Right Way Animal Control

Don’t bother calling this company. They are quick to take your money and will stop taking your calls. Chris doesn’t show up on time for appointments (with lame excuses at how his car broke down), his work is absolutely atrocious (he actually destroyed the area he was working on where I had to hire another contractor do repaint/​redo everything), and is extremely pushy with immediate payment, even though he did not finish the job. A few years ago when Chris was working with Kyle, I think the business was much better, probably because Kyle is really the one who knows how to do the work. Since Kyle no longer works with him, everything has just gone downhill. Move on, hire someone else to d your job.

THIS IS WHY Unilocal EXISTS. This contractor is not to be trusted. Christophor Chris Steffey, aka Critter Chris, Animal control solution or whatever name, company, or phone he will use, it will go missing right after you gave him your money. All the lines are disconnected, doesn’t answer any emails or text, just took the money and left without finishing the job. Not even talking about the missed appointment, lateness, and sloppy job.

Best not to call these folks. Their work was shoddy and I didn’t realize how bad it was until after I paid them $ 450 to get rid of some raccoons under my house. The raccoons came right back because they failed to seal all the openings and now they won’t come back to re-​do the work! To add insult to injury, the attitude of the person on the phone was extremely rude when asked why they wouldn’t come back out.

These guys know what they are doing and surprisingly enjoy doing it. I tried three other services I found on Unilocal and left messages. These guys were the only ones who actually answered the phone, and made an appointment right away. They were always professional and courteous on the phone.
When I describe my problem that I was hearing scratching sounds in my ceiling, right away they knew what it was – a raccoon. Sure enough later that weekend I even saw it on my roof.
They explained what they were going to do and began working on making a customized trap door. After a quick inspection they were able to figure out where the primary exits and entrances were for the raccoon. They sealed up numerous holes in my attic. And just like that, the animal behaved exactly how they had explained it would.
These guys know what they are doing. They know animal behavior and they enjoy doing the work they do. The best part was their fee. I was surprised that other services charged more than double what they had quoted me. They did a nice job, a neat job, and a thorough job. I hope I never have another problem again but if I do, I will definitely go with Right Way again. Thank you Chris and Kyle.

Avoid this guy at all costs. Cancelled my appointment twice and then showed up on the wrong day to investigate a rotten smell coming from under my house. Had a younger helper that he had brought along and I could hear the two of them arguing constantly. The two of them left, came back an hour and a half later. He sloppily screwed a piece of metal mesh to the side of my house laying some claim to it being a «one way door» and that he wanted to make sure any other animals were out before he sealed it up. He took my money, left the rotting animal under my house and a few unanswered calls later I decided to go with someone else. Do yourself a favor and don’t get scammed by this guy.
**Update
I think it’s very suspicious that this is your response to a few of your bad reviews. I’ve reported you to the BBB. The multiple other bad reviews show that you’re bad business. It’s pretty hard to get 3 stars on Unilocal.SHADY!

**PER CHRIS (OWNER) — COMPANY IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS**
In the beginning I was enthusiastic about finding someone who cared about the well being of animals as Chris certainly seemed concerned with the well being of our pigeons which were nesting and pooping on our window sills… He seemed like he was going to be a good choice after saying how busy he was and how happy he was he could cherry pick his customers (his statement makes more sense after he completed work, busy finishing unfinished jobs and cherry picking clients that would pay upfront)
After the amount of time (approximately 2+ months) and countless follow up emails and phone calls, most of which went unanswered, it was obvious that Chris (owner and sole employee apparently) was incredibly unreliable and unprofessional to work with.
We originally decided that electric bird tracking was the best option per Chris’s suggestion. He sent me photos (which I later learned were stock photos, not his own work) of some very nice tracking and proceeded to take a couple of weeks going back and forth installing the tracks, which never worked. The birds would continue to sit on them. He blamed it on the solar box not being strong enough and said we would have to buy another (even though I read the box and it stated it could carry current over 3 – 5 miles, while our track spanned 2 4ft window sills) This was also not the track that he sent pictures of, nor was it installed in a clean manner. So seeing that he appeared to be unfamiliar with the systems, I decided to research and test the system myself — result his battery never even worked, so I can only assume that he lied each time he said he tested it as working when he left.
After the 2 weeks of electrical non-​sense, i told him to take his tracking off, replace with tension wire and offer a refund for the difference. When he finally responded, he said he would do the work but only offer us a $ 50 refund (after spending over $ 800 to have electric tracking on 8 ft of window sills (which didn’t work) and one ledge of tension wire) So he removed his shoddy tracking and installed the tension wires, but the tension wires were far enough apart that the birds just sat between them. So I again called him out (numerous times) and he finally ran extra tension wires to finish the job. After several more weeks of trying to find out if he was going to live up to his insulting refund, he never responded so I assumed our business has concluded…
The guy might be good at catching vermin but I would seriously reconsider ever hiring him if you are expecting timely reliable work… I hated working with him and will be sure he is never hired to work any of our properties throughout los angeles…
**UPDATE** Moments after posting this I did receive an email from Chris stating he had mailed a refund check for $ 75 more than agreed upon due to issues (added an extra star for finally getting out the refund, but hope it was coincidence and not due to my review)
**2^nd UPDATE** I had originally given two stars for this, mainly because the owner had stated he mailed out an increased refund due to all of the trouble… Only problem… I never received it and when I reached out to follow up on this, I got no response (which is typical for the owner)… This person is unreliable, dishonest, and unprofessional (to say the least)… don’t deal with this person…

These kind of people are why Unilocal exists. BE AWARE! Will take your money right away then not finish the job and proceed to ignore you. A THEIF & CON! Hate to put it that way but that’s what it is.

FYI– This is how to get the man’s attention. He will ignore you until you make him acknowledge his unfinished business. Chris «accidentally left» with a Guinness glass that he was given water in. I never called him an ass face. I called him a #FACEASS.
Why would you have a Headshot for an animal control profile pic? Please bring back my Guinness glass when you return to finish your job.
This man Chris will take your money right away but that’s it. He won’t finish or follow through with his“guarantee” and will ignore your calls once he has been paid.
He left all kinds of chicken wire scraps and garbage (30 mins of clean up for me) around the yard with sharp edges even after I asked him not to, since we have small kids. He did not pick up one piece of scrap. He escaped with his money never to be heard from again.
Look elsewhere for your solution, I promise you will be glad you did. It seems as if the only way to get this guy to respond is write a bad review on Unilocal.He replies with this excuse and that excuse as if customers want to spend time writing poor reviews on Unilocal.That’s what all these 1 star reviewers want to do is spend hours chasing down some low rent con. They gave you money to do the job which you don’t have the patience or the skill to do. You think they would write a long review if good work was done? Think about it before you give this company a penny. Look at all the 1 stars and notice the common thread.
#FACEASS
In response to his reply:
This man is not a customer, I was not employed by him to do anything. This is the tennant of the reviewer above this one. As for why hes writing a review when the customer that contacted me already has is beyond me.
–DUH? You did not finish the job that you guaranteed? I live at the damn house where you did not finish your work. That’s why I am writing a review. You don’t answer phone calls from people who already paid! I am trying to prevent this from happening to other potential victims. That’s why Unilocal was created.
BTW, 100% satisfied customers would be the same as 5 stars. That means all your customers would be happy and you would not have to spend so much time defending your reason for not finishing jobs. You say you don’t work on weekends but your Unilocal page says you are open 7 days a week until midnight.

We ran across an injured dog on the way home and could not get a hold of county animal control services. Chris was willing to help us rescue the dog although we were outside his jurisdiction. It’s so great to have companies such as Right Way Animal Control who are passionate about animals around the clock (even on holidays!). Many thanks to Chris for his efforts in helping us bring an animal in need to safety.

Chris was amazing. After a falcon got trapped on our deck, I called Right Way Animal Control — on a SUNDAY! Chris came to our home in less than 10 minutes, and saved the falcon in about 2 minutes. He clearly knows a great deal about falcons (and other animals). AND, he didn’t even charge anything for his trouble! It’s obvious that he is a true animal lover. I can’t recommend this company highly enough. He was a true professional, and has great customer service. Right Way will be the first company I call if we’re ever in need of an animal rescue again! Thanks, Chris!

They came within the hour that I called to check out a skunk issue under our house. They went under our home and sealed up all the vents for a good price. I am very happy with Chris and will call again, if I ever need animal control.

Very very flaky. Been waiting for weeks for him to get back to my house to get the bats out of our attic for the second time. He said that he would guarantee they would not come back, if they did he would fix no charge. Problem is… He won’t come back. Just ignoring me.
He was flaky the first time, but I accepted his excuses. Don’t use these guys. Very similar to other complaints on Unilocal.I was hoping/​waiting to see if he really was just busy… But no response for weeks. Sorry guy.

We cannot say enough good about Chris and the company he represents. He came out the same day we called (2days before Christmas) to remove 3 cats from the home of my elderly sister who suffered a stroke and must now reside in assisted living. Even though her home was a filthy mess and we were distraught, Chris was kind and sensitive while being very efficient and professional. He assured us that he took the cats to a shelter with good chance for adoption. We highly recommend and would definitely use again if needed

This is bad business. Do not do business with them. They are very unprofessional!!!
I called and spoke to Chris. He told me he was driving and could not write down my address. He told me he will call back as soon as he gets home. This guy never call back until I called again the next day. He said his service required him to return the second time to close the gaps so the animals won’t come back. He told me I need to be there to pay the full price which was $ 350. I told him that I will pay half and when the job is done, I will pay the rest since it was so hard to get a hold of him. The guy told me it was the company policy and after a few exchange, he hangs up. I haven’t seen anyone doing business like that. If you have to use him, don’t pay until the job is complete and you are happy with the service. This guy cannot be trusted. I have done business with people like him before. Once you paid in full, it’s all over. Overall this is bad business and I would NOT recommend them.

I had a horrible problem with raccoons living under my house! One died and the family left all their excrement under my house as well! The smell was horrible! Chris came out immediately after I called him and assessed the situation. He them came back the next day with help and spent several hours cleaning up the mess and removing the dead racoon! I have already recommended Chris to a friend and would highly recommend hi,.
Debbie B

I’ve worked with Chris for years and he’s very friendly and really cares about his work. If you want someone you can actually talk to and trust to take care of the problem, these guys are your best bet.

DO NOT HIRE THEM TO DO ANYTHING. They need to be out of work to learn how to do business with ppl. NO CALL NO SHOW is their best practices for their business. Katie tells you she will call back, but she never does. LOOK FOR OTHER COMPANIES WHO DOES WHAT THEY PROMISED.
I had my appointment to do raccoon removal service, the appointment day someone was suppose to be here between 10 – 12. Katie calls me at 9:15, chris is near and will be here in 15min. Chris showed up at 10:30am. The first thing he says, he already saw something going into my attic. He told me he had another job in Long Beach so he will have to come back at 3pm, which I figured that could take longer so I was fine when he called and rescheduled at 5pm. When 5pm comes around, no call no show. My husband had to call him several times. When we finally talked to him, he said either 8:30pm or 8:30am tomorrow. I said 8:30 tomorrow is fine. The next day, 9:00am, NO CALL NO SHOW, his phone was off. I called Katie and she tells me his phone may not be off, he may be on his way, and she will call me back after she gets in a contact with him. 30min later still no call backs, I called again and she tells me that he is at another job and will be in at 10:30am. I asked her why is he at another job when he was suppose to be here at 8:30? she says she doesn’t know, and I told her he needs to be here now or send someone else. She says she will call him and tell him that, and call back with what he says. Never called back never answered my calls. WASTING TWO DAYS OF MY LIFE. Both Kaite and Chris have NO PROFESSIONALISM.

We had a wonderful experience with Chris and Katie.
Katie actually answered the phone (all others I called had voice mail) and took down the details of our possum problem and scheduled an appointment for the next day in the afternoon. Chris called in the morning to confirm and ask some questions. He showed up promptly and was very kind and efficient. He found the critter and gently removed it by hand. Then he checked for any other critters and found the entryways and fixed those that were a problem. Really nice guy. Would highly recommend this company. I had called two others and left several messages and neither got back to us.

UPDATE: Who knew the power of Unilocal?!After posting my review Katie called claiming she had left me a voicemail informing me that Chris (owner) had an emergency & would not be able to make it until the afternoon. Had I not read the mixed reviews for this co in which several mentioned Katie’s scheduling skills (or lack of) I wouldn’t have been so annoyed by it. Nevertheless l still had my raccoon problem so I agreed to the new appt time.
A long story short:
Chris is a nice guy, with a tough & «dirty» job, who knows how to fix your critter problem. The approach he takes to keeping critters out of your space makes sense & doesn’t involve time consuming, messy animal trapping. He does his best to answer all your questions & guarantees his work for a year. If you have a critter problem & need a quick fix, give him a call!

I have nothing but positive things to say about our experience with Right Way Animal Control. We reached out because of a problem with birds on our building’s roof line and their excrement fouling up windows, walkways, and seating areas. Chris and his team spent time to explain his plan to mitigate the problem and his experience and expertise was immediately obvious. Not only did I have the most confidence in his plan, their quote was also much lower than the other companies we got estimates from.
I was also pleased by Right Way’s humane approach. While other companies were proposing electrical wires to shock birds that land on them, Chris suggested a much less cruel, more effective, and LESS EXPENSIVE method of loosely strung wires with coiled ends that have too much give in them for large (pest) birds to land on due to the lack of stability.
I am happy to say we are now bird free and we can sit on our patio unafraid of a «special delivery» from the sky. I would HIGHLY recommend Right Way for any of your Animal Control needs.