Antoine Abdel Sater Managing Director- KSA, Boecker Public Health Saudia

For pest management professionals, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an unexpected turn in the way they look at the business as a whole. The unprecedented change in 2020 has led to many new strategies and programs or dusting off the old ones and relooking at them in the ‘new normal’. CM today spoke to Antoine Abdel Sater, Managing Director- KSA, Boecker Public Health Saudia, to understand how they have redefined their strategies this year.

How important is it for companies to redefine their programmes to suit the 'new normal? What are some of the consumer expectations now and how has that helped you redefine the experience for everyone?

Companies nowadays are putting all the needed efforts to bring their business back into a market where economies are still reeling. Those efforts might depict new strategies and re-engineered processes to suit the lifestyle that occurred after COVID-19. Doing so might ensure a speedy recovery and target new niches while becoming more ready to confront the challenges and opportunities of the next new normal. There is no doubt that consumer expectations after COVID-19 have drastically changed; consumers tend to choose a back-to-basics approach from businesses with an increased focus on transparency, online channels, and reliability of delivery. At Boecker®, we aim at keeping all our clients 'extremely satisfied'. We are upscaling and growing our digital customer service capabilities to meet market expectations while delivering World Class services using safe and environmentally friendly systems and sophisticated technologies.

What are some of the key lessons learned in the way you have approached Pest Control during the pandemic?

During any pandemic, pest control schedules should be maintained inside all the closed accounts to cover at least the hot spot areas along with any other critical ones where pests tend to hide and breed. Pest control is an essential requirement that should be never stopped as this will be for the pests’ advantages. They will easily find a perfect harbourage to shelter wherever food and water are available.

Taking the needed actions to keep the client’s premises pest-free during the lockdown will reduce the fact of having new pest problems once the lockdown is lifted and business operations are resumed.

In addition to that, controlling pests can also help in preventing the transmission and spread of diseases.

What specific strategies and programmes are implemented by Boecker (i.e., personal protection, training, content deployment, mobility, etc.)?

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unusual circumstances not just for people, but for companies as well. Boecker® was fully ready to deal with all the encountered challenges of COVID-19 because of its well-established Germ Control department that was providing regular training and updates on the Coronavirus directly from the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We also provided our field professionals with high-end protective overalls to reduce any possible risk while they are on-the-job. Dedicated technical and onsite training, have been conveyed to all the internal and external stakeholders. Resources were reallocated inside different cities of the same country to cover a wide range of clients, and new work orders were handled within a couple of hours thanks to the tailor-made dispatching plan.