SUBTERRANEAN SUICIDE BOMBERS

After retiring, many of us plan to travel or spend time with family or maybe even take up those hobbies we were too busy to embark on while working. We don't, however, plan on exploding with deadly toxins. Welcome to the life of the Neocapriterme taracua subterranean termite.

While studying these termites in French Guiana, Jan Sobotnik of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Thomas Bourguignon of the Free University of Brussels in Belgium discovered some of the termites had pale blue spots on their abdomens. Even stranger, when picked up, a bubble exploded from their backs. Further examination showed that the jaws of the blue spotted termites were not as sharp as the others, signifying their advanced age.

The researchers then mixed older and younger termites of this species with several other termite species. When the older, spotted termites could no longer fight and instead released a toxic bubble from their backs that paralyzed and killed any other termites that touched it. The older termites would take on a defensive role while the younger workers escaped. With no other choice, younger, unspotted workers would also explode but released a far less toxic material – five times less – than the older workers. Also, the younger workers seemed far more reluctant to self-destruct. Researchers have speculated that this is because their sacrifice would be a larger waste to the colony than the older workers. Older termites are less effective at foraging for food, or can no longer forage at all. However, acting as defensive toxic fighters still allows them to be of some use to the colony.

Under magnification, the abdominal spots appear to be crystals encased in pouches that sit on top of the salivary gland. Robert Hanus also of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic says, "When the pouch bursts, it's the mix of crystals, saliva, and haemolymph – a liquid similar to blood – that makes the resulting liquid so toxic..."

CUSTOMER EXPECTATION AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

When I was running my route, I can remember one particular pest customer whose account I had just taken over. She had left her old company because she was unhappy with them, so a sales person had sold her our service, and another technician did the initial treatment. When I went back out two months later, I introduced myself and asked if there were any issues. She told me she had seen three earwigs in the bathtub. My thought was that the service was working well if that was the only activity; however, after a moment of speaking with her, I realized three earwigs in two months was unacceptable; she expected never to see any activity. This scenario could possibly have been avoided if the previous technician had set the expectation that the materials pest companies use severely limit the population of insects on the property, but do not necessarily eliminate everything that moves. She should have been prepared to to see an occasional insect instead of receiving this information after the fact, which made it sound like an excuse instead of the truth.

I have found this is the same with new sales. Before I would perform an initial service, I always let the customer know that since this was the first time he was having service he might see an increase in activity over the next few weeks before the activity subsided, as the materials sometimes push insects out of their hiding places before taking effect. So now in the customer's mind, if he saw an increase in activity, he wouldn't think, "Why am I paying for this service if it isn't working?" Instead, he would be expecting it if it happened and not think anything of it. This is setting customer expectations.

There is a psychological principle George Colombo, an authority on the use of technology in sales, calls the "Delta Principle." This principle states that the quality of your customer's experience is not a direct result of the objective quality of your products or services. Instead, customer satisfaction is more a function of how closely your customers' experiences with your business conform with their expectations. You can have the greatest product or service in the world, but if it does not meet the expectations of customers, their experience can be a negative one.

There are three elements to delivering great customer service in regards to expectation:

1) Effectively setting expectations for customers' experiences

2) Understanding all of the expectations your customers bring to their transactions

3) Delivering on your customers' expectations explicitly

The first step is asking good questions. In the beginning scenario with the customer who transferred from another company, the initial technician could simply have asked, "Why were you unhappy with your previous company?" This is a simple question that would not only have given insight into why she was unhappy but also her concerns. Finding out what a customer expects is only a part of asking good questions. You also want to learn what their concerns are so you can address them specifically in your sales presentation and with the service you provide. You would not want to spend time discussing how effective the treatment is for spiders if the customer only cares about ants.

Before and after you perform a service, especially an initial service, let the customer know what to expect. Do not let his mind fill in the blanks; otherwise he may expect something completely different than what will actually happen. This is also important for in-between service calls. For instance, if the customer called for ants inside, and I found ants going up the foundation outside, I would treat the ants from the outside and clean up the ants inside the house. I would then let the customer know what I found, what I did and that the ants may take up to a week before being completely gone because of how the material works. I would let him know most likely the ants would be gone in the next day or two but not to be surprised if he saw stragglers for the next week. Then if there were some ants two days after my treatment, the homeowner wouldn't be surprised and disappointed with the service. He would expect it because I told him what to expect. Furthermore, I always give customers an option in case the problem persists beyond the expected time. I say, "If you are still having ants after a week, please call me back out again." Not only does the customer know what to expect, but if there are further issues, he can call me back out. At no time is he left wondering what to do or expect. I have set the expectation in line with what his experience should be.

Always remember when possible to under promise and over deliver. That principle will always create the best experience for your customers.