Arrow Exterminating Co., Inc. Serving Long Island NY since 1947
Please Call: 631-654-0110 or 516-593-7770

 

Arrow Exterminating Co., Inc. has been around since 1947, taking care of our valued customers every year. We are always ready to help and provide you with an absolutely free estimate when necessary. Call us anytime for a free phone consultation.
Bernard Stegman, Longtime Education Advocate

The year was 1947 and Bernard Stegman, a former Army aircraft officer and recent graduate from New York City College, was faced with an important career decision. Stegman had a degree in mechanical engineering but, by his own admission, the field did not appeal to him. Instead, he turned to his friend, John Medoff, who recommended he join his company, Hudson Exterminating Co., and learn the business. Once he was properly trained, he could open his own pest control business.

"When spring came along," recalled Stegman, "John said, 'Look, now is the time to get out there and learn the ropes. He practically booted me out, but not before loading me up with everything I'd need to start my own business. John sold me on the idea of entering the pest control field. He said it was a Depression-proof business. Having lived through the Depression and seeing my family suffer because of it, pest control appealed to me."

What Stegman began that fateful spring day was a remarkable career in pest control. The crowning achievement of his 51-year career has been the integral role he played in the formation of the Long Island Pest Control Association (LIPCA) and his pioneering work in establishing the association's educational programs.

"Bernard is the father of the industry on Long Island," says Walter Schroeder, LIPCA executive secretary. "He has always been willing to share any information he has with anyone to solve a pest control problem."

Medoff, a lifelong friend, says, "The thing that has made him such a success has been his dedication to his profession. Often, at some risk, he would take on a pest control problem that others would shy away from, but he believed in taking care of his customers. From the beginning, Bernard was always accessible. His customers had his home phone number. They had confidence in him."

Stegman says, "Our business philosophy is simple: training, education, and supervision are extremely important." Behind that philosophy, however, was Stegman's early and continuing passion to learn everything he could about pest control, but it wasn't always easy.
An appetite for learning

Following his initial introduction to the business, Stegman took as many short courses and seminars as were available at Rutgers University, but he soon discovered that Long Island's institutions of higher learning offered little in the way of structural pest control education. "They didn't want to know we were alive."

Stegman compensated by every means possible. He joined the National Pest Control Association and quickly developed a relationship with Phil Spear, the highly regarded technical director of the association. "I used to bother the life out of him, asking lots of questions, but he was always patient and helpful," Stegman recalls. "I couldn't wait for the NPCA Technical Reports to come out. I lived for them. I devoured them."

It was obvious to Stegman, who by this time had a rapidly growing business thanks to the housing boom on Long Island following World War II, that something had to be done to fill the gap in both education and industry organization.

With three other PCO's, Stegman founded the Long Island Pest Control Association. "It started off as a very small thing, very informal. Finally, we incorporated." Nearly 38 years later, LIPCA is still going strong. After serving as its president, Stegman took on the task of chairman of its Education Committee, a post he still holds today. "Then, one day, (consultant) Dr. Austin Frishman arrived. It was a very important development for the association and an emotional day for me. It was our first annual education seminar." Out of those first seminars LIPCA's monthly seminars developed. The seminars have proven invaluable to those entering the profession on Long Island.

Stegman's belief in education carries over to his own firm, Arrow Exterminating Co., Inc., which numbers about 100 employees, including his wife, Irene, and daughters, Debby and Jackie. "Our initial training consists of 200 hours of classroom work," Stegman says. "We stress safety as well as how to deal with pests that technicians are likely to encounter."

"All this training is done by our in-house director of training, a graduate entomologist. We have also acquired an extensive videotape library and find that we can also count on our suppliers for much assistance. Both the new technicians and the experienced ones attend monthly half-day seminars conducted by supplier representatives, association members and consultants.
Innovative quality control

Arrow Exterminating Co., Inc. also fosters the concept of "quality circles" in which employees are divided into groups. "Some are service people who work in the same areas. Some are specialists. Some are termite technicians and some are people working in the office," Stegman says. "Each quality circle has a supervisor whose job it is to listen and help solve various problems. His role is to serve as a friend and advisor, not a boss.

"With this system, we find there is usually an easy flow of communication and it expedites assistance to the technician and, therefore, to the customer. In 60 years of business, we've learned that the quality of the people who work here determines the quality of the company."