Every funeral homes pricing is affordable to someone, but not all funeral homes are affordable to everyone………
Miguel LegaspiOwner, Avenidas Funeral Chapel
Recently I have started a new approach to advertising that has really made the difference to reaching the community I wish to serve. (that means everyone)
I have noticed that great deals of people that have contacted me are at a point of total confusion by the time we talk. It starts with a very irate person demanding to know what hidden costs are in the cremation package I offer. I tell them none. They insist that there is more because everyone else is double to not quadruple the price of cremation that I offer. I have had people cry, thank me and tell me they would be right down. I tell them that we will be right here to help them when they arrive.
Another man came into my facility and asked for some simple pricing. I shared it with him and he could not understand why it was so difficult to get the same answer from another location close by. He was told by a lady: “if he was from another funeral home, the prices were all the same, but I’m sorry, if you really are from a family, our prices are less than what is on our price sheet”
WHAT THE? He walked out of there lost, dazed and confused.
HEY! That’s pretty scary stuff considering you are trying to find a location that will help you handle the simple arrangements of saying goodbye to your family member. Who is in charge? Are there not laws that protect the community from these types of shady marketing practices? YES THERE ARE!
AZ State Legislature, Chapter 12-Article 3.1 -32-1375. Price lists; telephone information
A. A licensee or registrant (employee) shall provide accurate information about the retail prices of funeral goods or services readily available for sale at the establishment at which the licensee or registrant is employed to any person inquiring about these prices by telephone. (Psst! this means you!)
B. If a person requests a price list by telephone, the establishment shall mail a price list to the caller and may charge a reasonable postage and handling fee of not more than two dollars.
If a funeral home is evasive or cryptic in the way they appear to explaining pricing to you, GET OUT OF THERE! The funeral home is a business, they are not your friend until YOU decide they have deserved your friendship, trying to make best friends with you over the phone is stupid, they should be focusing on answering your questions......
AZ State Legislature, Chapter 12-Article 3.1 -32-1375. Price lists; telephone information
A. A licensee or registrant (employee) shall provide accurate information about the retail prices of funeral goods or services readily available for sale at the establishment at which the licensee or registrant is employed to any person inquiring about these prices by telephone. (Psst! this means you!)
B. If a person requests a price list by telephone, the establishment shall mail a price list to the caller and may charge a reasonable postage and handling fee of not more than two dollars.
If a funeral home is evasive or cryptic in the way they appear to explaining pricing to you, GET OUT OF THERE! The funeral home is a business, they are not your friend until YOU decide they have deserved your friendship, trying to make best friends with you over the phone is stupid, they should be focusing on answering your questions......
Shopping
In the funeral industry, people have been forced to shop around looking for the best price but have found that they have to sacrifice in services to afford burial or cremation. This is so far from the truth. There are a few good facilities out there that really do care. They might not be the most glamorous or palatial facilities, but they do provide good service, compassion and understanding, all this for a very affordable price.
In the funeral industry, people have been forced to shop around looking for the best price but have found that they have to sacrifice in services to afford burial or cremation. This is so far from the truth. There are a few good facilities out there that really do care. They might not be the most glamorous or palatial facilities, but they do provide good service, compassion and understanding, all this for a very affordable price.
Not to sound funny, but the funeral industry is dying a slow death only to have some locations being reborn as we speak with the new definition of service and cost.
Long gone or on their way out are the facilities with sad draping curtains, dark rooms, thousand dollar caskets being served up by dark suits in slicked back hair driving high end sports cars that are being paid for with your $7,000 to $10,000 funeral service.
Long gone or on their way out are the facilities with sad draping curtains, dark rooms, thousand dollar caskets being served up by dark suits in slicked back hair driving high end sports cars that are being paid for with your $7,000 to $10,000 funeral service.
Funerals are becoming a thing of celebration, remembrance and reflection. All this being provided by people who care, don’t look at your car or your jewelry or shoes to see how much you can be taken for.
All I have is a little….. |
| Yes, I know, and I want it all! |
There is no shame in a car wash, but remember, the next time you find yourself short of funds needed to bury or cremate, try looking a bit farther, chances are you will find a facility just around the corner that provides very professional services at a very affordable price. Don’t be afraid to shop. There is no shame in that. To many times I have been approached by families after the fact with a great deal of remorse and guilt that they spent way to much on services but did not realize this until well after the fact. Perhaps if they were treated with a little bit more fair play and honesty by the facility that served them these feeling would not be so prevalent.
Prostitution?
I had a conversation with another local funeral home owner a while back and he told me that he felt any facility that offered funeral servicews for a price below the status quo was as if a cheap whore to society, selling themselves out to the comunity. For the life of me I find it idiotic that ANY business owner wold think that they set the standards or pricing for a service provided, and that anyone that provides service pricing below the status quo is some sort of prostitute. Why can't business just accept the fact that the smarter, more aware general population no longer wishes to pay high prices for overinflated service? What kind of stupid idiotic way of business thinking is that? Some people can not deal with business competition, it is easier to badmouth and belittle your competitor to the consumer than it is to justify service pricing.Be cautious of a location if they display the following:
- Having to walk around high end sports cars or luxury sedans to get into the building (Your buying them you know)
- Evasive tactics over the phone when you call and inquire about pricing
- Continued invitations to come into the funeral home and “discuss” with them
- Continued questions as to if someone has passed
- Inquiries out of the blue as to if an insurance policy is available for payment
- Nice suits, expensive suits, REALLY expensive tailored suits
- Grossly inappropriate, over the top empathetic behavior
- False smiles, fake behavior, robotic fake behavior (you can tell, acts like a robot)
- Invitations to sit in an arrangement room if all you want is pricing
- Attempts to separate family members (people talk more freely alone)
- Asking for a phone number if you do not offer it
- Bad reviews by locals due to over the top pricing
- Over the top cremation charges ($600 and up)
- Over the top casket prices. ($1,800 and up) and being forced to look at them
- Hearing the word "TRUST ME"
- Over the top GOOGLE reviews that hammer on the same person or service over and over and over and over and over...................................... Did I happen to mention.... OVER?
HEY THERE!, These are just a few. Remember something, we all don’t shop at Macy’s or on Rodeo drive in Beverly Hills, we do not all drive Lamborghini's or Ferrari's . I see allot of very SMART people shopping at the inexpensive mom & pops and driving sub compacts. Not because that’s all they can afford, but because it is the smart thing to do. Do the smart thing, look for the inexpensive Mom & Pops. It's easy to claim to be a Mom & Pop, the proof is in the charges, or pricing. Some think that it is appropriate to charge as if being a Mom & Pop or "Family Owned" facility is a luxury. It honestly just means you care and take care of others like family. Is over the top pricing how you would treat family? I think not. 
The days of feeding the overrated, overpriced glutton funeral monster are done. We are finding that it is a weak, heartless, money hungry charlatan that has no interest in you or your needs, only focusing on your pocket book. Americans are more sensible and reasonable in their thinking. The last four to five years in America have shown us only one thing and they have grown tired of the haves trying to fleece the have not's for their hard earned savings. There are those at the top that want to work very little to make money off of our hard efforts and savings. Don't get caught in their web. THEY ARE STILL OUT THERE! It's time for everyone to tighten the belt and those that serve to realize that our hard earned savings are not for others to eat up like some sort of potato chip dip at a drunken beer bust. (Or caviar at a fine wine festival in the Hampton's) |
| Remember this guy? Look for him the next time you find yourself in search of guidance. |
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