Abell Pest Control

A Nightmare Experience: Treated Like a Dollar Sign During the extremely traumatic event of dealing with bed bugs, we felt we were treated merely as a dollar sign, not as real customers. To start, we called to book an appointment for an inspection and assessment of our bed bug problem on a Friday, but the company couldn't schedule the visit until Monday. It is ridiculous that in an incident involving pests, which can completely uproot your life, the company was unavailable on a weekend. So, we had to wait. We were, however, given a detailed breakdown of what would happen during the assessment, along with a quote detailing the steps for treatment if an infestation was confirmed. We were told that the entire house would be inspected, and that treatment would include steaming, vacuuming, spraying baseboards, foaming outlets, and so on. We were given a timeframe between 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM. We took the day off work to be home. The call cancelling the appointment came at 1:15 PM, DURING the scheduled window, informing us that the technician was sick and wouldn’t be coming. We were then told the technician would now come Tuesday, forcing us to take another day off work. Last Tuesday, the technician showed up and immediately started complaining about the company, criticizing how they handled her sick day. She told us they were "idiots" and didn't know how to do anything. She gave us her card and INSISTED we only call her, never the company, because they were “useless.” She then asked us to detail what we had done and criticized us, saying we were "not smart" for sleeping on the couch. This comment genuinely scared us into believing we had caused a wider infestation. At a time when a company should be calming and reassuring, she did the complete opposite. She then performed the assessment. Unlike what we were promised, she only inspected the bedroom for a total of five minutes. She never looked anywhere other than the bed and never checked the outlets, baseboards, or floorboards. She simply kept saying that because our mattress was dark, she couldn’t see anything, essentially telling us that we shouldn’t own a dark mattress, and that this was the reason she couldn't perform her job. She then told us that for the actual treatment, she would only spray the baseboards and perhaps the mattress and the couch, claiming "steaming and vacuuming doesn’t do anything, [it’s a] waste of time." Despite this drastic reduction in service, the cost remained exactly what we were originally quoted, over $1,000, for half the work. Feeling pressured, we booked the service anyway. However, we immediately called the technician back to confirm what she would be doing, and she reiterated it was only half the job, not the whole house. The next day, after reflecting on the whole experience, we were extremely uncomfortable with the technician returning to our house. We called the company to confirm the scope of the service, what we were truly paying for, and to see if a different technician could be assigned. We were told someone who could actually answer our question would call us back, but hours passed with no response. With our appointment scheduled for the following day, we grew worried we wouldn't get a clear answer. We called three more times and were repeatedly told someone would be in touch. Instead of waiting, we cancelled the appointment and immediately found another company who made us feel comfortable. We felt that the company’s sole goal was to take advantage of us and get our money, completely disregarding the traumatic nature of the situation. We urge others to STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY. They overcharge and show no concern for the customer. Ultimately, we got our bed bugs taken care of for half the cost, and the successful company treated the entire house as promised.

Disorganized and Unprofessional I hired Abell to remove a wasp’s nest from our house. An appointment was made promptly, and I paid the inspection fee. The technician arrived just as it started raining, and let me know that the job required another technician and that they don’t work in the rain, so I would be rescheduled. A couple of hours later, the booking line called and tentatively rescheduled us for the next week, but said she would call to confirm availability. By next week, I had still not had a confirmation, and then began the many calls I put in to try and get a rescheduled appointment. Eventually I was referred to a local Calgary person, Shirley, who was not able to help me, but asked that I forward my email Service Ticket and she would get back to me. She did not. The only person who ever did get back to me was the original technician, who assured me the manager, Mike, would be calling me. After talking to her a third time, I can only conclude that I paid $131 for a frustrating game of leaving messages, and I should hire another company if I wanted our wasps’ nest removed. Save yourself three weeks of wasted time and the “inspection fee,” and avoid this company.