I worked for Moxie Pest Control. I have no hard feelings, and have many friends that still work there (until they find new jobs). I simply wish to warn others.
The Pest Control industry has never been known as a haven for honest, upright companies... And Moxie Pest Control is no exception.in fact, Moxie Pest Control seems to display some of the more detestable qualities present in the industry.
First, one would do well to look at Moxie's employment records at www.pestboard.ca. Gov. You will see that nearly all of Moxie's employees have an "RA" or registered applicator's license, the lowest license available in California. Moxie prefers to hire first-time pest control employees, and indoctrinate them with false information. This, along with Moxie's deceptive pay promises, leads to its huge turnover rate which is indicated by the huge list of "RA" employees on the website. (The majority of the 'FR" employees are salesman that go door to door during the summer.)
I will attempt to briefly explain Moxie's compensation. Salesmen are promised the best pay in the industry per contract. However, according to a current Moxie manager (name omitted for his protection) the pay analysis is inaccurate as it takes Initial Service Prices that are rarely charged. Moxie salesman typically offer initial services for 35 or even less. This "huge discount" is used by nearly all pest control companies to win business. Certainly this is less than honest, but likely forgivable.
For Technicians, the situation is worse. Techs are promised $2500 per month, told they will be a salary employee, and are exposed to other "Techs" (usually the Head Technician) who claim they work 5 days per week for about 5-7 hours per day. When reality sets in, the new technician will find himself working 6 days per week, usually working over 60 hours, and as much as 68 hours in the summer. (At $2500/month, 40 hours=$15.63/hr. 68 hours=Less than $8/hr. One can see how good pay quickly becomes mediocre.) At first, Techs are willing to work long hours, as they are under the impression that their base rate is $2500, and they are making overtime on top. However, they will be stunned when they find their paycheck is still $2500, and that they are not salary employees, but rather hourly, and paid less than $8/hr to boot.
Both Dave (Corona Office) and Jason (Company founder) will deny these allegations, I know them both very well. They are both well-read in sales tactics, and their favorite is silence, wherein they will stare you in the face until you say something. (According to several books this indicates the weaker party in the discussion, and opens the door for the silent party to negotiate in his favor). Expect a lot of silent moments as they are always trying to sell their employees on something, whether it is diluting pesticides past their effective levels or always saying "yes" to customers even if it means lying. This is an irritant to many employees, both salesman and technicians alike.in fact, many of the Corona employees refer to their boss as "Shady Dave" behind his back.
Lastly, this is not an isolated problem. Jason has been using this same type of compensation scheme since he started the company in Texas. And because of his supposed religious affiliation, he has heavily recruited members of his own claimed faith to work for him. Naturally, these individuals feel a religious bond with him, and therefore feel (falsely so) that they can trust him. The number of employees defrauded at this point is likely in the hundreds, not to mention the thousands of customers that are cheated.
One would do well not to work for, or do business with, Moxie Pest Control.
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