Next-Level Customer Service

Juan Arroyo is legendary for his customer service. The Massey Services technician, stationed at the company’s Melbourne, Fla., service center, is notorious for his list of residential customers who specifically request him for their scheduled services. Come Christmastime, gifts pour in from the customers who appreciate their technician as much as he appreciates them. Arroyo’s managers describe him as selfless, a team player with an ear-to-ear grin who regularly goes above and beyond in his service to others.

To truly grasp how Arroyo has traveled the extra mile in his dedication to others, take this story from early in his career: Years ago, one of Arroyo’s regular customers was an older woman who spent her days watching television. Arroyo had never entered her home; he always performed his work outside, where the smell of her cigarettes wafted out as she watched her shows. But one day, she asked him to come inside.

“I asked her, ‘Is something wrong with your TV?’ She said, ‘I don’t know,’” Arroyo recalled. “I started checking the TV, and I found there was something wrong with it. So, I finished what I was doing, and I left. A couple hours later, I went and purchased a TV for her, and I came back to her house. She opened the door and said ‘What’s going on?’ and I said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ And I removed the old TV and put the new one in. And to see her expression on her face, it was great.”

Meaningful relationships are what originally drew Arroyo into the pest control industry in 2000, when Massey’s general manager at the time encouraged him to apply for a residential technician position.

“My entire life, I’ve had four jobs; that’s it,” said Arroyo, who celebrated his 21st anniversary with Massey Services in November. Previously, he had worked at a gas station, a movie theater and for Best Buy. But the pest control industry was attractive to him because of its unique customer service opportunities.

“I’m really friendly, so I like to meet people,” he said. Encountering new customers and facing new challenges keeps the job interesting from day to day, and he never knows who he might meet along the way. “Because every single job is different,” he said. “You don’t find the same thing every day.”

During his first month as a technician at Massey Services, Arroyo was recognized for having zero canceled appointments. His first year at the company, he was recognized as Technician of the Year for his region at Massey’s annual awards ceremony. Since then, he has been recognized by the company five more times as technician of the year.

A NEW KIND OF FAMILY. Born in Union de Guadelupe, a small town in Jalisco, Mexico, Arroyo moved to Los Angeles at age 14. He lived there from 1979 until 1993, when he relocated to Melbourne, Fla. He and his wife Maggie have been married for 28 years, and she has also become a fixture at Massey Services.

“She’s really become part of the family,” said Adam Taylor, general manager for Massey Services Melbourne, Fla., region. “She’s at every event we do.”

Arroyo and Maggie don’t have children, but Taylor said that over the years, Arroyo has adopted Massey Services technicians and team members as his own. Taylor experienced that care firsthand when he started at the company as a salesperson eight years ago and Arroyo was his technician.

“Juan’s the type of guy that you could be stuck in Vegas and post something online: car broke down in Vegas. He doesn’t even ask, he’s already driving to you, even though AAA is 10 minutes away,” Taylor said. “And that’s just how he is. He goes out of his way to be compassionate and to care for others. And it’s well beyond his customer base. It’s the whole team.”

Arroyo participates in all the Melbourne service center’s nonprofit charitable events, supporting causes such as helping underprivileged children access sports equipment and hosting food drives for those in need.

ON THE JOB. Arroyo started out as a residential technician, but over the years, he’s trained to become “very ambidextrous,” as Taylor put it. He’s added termite and new construction accounts and heat treatments to his repertoire, typically servicing eight to 12 accounts per day.

“He’s probably one of the most cross-trained individuals in the entire southeast region, if not at the top of the company, as far as all the different capacities he has to provide service,” said Taylor.

Arroyo uses Integrated Pest Management techniques and preventive and non-chemical solutions to eliminate and prevent pests, such as caulking cracks and crevices and pruning branches that act as avenues for pests to enter a home. He uses IDT monitoring devices to track pest activity in between regular visits.

Since he is bilingual, Arroyo also travels to South Florida to assist in service explanations to Spanish-speaking customers.

“No matter where he’s asked to go, what he’s asked to do, he never, ever declines or refuses. And he does it cheerfully,” said Preston Koch, regional manager of Massey’s Southeast Florida region. “I think that truly does separate him, not only from his peers here within the company by and large, but probably across the industry. He is always willing to learn to do something else, and it’s very refreshing.”

CONSISTENT CUSTOMER SERVICE. Building trust is the foundation of Arroyo’s approach to customer service.

“The first time, I like to introduce myself, and I always give them a business card and let them know who I am, so they get comfortable,” he explained. He makes sure to always enter with a smile.

“I think he laughs a lot with his customers,” said Taylor. “Breaking down barriers, however you can do that, he has accomplished it.”

Arroyo’s other key to success is consistency in exceeding expectations on a regular basis, whether that’s taking the time to thoroughly explain a process to a worried customer or putting in the extra effort to know his customers on a personal level, learning more about their families and interests.

Arroyo put it simply: “I always like to go the extra mile, because I like to treat others like I’d like to be treated.”

Added Taylor, “It’s just a lot of small things that have made the difference for him over the years. It really is all those little things. It becomes a million of them, and it adds up.”

After 21 years in the industry and having taken countless technicians under his wing, Arroyo has some advice for technicians who are striving for excellence.

“Be on time, and try to fix the problem the first time,” he said. “Of course, it doesn’t happen all the time, but they think the world of you when you can fix it the first time. And give them the right information. Sometimes, you have to educate the customer about what we do and the process it will take so they don’t expect everything to be done at one time. And they’re happy when you educate them, because then they know what to expect. No surprises.”

The author is senior editor of PCT magazine.