Pest control interview questions

Recurring residential revenue is growing, but cancellations after the first year are rising. Walk me through how you'd find the cause.

Situational · Retention strategy

Strong answer

Breaks cancellations down by branch, technician, sales channel and reason, compares callback rates, checks for overselling, talks to former customers, then assigns owners and targets.

Red flags

Jumps to more marketing or discounts without looking at why customers leave.

A state inspector cites one of your technicians for an application that didn't follow the label. What do you do in the first week?

Situational · Regulatory response

Strong answer

Cooperates fully, gets the facts, makes sure the customer is safe and informed, retrains or disciplines under policy, and checks whether training or supervision gaps reach other technicians.

Red flags

Blames the one technician, argues with the regulator, or treats it as paperwork.

How would you decide between opening a new branch and buying a smaller company's customer accounts?

Technical · Growth decisions

Strong answer

Compares route density, customer retention after past purchases, licensing and staffing in the new area, cash needs and payback, and names the integration risks of each path.

Red flags

Picks one on instinct or by top-line revenue alone.

Tell me about the hardest leadership decision you made about a senior person, such as removing a well-liked leader who wasn't delivering.

Behavioral · Hard people decisions

Strong answer

Set clear expectations, gave feedback and time, documented it, made the call, and handled the handoff and team communication with care.

Red flags

Avoided the decision for years, or acted suddenly with no fair process.

Walk me through the largest contract or acquisition you negotiated, including the terms you held firm on.

Behavioral · Negotiation

Strong answer

Names the deal, the walk-away point, and terms that protected margin and service, such as price, length, exit terms or retention guarantees, plus what they gave up to close.

Red flags

Talks only about the headline price, or can't describe the terms.

Tell me about a time you changed a long-standing practice across a whole company, and how you knew the change stuck.

Behavioral · Changing how a company works

Strong answer

Explains why it had to change, how they brought managers along, what they measured afterward, and how they handled people who held on to the old way.

Red flags

Describes an announcement or memo with no follow-up or proof it worked.

One branch's callback rate is twice the company average. How would you find out why?

Situational · Diagnosing quality problems

Strong answer

Breaks callbacks down by technician, pest and service type, rides along, checks inspection quality, product choice and customer prep, then fixes the cause with targeted training.

Red flags

Blames the technicians as a group, or adds free re-services without finding the cause.

It's peak season. You're short three technicians and the schedule is booked two weeks out. What do you do?

Situational · Peak-season capacity

Strong answer

Protects contracted and urgent work first, borrows help from other branches, uses overtime within safe limits, tells customers honestly about delays, and starts the next season's hiring earlier.

Red flags

Overloads technicians until quality and safety slip, or quietly skips scheduled visits.

How do you build routes that are efficient without cutting the time a technician needs to do the job right?

Technical · Route and time standards

Strong answer

Sets time standards by service type from real data, plans for route density and drive time, leaves room for callbacks, and tracks quality alongside productivity.

Red flags

Measures stops per day only.

Tell me about a time you rolled out a new process to field technicians, and how you got them to actually use it.

Behavioral · Leading process change

Strong answer

Involved technicians early, trained hands-on, measured adoption, and adjusted the process based on what the field told them.

Red flags

Sent a memo and assumed it was followed.

Tell me about a serious safety or compliance problem you dealt with in field operations.

Behavioral · Safety and compliance leadership

Strong answer

Acted immediately to protect people, found the root cause, fixed the system behind it, and checked that it didn't happen again.

Red flags

Has no example, or handled it as a one-person discipline issue.

Tell me about a technician or service manager you developed into a branch leader.

Behavioral · Developing managers

Strong answer

Describes what they saw in the person, the specific coaching and stretch assignments they gave, and how they measured progress.

Red flags

Takes credit without describing what they actually did.

Walk me through how you'd measure the true profit on a recurring residential customer, from the sale to the day they cancel.

Technical · Customer profitability

Strong answer

Builds lifetime value: acquisition cost such as commissions and marketing, cost per visit including labor, drive time and product, callbacks, collection losses and average customer life, split by service line.

Red flags

Uses revenue alone, or can't name the costs of serving a customer.

Product and fuel costs jumped this season, and the CEO wants to raise prices on every customer. What do you recommend?

Situational · Pricing under rising costs

Strong answer

Separates the cost drivers, models increases by segment against likely cancellations, looks at efficiency fixes such as route density and callbacks, and gives the CEO options with numbers.

Red flags

Agrees to a flat increase without modeling churn, or suggests cutting service quality.

Reps are paid commission when an account is sold, and many of those accounts cancel within a few months. How would you approach it?

Situational · Sales compensation

Strong answer

Measures cancellations by rep and channel, proposes paying commission on serviced or paid accounts, checks state wage rules before changing commission terms, and works with sales leadership on the change.

Red flags

Blames sales without data, or proposes deducting pay without checking the law.

Tell me about a time your forecast for a pest season, such as termite swarm season or a mild winter, turned out badly wrong.

Behavioral · Forecasting

Strong answer

Owns the miss, explains the faulty assumption, and describes a specific change to the method or the review process.

Red flags

Blames the market or other departments and changed nothing.

Tell me about a control gap you found in field payments, such as technicians collecting cash or checks on site, and how you closed it.

Behavioral · Field payment controls

Strong answer

Describes how they found the gap, the control they added, such as same-day deposits matched to service tickets, and how they checked months later that it still worked.

Red flags

Has no example, or the fix was a one-time email.

Tell me about a time you had to tell a CEO or owner a number they didn't want to hear.

Behavioral · Telling leaders hard truths

Strong answer

Came prepared with data and options, said it directly and early, and held the position under pushback.

Red flags

Softened the number, waited until it was too late, or let the owner talk them out of it.

Your branch hit its revenue goal, but callbacks and technician turnover are both rising. What do you look at first?

Situational · Reading mixed results

Strong answer

Looks for a link, such as overloaded routes or rushed training, by checking data by technician and hire date, exit interview notes and pay, then sets a plan with managers.

Red flags

Celebrates the revenue and ignores the warning signs.

A large commercial client threatens to cancel after a pest sighting in front of their own customers. What do you do?

Situational · Saving a commercial account

Strong answer

Calls personally, gets the facts, sends a supervisor for a full inspection, presents a written corrective plan with dates, and checks in until trust is back.

Red flags

Offers a discount and nothing else, or leaves it to the technician.

Walk me through the numbers you'd review every week as GM, and what each one tells you.

Technical · Running the business on numbers

Strong answer

Callbacks, completion rate, cancellations, revenue per technician hour, receivables, safety incidents and license status, with clear actions when one moves the wrong way.

Red flags

Revenue only, or a list with no actions attached.

Tell me how you made sure every technician's license or registration stayed current in a past role.

Behavioral · Licensing compliance

Strong answer

Kept a tracking system with renewal dates and continuing education, scheduled classes ahead, and never let anyone apply product without the right credential.

Red flags

Left it to each technician, or learned about lapses from an inspector.

Tell me about a time you had to let go of a manager or technician over a safety or label violation.

Behavioral · Acting on violations

Strong answer

Acted on facts from service records and any inspection, followed policy with HR, documented it, took care of the affected customer, and explained the change to the team.

Red flags

Let a top producer slide, or fired someone with no record.

Tell me about a time you improved a team's numbers by changing how the work was done rather than adding people.

Behavioral · Improving results without adding people

Strong answer

Names the before and after numbers, what changed, and how they got the team to adopt it.

Red flags

Vague results, or the only fix they know is hiring.

On a ride-along, you see a technician start a baseboard treatment while a toddler plays in the next room. What do you do?

Situational · Safety in the moment

Strong answer

Stops the work calmly, asks the customer to keep the child and pets out until the product dries as the label requires, finishes correctly, then coaches the technician privately and documents it.

Red flags

Says nothing until later, or scolds the technician in front of the customer.

A customer says a technician's treatment stained their new carpet and wants it replaced. What do you do?

Situational · Damage claims

Strong answer

Visits, takes photos, reviews the service record and the product, doesn't admit or deny fault on the spot, follows the claims process, and keeps the customer updated.

Red flags

Promises a new carpet on the spot, or dismisses the complaint.

A state inspector arrives at a job while your newest technician is mid-treatment. How do you handle it?

Situational · Regulator visits

Strong answer

Cooperates, makes sure the technician has the license or registration, label and service record on hand, answers honestly, and follows up on any finding.

Red flags

Coaches the technician on what not to say, or argues with the inspector.

Walk me through how you check a treatment after the technician has left the property.

Technical · Auditing completed work

Strong answer

Reviews the service record: product, rate, target pest and areas. Checks bait placement, overspray or runoff, devices and customer prep against the label, and notes what to coach.

Red flags

Only asks the customer if they're happy.

Tell me about a time you corrected an experienced technician who didn't think they were doing anything wrong.

Behavioral · Correcting experienced staff

Strong answer

Used facts, the label or policy, listened to the technician's side, agreed on a change, and followed up to check it stuck.

Red flags

Avoided the conversation, or pulled rank without explaining.

Tell me about a safety incident or near miss on a crew you led, and what changed afterward.

Behavioral · Learning from incidents

Strong answer

Describes what happened, the root cause, the specific change in training or procedure, and how they checked it worked.

Red flags

Has no example, or blames one person and moves on.

A technician's state license expired yesterday, and they're on tomorrow's schedule. What do you do?

Situational · License compliance

Strong answer

Takes them off application work until it's renewed, tells operations so the route is covered, helps with the renewal, and fixes the tracking that let it lapse.

Red flags

Lets them work "just this week," or only sends a reminder.

A customer complains that a technician made comments during a service visit that made them uncomfortable. What do you do?

Situational · Customer complaints about staff

Strong answer

Takes it seriously, documents the complaint, investigates promptly with the customer, the technician and service records, protects the customer in the meantime, and acts on the findings under policy.

Red flags

Dismisses it, or fires the technician without an investigation.

Walk me through a training plan that takes a new technician from day one to working alone and licensed.

Technical · Training new technicians

Strong answer

Covers your state's registration and exam steps, label and PPE training, ride-alongs, supervised work with sign-offs, customer skills, and dates for the license exam.

Red flags

A generic orientation with no path to licensing.

Tell me about a time you cut turnover among new technicians before they finished licensing.

Behavioral · Reducing turnover

Strong answer

Used data on when and why people left, made specific changes, such as paid study time, an assigned mentor or clearer pay steps, and shows the result.

Red flags

Has no numbers, or the fix was a party.

Tell me about a time you set up or changed pay rules for door-to-door or seasonal sales reps.

Behavioral · Sales pay compliance

Strong answer

Checked wage and hour rules with payroll or counsel, put the commission plan in writing where state law requires it, explained it to reps with examples, and tracked disputes.

Red flags

Copied another company's plan without checking the law.

Tell me about a time you had to fill several field jobs quickly before a busy season.

Behavioral · Seasonal hiring

Strong answer

Started early, used referrals and multiple sources, ran structured interviews, and had training ready for the first day.

Red flags

Started hiring once the season had begun, or hired anyone who applied.

Leads jump every spring, but the cost to book each new customer keeps rising. What do you do?

Situational · Cost per customer

Strong answer

Tracks each source from lead to booked to retained, cuts what doesn't produce paying customers, times spend before the season, and works with the call team on conversion.

Red flags

Spends more on whatever produced the most leads.

The owner wants an ad that says your treatments are "safe for kids and pets." How do you respond?

Situational · Accurate advertising

Strong answer

Flags safety claims like "safe" or "non-toxic" as a legal risk for pesticide services, checks state rules with the license holder, and suggests accurate wording about licensed technicians and label directions.

Red flags

Runs it as written.

Walk me through how you'd track whether a direct-mail campaign actually brought in paying customers.

Technical · Measuring results

Strong answer

Unique phone number, web address or code, a source field in the customer system, and a match to booked and retained accounts against the cost.

Red flags

Counts calls or website visits.

Tell me about a campaign that didn't work and what you changed because of it.

Behavioral · Learning from failure

Strong answer

Owns it, explains why it missed using data, and names a specific change in the next campaign.

Red flags

Blames sales or the budget, or can't name a miss.

Tell me about a time you grew reviews or referrals for a local service business.

Behavioral · Reviews and referrals

Strong answer

Built a repeatable ask tied to completed service, made it easy, responded to reviews, and shows the before and after.

Red flags

Bought reviews, or has no numbers.

Tell me about a time you worked with sales or the call team to fix a handoff that was losing leads.

Behavioral · Working with sales

Strong answer

Found where leads dropped, agreed on a fix with the other team, and measured the change.

Red flags

Blamed the other team and stopped there.

Termite warranty renewal invoices go out next week, and several of those customers have no inspection on record this year. What do you do?

Situational · Warranty renewals

Strong answer

Holds those invoices, checks with operations, schedules the inspections, and fixes the tracking so renewals and inspections line up.

Red flags

Sends the invoices anyway.

A technician keeps turning in service tickets without product details, and billing can't close the day. How do you handle it?

Situational · Incomplete service records

Strong answer

Sends them back for correction the same day, explains that these records may be inspected by the state, coaches the technician and adds an end-of-day check.

Red flags

Fills in the missing details from memory or a guess.

Walk me through how you'd run the billing cycle for recurring service plans.

Technical · Recurring billing

Strong answer

Bills completed services on schedule, runs autopay, follows up on failed payments with retries and calls, reviews aging each week, and gets approval for credits.

Red flags

Invoices when someone remembers, or doesn't track failed payments.

Tell me about an office process you fixed because it kept causing errors.

Behavioral · Fixing broken processes

Strong answer

Found the root cause, changed the steps, trained people, and shows the drop in errors.

Red flags

Fixed each error by hand forever.

Tell me about a time you handled an upset customer when no manager was available.

Behavioral · Upset customers without backup

Strong answer

Listened, solved what was within their authority, set a clear next step and followed through.

Red flags

Passed the customer around, or promised what they couldn't deliver.

Tell me how you kept records organized for an audit or inspection in a past job.

Behavioral · Inspection-ready records

Strong answer

Clear filing system, retention rules, and the ability to pull any record quickly, with an example of doing it.

Red flags

Records were scattered and they scrambled when asked.

A technician's truck breaks down mid-morning with a full route. What do you do?

Situational · Vehicle breakdowns

Strong answer

Checks the technician is safe, keeps the pesticide on board locked and attended, arranges a tow, moves urgent stops to other routes and calls the affected customers.

Red flags

Forgets the product on the truck, or leaves customers waiting with no call.

Sprayers and dusters keep failing in the field this month. How do you handle it?

Situational · Equipment failures

Strong answer

Tracks failures by unit and technician, sets a cleaning and maintenance schedule, keeps spares ready, and retrains where misuse is the cause.

Red flags

Buys new equipment without finding why the old units fail.

How do you decide how many stops a technician should get in a day?

Technical · Daily workload

Strong answer

Time standards by service type, drive time and density, experience level, callback and quality data, and seasonal changes.

Red flags

As many as fit, or the same number for everyone.

Tell me about a time you improved route efficiency without hurting quality.

Behavioral · Route efficiency

Strong answer

Gives the change, the before and after on drive time and callbacks, and how technicians were involved.

Red flags

Only drive time improved and callbacks went up.

Tell me about a time two teams disagreed about a customer problem and you had to settle it.

Behavioral · Settling cross-team problems

Strong answer

Got the facts from both sides, decided fairly based on the customer and the contract, and fixed the handoff that caused it.

Red flags

Picked a side without facts, or let it drag on.

Tell me about a time you coached an underperforming technician back to standard.

Behavioral · Coaching performance

Strong answer

Clear expectations, ride-alongs, a written plan with dates, and the result.

Red flags

Gave up quickly, or never had the conversation.

Your top rep has the most sales and the highest cancellation rate in the first [90] days. What do you do?

Situational · Quality of sales

Strong answer

Reviews those accounts, listens to calls or rides along, checks for overselling or promises service can't keep, coaches to the standard, and holds the line even with a top performer.

Red flags

Protects the rep because of the numbers.

A competitor cuts prices in your market right before the busy season. How do you respond?

Situational · Price competition

Strong answer

Holds price where the value is clear, arms reps with the differences that matter, uses targeted offers only where data supports it, and tracks wins and losses.

Red flags

Matches the price across the board.

Walk me through how you forecast a month of sales for your team.

Technical · Sales forecasting

Strong answer

Leads by source, conversion by rep and stage, average contract value and seasonality, checked weekly against actuals.

Red flags

A gut number or last year plus a bit.

Tell me about a rep you coached from below goal to steadily meeting it.

Behavioral · Coaching reps

Strong answer

Found the specific gap, coached it with ride-alongs or call reviews, set short goals and shows the result.

Red flags

"I told them to work harder."

Tell me about a time you let go of a salesperson whose numbers were fine but whose methods weren't.

Behavioral · Sales integrity

Strong answer

Set the standard, documented the misrepresentation or rule-breaking, coached first, worked with HR, and protected customers during the exit.

Red flags

Kept the rep because the numbers were good.

Tell me about a time you caught a rep promising things the service team couldn't deliver.

Behavioral · Protecting service promises

Strong answer

Corrected it with the customer, coached the rep, and worked with operations to prevent a repeat.

Red flags

Let it slide because the sale closed.

Walk me through how you'd set up pesticide storage so it's safe and ready for an inspection.

Technical · Pesticide storage

Strong answer

Locked and ventilated, posted signs, original labeled containers, incompatible products apart, SDS and spill kit within reach, PPE kept separate, secure shelving and current inventory records.

Red flags

Treats it like any other stockroom.

A pallet tips during unloading, and a drum of concentrate is leaking onto the dock. What do you do?

Situational · Spill response

Strong answer

Clears people away, puts on the PPE the SDS calls for, stops the leak if safe, contains it and keeps it out of drains, follows reporting rules and documents it.

Red flags

Hoses it off the dock.

A new hire shows up ready to unload a chemical delivery but hasn't had hazard communication training yet. What do you do?

Situational · Training before chemical work

Strong answer

Assigns other work until the training is done, because they shouldn't handle chemicals before it, and schedules the training right away.

Red flags

Lets them help "just this once."

Tell me about a time you reduced shrink or inventory errors in a warehouse.

Behavioral · Reducing errors

Strong answer

Found the cause, changed a process, and shows the improvement with numbers.

Red flags

Re-counted more often and changed nothing else.

Tell me about a time you got a team to follow a safety rule they thought was a hassle.

Behavioral · Safety buy-in

Strong answer

Explained why, showed how, made it easy to follow, checked consistently and recognized people who did it right.

Red flags

Wrote people up without explaining, or gave up.

Tell me about a time you trained a new warehouse or shop worker to handle chemicals safely.

Behavioral · Training on chemical handling

Strong answer

Covered labels, SDS, PPE, the spill kit and safe moving with carts, watched them do it, and signed off before they worked alone.

Red flags

Told them to watch someone else and figure it out.

A caller says they just found bed bugs and wants someone out today. Your schedule is full. What do you do?

Situational · Urgent and upsetting calls

Strong answer

Stays calm, asks where and how long, books the soonest inspection, sends the prep instructions, and asks them not to move belongings to other rooms before the visit.

Red flags

Promises a same-day visit they can't keep, or books the next opening with no guidance.

A customer calls angry that they're still seeing spiders two weeks after their service. What do you say?

Situational · Handling a return-visit complaint

Strong answer

Listens, apologizes for the trouble, checks the plan's re-service terms, books a return visit, and asks where and when they see activity so the technician arrives prepared.

Red flags

Argues that the treatment works, or promises the spiders will be gone for good.

A caller asks whether the treatment is safe for their kids, dog and fish tank. What do you tell them?

Situational · Accurate safety answers

Strong answer

Doesn't call any product safe or harmless. Explains that the technician follows the label, shares prep steps such as keeping people and pets off treated areas until dry, and offers a call from the technician.

Red flags

Says the product is completely safe or non-toxic, or guesses about the chemicals.

Tell me about a time you had several calls waiting and one customer who needed a lot of your time.

Behavioral · Managing call volume

Strong answer

Kept the long call focused, offered a callback when it made sense, kept notes, and actually called back when promised.

Red flags

Rushed the customer off the phone, or let the queue pile up without a plan.

Tell me about a time you turned a price question into a booked appointment.

Behavioral · Turning questions into bookings

Strong answer

Asked about the problem before quoting, explained what's included, gave honest pricing and options, and asked for the booking.

Red flags

Quoted a price and let the caller hang up, or pressured them.

Walk me through what you'd write in the customer record after a new customer's call so the technician knows what to expect.

Technical · Notes for the technician

Strong answer

Pest and where it's seen, how long, pets and kids, gate codes or access, prep instructions given, the customer's main worry, time window and best phone number.

Red flags

"Customer has bugs," or notes only the address.

Two technicians call out sick on a full Monday. Walk me through how you rework the day.

Situational · Reworking a day

Strong answer

Keeps initial services, callbacks and timed commercial stops, moves routine quarterly visits, checks licenses for the jobs that need them, rebalances routes, and calls every customer who's moved.

Red flags

Crams everything onto the remaining routes, or doesn't call the customers who are moved.

A restaurant account calls with live cockroaches in the kitchen during lunch and a health inspection tomorrow. What do you do?

Situational · Urgent commercial calls

Strong answer

Treats it as urgent, finds the nearest technician qualified for commercial work, moves a routine stop, confirms after-hours access, and tells the restaurant a real arrival time.

Red flags

Books the next routine opening, or sends whoever is closest without checking qualifications.

Heavy rain is forecast for this afternoon, and several stops are exterior treatments. What do you do?

Situational · Weather and label limits

Strong answer

Checks with the supervisor which treatments can't go out before rain, moves those stops, swaps in interior work or inspections, and calls the customers before the technician arrives.

Red flags

Leaves the schedule alone, or cancels everything without checking.

Which jobs would you give a newer technician, and which would you save for your most experienced one?

Technical · Matching technicians to jobs

Strong answer

Newer: routine quarterly services. Experienced: heavy infestations, bed bugs, termite work, callbacks and complaints, and any job that needs a license category the newer technician doesn't hold.

Red flags

Assigns by distance only.

Tell me about a time a schedule change you made caused a problem, and how you fixed it.

Behavioral · Owning mistakes

Strong answer

Owns the mistake, fixed it fast with the customer and the technician, and changed a step so it wouldn't happen again.

Red flags

Can't recall a mistake, or blames the technician or the software.

Tell me about a time you had to push back on a technician or manager about the schedule.

Behavioral · Pushing back

Strong answer

Gave reasons and data, stayed respectful, offered a workable option, and the result is clear.

Red flags

Gave in to keep the peace, or argued without a better option.

Walk me through how you'd match a day's customer payments in the field software to what actually reached the bank and the card processor.

Technical · Daily payment reconciliation

Strong answer

Pulls the payment report, matches card batches net of fees, checks and cash deposits, notes timing differences, and investigates anything unmatched before closing the day.

Red flags

Looks only at the bank balance, or plugs the difference to make it match.

Some customers prepay a full year of quarterly service. How would you record that payment so the monthly numbers stay accurate?

Technical · Prepaid service plans

Strong answer

Asks whether the books are cash or accrual. On accrual, records the payment as unearned revenue and recognizes it as visits are completed, and tracks the remaining balance by customer.

Red flags

Books the whole year as revenue the day it arrives without noting it, or has never thought about it.

A customer on a quarterly plan says they were charged for a visit that never happened. The service record shows a visit. What do you do?

Situational · Billing disputes

Strong answer

Pulls the record's time stamps, notes and photos, checks with operations, explains what they found, and credits the charge if the visit can't be confirmed. Logs the outcome.

Red flags

Argues from the invoice alone, or refunds right away without checking.

At month-end, the field software shows more revenue for the month than the accounting system does. How do you work it out?

Situational · Finding the cause of a mismatch

Strong answer

Compares the two by date and customer, looks for invoices that didn't sync, voided or credited jobs and duplicates, and makes approved, documented adjustments.

Red flags

Posts one adjustment to make the totals match without finding the cause.

Tell me about a time you checked technician commission or production pay before payroll ran.

Behavioral · Production pay accuracy

Strong answer

Matched completed services to the pay report, found errors such as visits that were later credited to the customer, confirmed with the manager, and documented the fix.

Red flags

Paid whatever the report said, or changed pay without asking anyone.

Tell me about a time you got a past-due homeowner account paid without losing the customer.

Behavioral · Collections

Strong answer

Describes the steps: friendly reminders, a call, a payment plan if needed, notes on every contact, and a payment in the end.

Red flags

Never followed up, or jumped straight to threats.

Your count shows less of a restricted-use product than the usage logs say should be on hand. What do you do?

Situational · Restricted-use product records

Strong answer

Recounts, checks receipts, logs and truck transfers, asks the technicians involved, and reports it to the manager right away because these products need complete records.

Red flags

Adjusts the count to match the log, or waits until next month's count.

A delivery arrives with a leaking container of concentrate. What do you do?

Situational · Damaged deliveries

Strong answer

Refuses or isolates it, puts on the PPE the SDS calls for, contains the leak with the spill kit, keeps it out of drains, photographs it, notes it on the delivery paperwork and calls the supplier.

Red flags

Puts it on the shelf, or wipes it up with no protection.

A technician asks you to pour some product into an empty water bottle so they can carry extra on the route. What do you say?

Situational · Service containers

Strong answer

Says no, explains that product never goes in food or drink containers, offers an approved, labeled service container if policy allows, and tells the supervisor if it keeps happening.

Red flags

Does it to be helpful.

Walk me through how you'd set reorder points for products that move much faster in summer.

Technical · Seasonal reorder points

Strong answer

Uses last season's usage by month, supplier lead times and safety stock, orders ahead of the season, and watches shelf life and storage limits.

Red flags

Orders when the shelf is empty.

Tell me about a time you dealt with product that expired, was discontinued or could no longer be used.

Behavioral · Expired and canceled products

Strong answer

Pulled it from use, checked the label, supplier and state rules for return or disposal, used a proper disposal or return path, documented it, and adjusted orders.

Red flags

Threw it in the trash, or let technicians use it up.

Tell me about a time you got a supplier to fix a recurring problem, such as late or short deliveries.

Behavioral · Supplier problems

Strong answer

Kept records, raised it with specifics, agreed on a fix, and tracked whether it held.

Red flags

Complained but kept accepting the problem.

A homeowner says they only want a one-time spray, not a service plan. How do you respond?

Situational · Selling the right service

Strong answer

Asks about the problem and history, explains when a one-time service works and when ongoing prevention makes sense, offers both honestly and respects the choice.

Red flags

Pushes only the plan, or writes off the customer.

During the inspection, you find a moisture problem under the house that's drawing pests, and fixing it isn't something you sell. What do you do?

Situational · Honest findings

Strong answer

Tells the customer plainly, explains that treatment alone won't solve it, suggests what kind of contractor to call, and notes it in the record.

Red flags

Hides it to make the sale.

A customer signs up at their door, then asks what happens if they change their mind tomorrow. What do you tell them?

Situational · Cancellation rights

Strong answer

Explains the cancellation rights in the agreement plainly, including the federal three-day right to cancel a sale made at their home, and shows them how to cancel.

Red flags

Dodges the question or says they're locked in.

Walk me through how you inspect a home before you write a proposal.

Technical · Inspecting before quoting

Strong answer

Talks with the customer, walks the exterior for vegetation, gaps, moisture and wood touching soil, checks kitchens, baths and the garage, notes pest evidence with photos, then builds the proposal.

Red flags

Quotes from the driveway.

Tell me about a time a customer you sold later had a problem with the service, and what you did.

Behavioral · Owning the sale afterward

Strong answer

Followed up personally, got operations involved, kept promises honest, and changed how they set expectations at the sale.

Red flags

Said it was the service team's problem, or never followed up.

Tell me about a time you recommended less than a customer was willing to buy.

Behavioral · Earning trust

Strong answer

The customer didn't need it, they said so, and it built trust or a referral.

Red flags

Can't imagine doing it.

A homeowner turned down a quote last spring because of the price. You're calling them this fall. How do you open the call?

Situational · Reopening a lost lead

Strong answer

Mentions the earlier quote, asks what's going on with pests now, offers something that fits the season, such as a fall rodent service, and accepts a no politely.

Red flags

Launches into a pitch, or leads with a discount before asking anything.

A prospect says they signed with a competitor last month and aren't happy. What do you say?

Situational · Competitor customers

Strong answer

Doesn't run down the competitor, asks what isn't working, explains how your service differs, and reminds them to check their current contract before switching.

Red flags

Bad-mouths the other company or urges them to break their contract.

A lead asks you to stop calling. What do you do?

Situational · Respecting a no

Strong answer

Thanks them, marks them do-not-contact in the CRM right away, and makes sure no one else on the team calls them.

Red flags

Tries one more pitch, or forgets to update the record.

Walk me through how you'd sort a list of [300] lost leads to decide who to call first.

Technical · Working a lost-lead list

Strong answer

Sorts by how recent, the reason lost, the pest and season, service area and past engagement, then calls the warmest first and records outcomes.

Red flags

Calls from the top of the list down.

Tell me about a time you won back a customer or prospect who had said no.

Behavioral · Winning back a no

Strong answer

Explains what changed the customer's mind, how they found out what mattered, and that the customer stayed.

Red flags

Wore them down with repeat calls.

Tell me about a time you noticed a pattern in why customers said no and shared it with your team.

Behavioral · Spotting patterns

Strong answer

Names the pattern, the evidence, who they told, and what changed.

Red flags

Never tracked reasons.

The technician you ride with asks you to mix a sprayer while they talk to the customer. You aren't sure how much product goes in. What do you do?

Situational · Following the label, not a guess

Strong answer

Stops and asks before mixing, or reads the mixing directions on the label with the technician. Says plainly that they won't guess, because the amount is set by the label.

Red flags

Eyeballs the amount, mixes "about what it looked like last time," or stays quiet to avoid looking new.

At morning load-out you find a backpack sprayer hose that's cracked and dripping. The truck leaves in ten minutes. What do you do?

Situational · Equipment readiness

Strong answer

Pulls the sprayer from service, tells the technician or supervisor right away, swaps in a working unit if one is ready, and cleans up the drip the way they were trained.

Red flags

Wraps it in tape and loads it, or says nothing because the truck is about to leave.

A homeowner asks you whether the product the technician is using is dangerous for their cat. You don't know the answer. What do you say?

Situational · Honest answers to customers

Strong answer

Says they don't know and gets the technician to answer. Does not guess or promise that anything is harmless, and makes sure the customer hears the drying and re-entry instructions.

Red flags

Says "it's totally safe" to keep the customer happy, or brushes off the question.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to follow detailed steps exactly, even though a shortcut looked faster.

Behavioral · Following detailed instructions

Strong answer

Gives a real example, names the steps, explains why the steps mattered, and checked the work afterward.

Red flags

Has no example, or tells the story of the shortcut as if it were the smart move.

Tell me about something hands-on you learned quickly at work, school or volunteering, such as a tool, a machine or a new task.

Behavioral · Learning hands-on skills

Strong answer

Describes how they learned: watched first, asked questions, practiced, and asked for feedback until they had it right.

Red flags

Can't name anything, or says they waited for someone to show them again.

Walk me through how you'd make sure pesticide on the truck is stored safely before you pull out of the shop.

Technical · Carrying products safely

Strong answer

Original labeled containers, caps tight, secured upright in the locked compartment, kept away from PPE, food and drinks, with the spill kit on board. Never in a drink bottle or unlabeled jug.

Red flags

Loose containers in the cab, product poured into unlabeled bottles, or no idea why it matters.

Walk me through how you'd handle a German cockroach infestation in an apartment kitchen, from inspection to follow-up.

Technical · Cockroach treatment plan

Strong answer

Inspects harborage with a flashlight and monitors, works with the customer on sanitation and prep, uses baits and a growth regulator, avoids repellent sprays near bait, and schedules follow-ups with monitor counts.

Red flags

Sprays the baseboards once and leaves.

A junior technician keeps getting callbacks on the same ant accounts. How do you handle it?

Situational · Coaching through callbacks

Strong answer

Rides along, checks species identification, product choice and placement, looks for conducive conditions such as moisture, coaches on the spot and tracks the next visits.

Red flags

Takes over those accounts permanently, or tells the technician to spray more.

A customer wants you to use more product than the label allows because the last company "didn't get them all." What do you say?

Situational · Holding to the label

Strong answer

Explains that the label sets the legal limit and more product won't fix the cause, then offers a better inspection, exclusion steps and a follow-up schedule, and notes the conversation.

Red flags

Adds extra product to keep the customer happy.

During a routine visit, you find mud tubes on the foundation that the customer doesn't know about. What do you do?

Situational · Finding termite signs

Strong answer

Documents with photos, explains calmly what they saw, avoids scare tactics, and schedules a full inspection with someone who holds the termite license category.

Red flags

Hard-sells a treatment on the spot, or says nothing.

Tell me about a technician you trained who became strong on their own.

Behavioral · Developing technicians

Strong answer

Describes the training plan, ride-alongs, how they gave feedback and the point where they signed off.

Red flags

Says new people "just need to watch."

Tell me about the toughest infestation you solved and what finally worked.

Behavioral · Solving stubborn problems

Strong answer

Describes the diagnosis, what didn't work and why, the change that did, and how they confirmed it was solved.

Red flags

Credits a stronger product with no diagnosis.

Walk me through what you do on a first general pest service, from parking the truck to leaving the property.

Technical · Running a first service

Strong answer

Talks with the customer, inspects inside and out, identifies the pest, notes conditions like moisture and gaps, explains the plan and prep, treats by the label with PPE, explains drying and re-entry, and documents.

Red flags

Starts spraying before talking to the customer or inspecting.

You arrive for a quarterly service and the customer's dog is loose in the backyard you need to treat. What do you do?

Situational · Pets in the treatment area

Strong answer

Asks the customer to bring the dog in until the product dries. If they can't, treats other areas and reschedules the yard. Never treats around the animal.

Red flags

Treats around the dog, or skips the yard without telling anyone.

Ants are back a week after your last service, and the customer is frustrated. What do you do?

Situational · Diagnosing repeat activity

Strong answer

Re-inspects, identifies the species, follows trails to the source, checks moisture and landscaping, changes the approach if needed, explains it plainly and sets a follow-up.

Red flags

Sprays the same thing again and leaves.

At your last stop of the day, you realize you mixed more product than you can use. What do you do?

Situational · Leftover mix

Strong answer

Never pours it on the ground or down a drain. Applies it only to a labeled site at the label rate, or follows the label's storage and disposal section and company policy, then mixes less next time.

Red flags

Dumps it in a ditch or storm drain.

Tell me about a time you explained safety or prep steps to a worried customer, such as one with small children or pets.

Behavioral · Explaining prep and re-entry

Strong answer

Used plain words and specific steps, such as staying off treated areas until dry, checked that the customer understood, never called the product safe, and the customer felt calmer.

Red flags

Used jargon, brushed off the worry, or promised the product was harmless.

Tell me about a time you caught your own mistake on the job before it became a problem.

Behavioral · Catching your own mistakes

Strong answer

Owns it, fixed it right away, told the right person, and changed a habit.

Red flags

Can't think of one, or hid it.