about them.
3. Website Review and Final Shortlist
Execute Pest Control had a homepage that seem to positioned them as Bed Bug experts. But thankfully, mine was not a bed bug problem and therefore I didn’t consider them further.
WTG Pest Control had a single page listing all their services. Not much details were provided and they did not list Tick control as one of their service.
Top Pest Control had a very informative website. Among the pest control services listed was flea and tick control – the service I was looking for. From their writings, they were able to gain my trust and confidence; I could see that they are indeed very knowledgeable, when it comes to pest control and management.
So for me, the clear winner was Top Pest Control Pte Ltd and they were the company I hired.
My Experience With Top Pest Control
Shawn was the pest control specialist who attended to me. He was polite and helpful over the phone and his rates were, in my opinion, reasonable. Most importantly, he was honest in his assessment of my situation – that while he could easily eradicate the tick problem in the house, my dog had to be simultaneously de-ticked by a vet. Else, reinfestation will occur.
I took his advise, arranged a vet visit on the same day and true to his words, Top Pest successfully rid my home of ticks, all in one visit.
Overall, I am extremely happy with Top Pest Control Pte. Ltd. and will definitely recommend them to people I know.
Final Comments
I was glad I took the trouble going through customer reviews on Facebook before making my hiring decision. Sure, I could have been even more thorough in my evaluation process e.g. I could also have looked at Google Reviews, Forum Reviews etc but given that time was of the essence (I didn’t want to live in a tick infested home longer than I needed to), this was the review process I took. My method isn’t foolproof but it definitely beats hiring blindly.
Do like and share
If you manage to learn a thing or two on how to conduct a proper review of companies from my sharing, please do consider sharing this page, so that others like you will similarly benefit. If you have experience reviewing companies as well, why not comment below so that others can benefit from your experience too.
