— Interview with Jason Logan —
R&R: Where are you based and how long has the company been in the business?
Jason Logan, Rentokil
Jason Logan: Rentokil, a leading provider of commercial and residential pest control services, makes its North American headquarter home in Reading, Pennsylvania. We are part of Rentokil Initial, a business services company that has been in business since 1925.
R&R: What is your title and how long have you been with the company?
Logan: I’m the vice president – national accounts, North America, and I’ve been with Rentokil and its family of brands for over 15 years.
R&R: What trades/services do you offer?
Logan: Our family of brands can provide several services and innovations to retailers and restaurants. We have a wide variety of pest control services including integrated pest management, remote digital monitoring for rodents with our proprietary PestConnect system, integrated bird management and more. Our sister companies also offer services that can help restaurants enhance their customer and brand experiences. Ambius provides interior landscaping, air purification and premium scenting or odor remediation in the back of the house. Steritech offers a range of third-party assessment services including food safety, workplace safety and operational excellence.
R&R: Do you operate nationwide?
Logan: We operate across North America, in both the U.S. and Canada, and are proud to serve many world-renowned brands.
R&R: What makes your company’s ‘signature service’ stand out?
Logan: We are committed to providing world-class service to our customers. That service is built on a foundation of innovation. Rentokil began in 1925 with an innovation, and we continue that tradition today, nearly 100 years later. Whether it’s our online customer portal and data management system, PestNetOnline, our connected pest control devices such as PestConnect, our market-leading Lumnia LED insect light traps, or our air purification and premium scenting services, we’re here to help our customers solve their most challenging problems.
R&R: What kind of feedback do you receive from clients?
Logan: We proactively conduct customer satisfaction surveys to ensure that our customers are happy. Each month, we randomly select customers from across our client base, ensuring that both the largest national clients and local customers have an opportunity to provide feedback.
R&R: Why should owners/operators choose your company to be their next vendor partner?
Logan: Because we are exactly that! Rentokil looks to be a partner, not just a vendor, working with our customers to provide solutions, products and data that protect and enhance their brand.
R&R: How many retail/restaurant clients do you have and is that sector growing for you?
Logan: We have a base of more than 60,000 customer locations that span a wide variety of industry segments, from retail and restaurants to food processing, manufacturing, multifamily properties, healthcare and more. This includes local businesses as well as large, multinational chains.
As 2021 has evolved, and with it many challenges for the restaurant and retail industries, we have seen an increase in demand for services that help to enhance colleague retention and customer experience. That obviously includes pest control, but we have seen a lot of growth in our air purification, premium scenting and food safety assessment services this year as customers look to have an edge over their competitors.
R&R: What trends are you seeing in the industry and how do you predict 2022 to shape up?
Logan: All signs point to two major themes remaining dominant in 2022. First, a continued focus on staff retention and hiring, and ways to fill the gaps left by the Great Resignation. The second is the heightened awareness around healthy spaces and hygiene, both from customer and employee perspectives.
R&R: How did your company keep clients engaged and their facilities maintained during COVID? How did your company navigate most client facilities being closed during spring 2020?
Logan: Pests can thrive, even when humanity slows down. While many businesses were closed during the pandemic, their property, goods and reputation were still at risk from pests. In fact, when locations are closed for long periods of time, pests can flourish in spaces where there is a lack of movement and activity. We worked with many customers to increase services during the pandemic to protect their businesses from these pest increases.
Our data indicate that rodent issues, in particular, increased in 2020 — food industries saw year-over-year increases in some months as high as 15% — and because of that, we’re seeing big upticks in requests for service in 2021 as businesses begin a slow return to normal.
R&R: In light of a very tumultuous 2 years, what trends are you seeing in the industry now? What is your advice for FM vendors reacting to this post-COVID climate?
Logan: With the continued emergence of COVID variants, I believe that we’ll continue to be in a state of flux for some time. Depending on what geographic area or the state you are in, you may be seeing different trends emerge, as well. And of course, nearly every industry has been hit with supply chain shortages that are affecting both operations and the customer experience.
This means we’ll see variations in how individual businesses choose to move forward. Whether that’s a focus on off-premise dining, trimming store hours or diving into creating a more robust customer and employee experience in other ways, I think we’ll find that retail and restaurant businesses are some of the most resilient.
We have seen that customers and employees have a different mindset now when it comes to shopping and dining, and where they consider “safe spaces” to do so. I see businesses wanting to do everything they can to be on the right side of their employees and customers, making decisions in order to positively impact the customer experience and retain staff.
R&R: What predictions do you have — for your company, your industry or both — in 2022? Are things finally looking up?
Logan: I am not one for making predictions, but pest control is and was essential to protecting the health and wellness of our businesses and communities prior to, during and as we emerge from the pandemic. At Rentokil, we will continue to focus on our mission — Protecting People, Enhancing Lives — to provide world-class service and innovate new technologies.
— Jason Logan is vice president – national accounts, North America, of Rentokil. This Q&A originally was published in the December 2021/January 2022 issue of Retail & Restaurant Facility Business magazine. For more information in having your company profiled in a future Signature Vendor Spotlight, please contact Scott Royal at [email protected].