THE LOW COST BURIAL AND CREMATION SERVICES LOCATIONS

As of recently, there has been an increase in burial and cremation services. Now there is no problem with that, but most are on the rise being misrepresented as such and also being an illegal and unlicensed establishment.

Before I start, remember this, a funeral home cannot ask for more than what is on the price list for merchandise and services, so they want very much to keep the price high, but also don’t want to be known for offering discounts to the consumer all the time. They don’t want the reputation as one that just “Gives it away”.

So lets create another fictitious location that gives services at a lower cost.

 Oh, I have changed some of the names and corporations so as not to get sued.

So what is this all about? Well, the “fictitious” International Service Corporation (ISC) out of Texas, the Digity Memorial Providers came up with a brilliant idea about 5 to 10 years ago to introduce another branch of funeral service providers called “Avdantage Funeral and Cremation Services.  The reasoning behind this move was because a good part of the community that sought out the Digity guys to conduct funeral services were finding that they could not afford the facilities. So ISC started purchasing up allot of local funeral homes in the poorer areas of town.

Two Sides to the same Corporation

It sounds like a great plan, but it was a plan done solely focusing on revenue and not much else. The service is adequate but not like the Digity locations, no bells and whistles here. The best part of it is, no matter which facility you use, a Digity or an Avdantage, you still have the deceased stored, embalmed, dressed, casketed and prepared at the same locations. Either L.A. Moore Grimsham in Phoenix or Moonland Mortuary in Sun City. You may be paying different prices, but it’s all being done the same way, at the same location by the same people.  You’re just paying more or less, depending on which ISC facility you use. (Next time you go into a Digity or Avdantage facility, ask if the deceased is being held or prepared there, if they say yes, they are lying) Basically, your paying for the use  beautiful building, that all.

So what does it take?

Well, the independents thought that ISC should not be the only ones getting in on the double pricing, so they tried to do the same thing. It's a small price to pay, to some it is worth the chance because by the time they get around to this level of poor thought process, all morals, ethics and values have been tossed out the window long, long ago. I mean all it takes to open a funeral home is:

·         rent a small space (store front)Less than 500 square feet in a strip mall
·         Have a chapel or a room called a chapel, Seats 10 or more
·         Has an arrangement room with catalogs and a few urns
·         A small preparation room with embalming table
·         5 bottles of embalming fluid
·         Embalming tools and machine
·         A hearse or a letter from a friend who has a hearse that can lend it to you saying he will
·         A bathroom
·         A phone

That is all you need. You don’t even need a cooler.

 The Storefront!

So there you go, these individuals at these local facilities would rent a building (a storefront, there is nothing wrong with a storefront funeral provider), Have all this stuff cheaply installed, do all  this, get inspected by the state board, get licensed and then close the building and not the business just having Quest or Cox forward the phone to the parent funeral home.  It’s a scam to serve the rich and the poor with two price lists from the same business. It is worth the loss because they were hoping the Arizona Funeral Board would not get around to inspecting them. There are only 3 investigators on the state board and they are swamped with paper work all the time. ALL THE TIME!

HI! I'm a Stupid Idea!

Well it got to the point that some got cockier than that, even bolder and even stupider.  I heard of one funeral home on the waaaaaaaay west side of town whose owner was going to advertise a cremation and burial and have the number ring a dedicated cell phone number and have a staff member answer all the time and go to the families house for everything, the removal, writing the arrangement taking payment, contract and even returning the remains. The family would never know the difference. If the family couldn’t afford his funeral home, he would refer the family to that number and still get the sale. This is so illegal. (The state board is already watching this fiasco)

 Some locations have even gone so far as to put a phone number on the Internet with no physical address, and when you call the number it is always an answering service who will tell you that the director is in a meeting, in with a family or away on a service, he or she will call you back in 5 minutes,  Every time you call. It seems kind of odd after a while that this person never ever answers the phone. EVER!

What does the state board say?

As per the Arizona State board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, If your Funeral home, cremation Facility, Funeral service facility,  whatever it is you are serving the community under a funeral home name or establishment....... if it is promoting funeral service “ANYTHING", it is required to have a physical address were the family can come to, make the arrangements and see the deceased. It is the law. and they can only advertise and promote ONE funeral business out of that location and use ONE General Price List.

So remember, the next time you go to a facility or call one, ask some questions. if they are all to easy to recommend you to a more affordable location and slide you a phone number across the table, be aware. If you do call on that other location, insist on going to the facility to handle the arrangements, if you go or the produce one, ask to see a license with a the business name and beware of funeral homes on the far west side of the valley that gives you a phone number of someone that might be able to “Help you out” That phone might just ring in the other room.