Newsmakers: The Handy Man Can
Coming from a background in home repair, Watch All's Steve Certa has shown the pest management industry the meaning of IPM
In the early 1980s, when Watch All Pest Management of Weymouth, Mass., was still a new company, still developing a name for itself, president and co-owner Steve Certa got a call from a restaurant owner pulling out his hair from a major skunk problem
The problem that spraying and setting traps couldn't solve was that the restaurant was constructed in the 1800s in a historic town near Boston, built on top of a bunch of rocks that allowed wildlife to crawl beneath the building. "We made the integrated pest management (IPM) suggestion — and figured the guy would throw us out of the building — of lifting the building up and putting in a whole new foundation beneath it to block the animals from going in," Certa says. "I was shocked when he looked at us and said, 'Okay, do it.'" TEACHER TURNED TECHNICIAN Certa never expected to find a career in pest control. Until 1980, he worked as an industrial arts teacher in the Scituate (Mass.) school system — with a side business in home repair with fellow teacher Peter Comrack to supplement his income — when budget cuts forced the two out of their teaching jobs. "It was almost a blessing for me because it forced me to leave teaching and start my own business," Certa says. "I would have liked to have done that, but I was 30 years old with a spouse and a two-year-old daughter, and no spouse in their right mind would say, 'Sure, leave a secure job and good benefits to go out on your own.' So when I look back on it, I'm really glad it happened." In the course of repairing and remodeling customers' homes, Certa naturally ran into a host of pest problems (especially with termites) that the homeowners didn't know were there. "We ended up calling a local (at that time) exterminator to do the job," Certa says. "Seeing what they were doing, and what they were charging, I realized we were actually doing more pest control with IPM — through repairing and changing the conditions that led to pest problems — than they were. "We didn't know what the words 'integrated pest management' meant at the time, but when we think about structural integrated pest management, that's exactly what I studied: knowing how something is put together, how the materials work with other materials, production and communication. It all goes together." A SOLID START The first few years were rough on the newly formed Watch All Pest Management. Not only was the company new and trying to get its name established, but Certa was selling a brand new idea of pest management service. "We were going in with a flashlight and a clipboard, and they were expecting to see us with a silver can," Certa says. "We were also trying to charge more money, so it was very tough making people understand what we were doing at first." Certa and Comrack put in long hours each day, literally changing their work shirts as they went from a repair job to a call about carpenter ants
Without any support staff, Certa would check messages and call back potential customers from the road. It would take two years before they added their first full-time employee to their staff to handle some of the clerical work.
As Certa built up the pest control end of Watch All's business, he saw that the market in Boston was a very profitable, yet very seasonal, one.
"Peter and I would cash in our life insurance policies to pay our employees' salaries in the winter when business was slow," Certa says.
Certa realized the company needed to focus on the commercial market to make it through the long cold season. That approach kept Certa's and Comrack's life insurance policies intact, as the company has grown to 55 full-time employees (including 38 technicians) with 70 percent of the business coming from commercial accounts such as restaurants, office buildings, hospitals and multifamily housing.
On top of that, Watch All has sustained growth of about 13 percent in annual revenue for the past five to six years. With that kind of success, in the past couple of years Certa finally has been able to do something he wasn't able to for more than 20 years: Take a vacation.
"That was one of my personal goals five years ago — to actually take a vacation," Certa says. "I had to work at it. The first vacation was four days, the next year five days and now seven days. That was a major accomplishment."
TEAM APPROACH
One of the reasons Watch All has succeeded is the ability of Certa and Comrack to work together as a team, which they've been doing longer than many marriages last.
"What has helped is that we both have the same kind of work ethic," Certa says. "From the beginning, we identified our roles and never overstepped each other's responsibilities."
Certa is the face of the company, and handles the checkbook and other management duties. He's also made it a point to be active locally. He plays a large role in several community organizations, including the South Shore Women's Business Network, Hingham Symphony Orchestra and the Weymouth (Mass.) Rotary Club. (See Pest Control's March 2006 Hometown Heroes on Certa's visit to Guatemala City with his local Rotary Club.)
Comrack, meanwhile, works behind the scenes, on job sites, working with customers and overseeing construction.
"Steve's outgoing, hardworking, generous and has a good sense of humor. He's really dedicated to the company," Comrack says. "We've been working together for 30 years, and for some reason it just works. Most of the time, we're doing something different, which keeps everything fresh."
THE RIGHT THING TO DO
Though Watch All is divided into several divisions — pest control, structural repair, termite control, lawn care and bird control — the company employs universal technicians. Just as Certa first entered the pest control market through home repair, technicians are trained to make structural modifications and sanitation suggestions and outline procedural changes that will prevent many pest problems from occurring in the first place. (Though there are certain divisions, such as the company's Sentricon technicians, where employees have to specialize.)
"We don't like to work at night. We'd rather be there when things are operational, talking to the people who see the problems and raising concerns," Certa says. "That's the idea behind IPM and using fewer chemicals. Still, I have to say, we could have made more money quicker if we worked at night at first."
While the company does not preclude spraying pesticides to deal with some pest problems, technicians spend the majority of their time inspecting, filling out forms, logging reports and speaking to clients about conditions that need to be corrected.
"Everyone says they're doing IPM, but they just go out and spray like they always did. They're diluting the term," Certa says. "They're going around with 4-gallon tanks, and we're carrying around cases and cases of glue boards, snap traps and foam."
This kind of approach to pest management doesn't come from a deep-seated conviction against pesticides. Rather, Certa says it's just common sense.
"It's the right thing to do. Our technicians, our clients — they don't need any additional exposure to pesticides when looking at the problem as a whole and making those structural changes that are needed will achieve a better result," he says.
"That's how we do business. It's about being honest and doing the best job possible. You have to enjoy what you are doing, and have to want to get up in the morning to do it."
Steve Certa on:
Family Background: Oldest of four children, parents emigrated from Italy. "We have a strong Italian pride in my family. My parents spoke Italian in the home, but they came to America to become Americans and insisted that I speak English."
Favorite Food: Italian (naturally)
Family Tradition: Getting friends and family all together for wine-making
Personal Goal: To take a two-week vacation in Italy within the next five years
Hobby: Gardening with wife Paula
College: State University of New York (SUNY) – Oswego, N.Y.
College Job: Installing swimming pools. "It taught me a lot about the service industry: dealing with customers, taking on a job, seeing it through to completion, billing for the job and getting paid for it."
What He Likes Best About the Pest Management Industry: "It makes sense. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to do it."
Industry Involvement: National Pest Management Association (NPMA) regional director 1997-2000; New England Pest Management Association president 1988-1990; Representative to the Green Industrial Council and Alliance 1989-present
Where the Name Watch All Came From?: "It shows that the company is not about myself, my name, but our approach to pest control — that we look at the structure as a whole."
