How Malang Pest Control Uses FieldRoutes to Drive Value for Customers

Jeff Simmons' goal as owner of Malang Pest Control in California is to serve customers relentlessly.

"They're parting with their hard-earned money," Simmons says. "We must deliver the value."

New customers receive thank-you cards. Malang customers have Simmons' ear. Simmons will occasionally check behind his technicians' work. And to go with Malang's promise of bug-free homes in the Irvine area come offers to make things right if necessary.

"Yeah, it's a headache," he says of re-treatments, "but it is just part of the business."

Another part of the business was Simmons finding the right software partner to help Malang seamlessly serve those customers, from sale to appointment to tech visit to payment. Simmons can speak from experience having implemented a small handful of platforms, but he’s finally found the one that can drive the best value for Malang customers.

"It definitely is a game-changer,” he says of his CRM system that has streamlined operations and automated processes. “My revenues have gone up because of how easy it is. I went through several softwares before this one. 

“They all worked, but they weren't revolutionary like FieldRoutes."

Good things come in threes

Malang Pest Control opened in 2009, as the Great Recession was beginning to ease and a long recovery was about to begin. Relying heavily on door-to-door sales, Malang reached about $900,000 in revenue in 2024. If the company is able to achieve revenue growth of 30-40% in 2025, as Simmons expects, Malang will surpass the million-dollar milestone.

"This is a mom-and-pop business," Simmons says. "I have to really watch what I spend. I tend to spend a lot on my labor costs more than other companies. I've just paid my technicians well."

Simmons considers three elements, in particular, of FieldRoutes^® software essential in automating and optimizing Malang’s operations. These features have helped his 16-year-old company not only generate more revenue but deliver high-quality service and enhance customer satisfaction in Orange County.

Digital agreements: Companies can send electronic service agreements via desktop and or the FieldRoutes^® Mobile app, which provides a technician all of the features and functions they need to stay productive and connected. A sales rep or technician can secure a signature from a customer, get a debit or credit card on file for automatic payments, and schedule a first appointment, all on their own in the field.

While Malang Pest Control worked with another software provider, a sales rep told Simmons about FieldRoutes’ capabilities to assist the door-to-door strategy and grow the business.

"Wow, that is genius," Simmons says of learning a better way. "Like a Docusign built into the software. That's insane. That is going to make life so much easier."

Text messaging: Text message features allow customers to communicate with Malang via SMS and receive instant responses to their inquiries.  

FieldRoutes software enables companies to establish multiple, automated ways to communicate with customers, not only via text but email and voice, too. That means notifications such as appointment reminders, technician arrival, service summaries, billing, payment reminders, and more that create new efficiencies for a pest control company and set clear expectations for a customer.

"Customers want this. They want communication," Simmons says. "They want to be able to just drop a text. They don't want to be stuck on hold on the phone or waiting to be called back. They prefer instant communication with text messaging." 

Customer portal: Customers of a pest control company using FieldRoutes can log in to their account, view their information, and make payments at their convenience in a self-service online portal. Customers can also view information about their service, see products used, pay invoices, add or remove payment methods, leave a review, and update account preferences such as reminders.

"They want to have a nice portal where they can log in and make a payment and see their account,” Simmons says. “The way that the billing is set up on FieldRoutes, the customer can understand it much better."

Not to mention, AutoPay capabilities, available when a customer signs up or later through the portal, limit manual effort needed on behalf of the customer, helping companies get paid faster and deal with fewer collection challenges while delivering yet another convenience for customers.

"AutoPay is so easy to do,” Simmons says. “You can send them the link, and so that's less checks that you have to manually enter. The majority of my new clients, it's almost expected that they're going to set up AutoPay, and that's how a lot of services have gone. Most customers are more inclined to do AutoPay."

‘The best there is’

Simmons hasn’t looked back since switching to FieldRoutes in 2019.

"It's the best there is,” he says. “Why have something second-best when you can have the most advanced software that basically the whole industry is starting to move toward?"

In fact, he’ll ask other company leaders about their software provider, and sometimes their answers will surprise him.

"You guys aren't using FieldRoutes yet? Really?" he'll say in response to them.

Then he adds: "It's not a hard decision, right?"

If you’re ready to consider a change in how you’re operating your business and serving your customers, you’re just one click away.

"Get a demo,” Simmons says, “and I promise you, you're going to be ready for your data conversion to FieldRoutes."

WHAT HE’S SAYING

Jeff Simmons, owner of Malang Pest Control, on FieldRoutes software and other features:

• "This is running your business. It's reliable. It's the most advanced."

• "You put scheduling together, and it's sending out the customer's reminders two days before and it just flows."

• "FieldRoutes has so many things in here, like the Intelligent Routing. I just go to the map, and I circle and drop and put the routes together each month."

• "The nice thing about FieldRoutes is they're able to add plug-ins if you bring another vendor in." 

• "The software is very functional on an iPad. I don't have to carry a big laptop if I travel. When I'm out in the field, it's amazing. I can be in the field, checking on technicians and maybe even slinging on a few accounts, knocking a residential neighborhood that's new or under construction. I save time with that. I have everything right at my fingertips.”

• "The support's there. I don't have to worry about a company that doesn't have support behind their product."

• "I have to deliver the value. You guys are delivering the value hands down."

MALANG PEST CONTROL

• Location: Irvine, CA

• Year opened: 2009

• Owner: Jeff Simmons

• Technicians: 3

• Website: MalangPestControl.com