I called Steve late last Summer because a bat flew into my upstairs bathroom at 3 in the morning. He arrived a few hours later and removed the bat. Then next day, he and his assistant sealed the attic all around the exterior of the house and installed two one-way bat doors. At that time, Steve said he would be back in early October to remove the bat doors. In fact, he never came back to do that until the following Spring. By the way, at his request, I paid him almost one thousand dollars for the above service, in cash, no questions asked.
Fast forward to August 2020 - one year later - and another bat came into my house. I called Steve. Because he had sealed the attic the Summer before, I believed the bat could have come in via my basement. He said that wasn't likely. I asked if he would come by and check out the basement as the bat may have entered my home via the vent in my living room. He said he was backlogged and couldn't come by for at least a week; that he lost his assistant; and that I should call my furnace company. He seemed annoyed and inconvenienced that I was calling him, at all.
I immediately contacted another small, family-owned pest control company and was given an appointment. The person I spoke with was kind, welcomed my call, and took the time to let me know he understood my fear. He also explained that if there is a bat colony in a wall space, it often happens that a bat will inadvertently leave the colony, and enter the living space via an unfinished basement. Why didn't Steve seem to know this? Most importantly, I wasn't treated like an inconvenience, especially at a moment when I was terrified about the prospect of a bat colony in my house.