HIGH FUNERAL PRICES = GUARANTEED QUALITY FUNERAL SERVICES? THINK AGAIN!

Question - IS IT GUARANTEED THAT HIGH PRICES ENSURE GOOD QUALITY IN THE FUNERAL INDUSTRY?

ANSWER - Not it is not.

Higher prices tell you one of five things;

1. The facility has a very high overhead (bills, Staff & such).
2. The business owner has very rich taste.
3. The business is corporate owned and has shareholders.
4. The business just charges allot.
5. All of the above.
 

I’m sure we all can remember at one time or another that one specific business that charged outrageous prices and we thought that because of that, the services or merchandise or things they sold were going to be of an “above and beyond” quality, but then “BAM!” once we use the services, we realized that the quality was poor and the services are those of days gone by. But wait a minute! they SAID it was going to be "QUALITY", you know, "Beyond Expectation"!

 The funeral industry in general has made it a point of being gobbled up by “Corporations” who have made it a point of buying quality, good named businesses and running them into the ground, all the time ridding on the name of the family or facility that use to own them. This was not their intent but after working in the “Corporate” funeral industry for exactly one year and nine months, It became apparent that there are those within the “Corporate funeral industry that only care about Fridays paycheck. (not all, but they are there).

Now, for an independent funeral home to make such claims like “HIGHER PRICES MEANS BETTER QUALITY” is not only untrue, but also misleading. That is like me saying, “I cook good food, you should pay me to eat my good food”. (I’m a horrible cook). It also is a form of advertising that service providers use to try and get you to believe that funeral home services are really worth $7,000 to $10,000, or a simple metal casket is worth $2,000. (I believe these charges not to be true)

I’ll tell you something about funeral services. Let’s look at cremation. I charge $569 for cremation of a standard size adult. It takes 3 to 7 days maximum to have this process complete.

Our profit = $383

Cremation costs me $186. That’s it! I pay $186 for cremation.

Of that:

$155 is to have the deceased cremated at a local crematorium.
$12 is for the cremation container (cardboard box).
$4 is for the permit.
$15 is for the County Fee’s.

Now, my local competitor the next town over charges you $1,725 for the exact same thing, using the exact same crematory as I do and the exact same guidelines established by the state. (They are not wrong for charging what they charges, this is America, they may charge what they like, the question is...., is it your decision to pay those high prices?)

Their profit = $1,539, That is:

 

 ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDERED AND THIRTY NINE.....................................00/100
 

Of our two facilities, their advertised reason for higher prices is due to the “QUALITY” of service they provide. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, any individuals can charge anything they like for services as long as it is priced as such on the General Price List they provide. The price they charge “MUST” match the price shown on the GPL.

So I ask you, if you are having no services, if you are not using the hearse, if you are not purchasing a casket, if there are no flowers, if you are not having any stationary done, if the only visit you are making to the funeral home is to make arrangements and pick up death certificates….. Then why the difference in cost?

Overhead. Overhead is usually the high cost driving factor. But! remember that initial list up top that we spoke of? Take your pick. Also, using the excuse of overhead is also the second best reason a funeral service provider will give you for high prices.

My original point being is that a vast majority of those things that the “Old School Traditional Funeral Home” charges are WAY overpriced. Not that there is anything wrong with that, if they choose to charge it and you choose to pay it, there is no law broken.

Remember, FUNERAL SERVICES DO NOT COST THAT MUCH!

How do I know? I own a funeral home! 

ALSO! ALL FUNERAL HOMES SELL AND USE ALL THE SAME MERCHANDISE, period!

 

So what is their a reason to charge you more? It's all the same stuff, isn't it? Yes, it is.

 

Really? and the difference is...?

You would think good quality service is something you would want to give if you claim to have such a strong passion to serve in the industry, not hold it hostage to the highest payer.

But The high priced funeral industry has nothing to fall back on to counter an affordable funeral homes low pricing other than, “YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR” or “QUALITY COSTS MONEY” or something that they cannot prove or show you until you already have used their service. By then, it's to late. Take a good long look at the picture to the right, it speaks leaps and bounds as to the industry, what they are trying to do, and what they are trying to think they are doing. I mean, a hugs a hug when you need one.

So the next time you read, or are told something as outlandish as something about “Quality” and one’s high prices, or shown a list of google reviews that could have been posted by “Anyone”, (Hmmmmm) consider looking a bit farther and if you don’t like what you see, then go back to them. In the end, the choice is still yours, spend wisely.

Thanks,
Miguel Legaspi

DINGITY MEMORIAL, WILL THEY NEVER, EVER LEARN.........

Due to a cease and desist letter I received in the mail by a certain corporation. I can not use them by name, but they will continue to be referred to as Corporation Service International, or CSI.

 

TRAGEDY STRUCK JENNIE MORROW’s family twice this year. After her sister died of lung cancer in the spring, her mother succumbed to a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease in the summer. But the two funerals couldn’t have been more different.

 

While she says her sister’s funeral was fairly priced, she says her mother’s funeral was a costly affair punctuated by forced package deals, misleading funeral directors and disingenuous contracts. In a province with the most expensive traditional funerals in the country, Morrow’s experience sheds light on a potentially troubling underside of the funeral industry.

 

It was a warm July morning just before dawn when her 89-year-old mother passed away quietly in her sleep. Heeding the octogenarian’s wishes for a funeral mass and burial at the Catholic church near her childhood home, Morrow’s family called a funeral home in Digby. Jeyne’s Funeral Home sent a hearse to collect the body and Morrow went to meet with the funeral home. She was dumbfounded by what she was told.

 

“When my mother died and we called to make the arrangements, they didn’t say anything about having to buy a package,” Morrow said in an interview. “But when I sat down with the funeral director, I was told they don’t sell funerals, they sell packages.”

 

 

The funeral director of Jayne’s Funeral Home, a division of Corporation Service International, based in Houston, refused to offer a price list and instead insisted on a package deal, she said. The packages started at $9,099 but didn’t include taxes or the cost of the church mass or reception, Morrow said.

 

After she expressed concern with the cost and asked where her mother’s body was being held, the funeral home did not offer her a price list but instead knocked $1,100 off the price, she said. “It was almost time for the funeral and they already had her body. It’s like they’re holding you hostage.”

 

Jayne’s Funeral Home referred calls to its parent company, which owns funeral homes across the United States and Canada, including nine in Nova Scotia. Jessica McDunn, a spokeswoman for the international provider of funeral goods and services, declined to comment on personal matters. “We’re very sorry for the family’s loss,” she said. “We take very seriously our commitment to our families, and that includes guarding their privacy.”

 

However, McDunn said the firm does not have a policy that requires funeral homes to sell packages rather than select services. “But we believe that our pricing is fair, given the services and benefits we provide. We do follow the guidelines and rules that are set before us for each province, state or country.” Mark Duffey, president and CEO of Houston-based funeral planning and concierge agency Everest, said Corporation Service International is the largest funeral home operator in the world. “They’re a publicly traded company on Nasdaq and their business model is about maximizing revenue,” he said in an interview. “They are generally the high-price leader in every market they’re in. In the United States and Canada, on average, they are 38 per cent more expensive than an independently owned funeral home.”

 

Duffey said the corporation has a package pricing policy that requires employees to show clients a package price. However, he said every Corporation Service International funeral home has a general price list. “If she wasn’t shown a price list, it was probably a violation of their corporate policy.” Shortly after her mother’s funeral, Morrow received a call from the funeral director asking her to come in for a meeting. She said it was not possible, and the director offered to visit Morrow at her home near Yarmouth. “I just told her just to send the paperwork out in the mail but she didn’t want to.” While the funeral director told her it was a bill, what Morrow received in the mail was a “Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected/Purchase Agreement.”

 

The contract broke down the funeral package prices. It included a $499 online obituary (garbage), or what Jayne’s Funeral Home referred to as a “Memorial” Internet archive. It also included a $375 “ Tribute Burial Memorial Package (garbage),” which Morrow described as a black box with thank-you cards and other items. “We didn’t want all this silliness. They charged us for so many trinkets and foolishness that we didn’t need.” Other fees included a $199 compassion helpline (garbage), a $299 aftercare planner (garbage) and $99 estate protection (garbage).

 

And while every service included a fee — $1,065 for transportation, $595 for attending the church ceremony, $395 for “other care and preparation” and $295 for registration and documentation — the funeral home tacked on another $1,948 in professional staff and service fees.

 

Total Extra Fees is $5,769 that has nothing to do with burial. Total funeral package was $9,099 before tax. The difference in cost is $3,330 for merchandise and services.

 

“Their methods of doing business are appalling, given the vulnerability of the people who they do business with.” But Morrow said the most alarming thing about the contract wasn’t the fees but the fine print. Below the list of costs is a paragraph indicating that Morrow acknowledged having the option to purchase either a package or select services a la carte. The purchase agreement says: “You also confirm that you have been informed of your right to select only such services and merchandise as you desire.”

 

 Unlike the wording of the contract, Morrow said she had specifically asked for a price list and was told by the funeral home she had to buy the package normally provide clients with contracts before the funeral, McDunn said it depends on the situation. Morrow complained to the Digby funeral home that she was being asked to sign a contract that indicated she had the option of obtaining services a la carte when she was compelled to purchase a package. The funeral home called her and tried to negotiate a lower price, asking what would make her happy, she said. “I said what would make me happy is to go to bed at night knowing they couldn’t do this to anyone else.” deal.

 

Another red flag was the date above where she was to sign. It had been filled out by the funeral home as July 24, the day before her mother’s funeral. “I realized this was a contract, not a bill, and that by signing it using a date before the funeral, it appeared as though I agreed to all this in advance.” Morrow also noticed that the third and final page of the contract was missing and called the funeral home. A few weeks later, she received the third page, the terms and conditions of the purchase agreement. The sixth item says: “You acknowledge that you were offered a copy of the current price lists.” When Corporation Service International was asked if its funeral homes. Morrow said that out of respect for her mother she wants to be clear that she has the money to pay the $10,172.17 bill. 

 

 “My mother had plenty of money, and I have excellent credit and pay all my bills on time. “It’s a matter of principle. It’s wrong for them to do this.” Morrow made a complaint to the Nova Scotia Board of Registration of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.

 

Two months later, the board responded with a letter. “The board is not in a position to intervene in the settlement of an outstanding account,” the letter said. Morrow said the issue is not about an outstanding bill but rather what she considers the shady business practices of a funeral home. No one from the board was available for an interview this week. According to the provincial Embalmers and Funeral Directors Act, these sorts of complaints are within the board’s mandate.

 

The act says the board can “investigate a complaint of any misrepresentation, negligence, professional misconduct or fraud by (a)funeral home.” The average cost of a traditional funeral in Nova Scotia is $10,495, according to a recent survey conducted by Everest. That makes the province the most expensive place for a traditional funeral in the country.

 

Halifax is the priciest city to die in Canada, with an average funeral cost of $11,152, the survey found. Everest’s Duffey said the cost of a funeral has increased and recommended planning ahead to cut costs. Morrow’s “experience, unfortunately, is not uncommon. It shines a light on the fact that you need to plan ahead or have a funeral planner so that you’re not negotiating these matters under emotional duress or strain.”

 

 

CREMATION AND DEEP DOUBTS ABOUT "NEPTUNA" SOCIETY.

NOTE - Due to the cease and desist letter I received from a specific corporation, all names are to be considered fictitious, but then again, I did not write the article.

I found this article on the "Funeral Consumer Alliance" website, it is a good article. "Naptune Society" sells cremation in the Greater Phoenix area. Use caution. The purpose for this blog is to instill "guilt through association and Corporate responsibility.

C.S.I. or Corporation Service International Is a corporate funeral provider owned by investors, the largest in North America, if not the world. They are the Parent Corporation of : 

• Neptuna Society
• Tredent Society
• Dingity Memorial
• Funeraria de Loss Angel
• Advantageous Cremation and Burial
• National Creamation Society

Dated 22 February 2013 

 

by Lamar Hankins, past president of Funeral Consumers Alliance (credentials speak for themselves)

 

Selling Cremation Door-To-Door

I just had the opportunity to be a “secret shopper” – from the convenience of my dining room table. Over the years, I have occasionally received solicitations from funeral homes or cremation services to encourage me to “pre-arrange” funerals or cremations. In recent months, I received two such solicitations from the Naptune Society. I responded to the last one, sending back their card and checking the box that indicated I wanted to receive more information.

 That information came through a phone call a couple of weeks ago asking if one of their representatives could visit me in my home. I said “yes” and a nice fellow showed up. His card identified him as an “Austin Area Counselor,” for Naptune Society, “America’s Most Trusted Cremation Services.” I was treated to a sales pitch full of misleading or outright false claims, all to get me to pay more than double the cost for a simple cremation in the Austin area.
 

(This is not an uncommon practice with most C.S.I. firms, the counselors and sales people are under great pressure to make quota and beat last months numbers. I know, I worked for them.)
 

It was obvious that he knew nothing about me, or he probably would not have made the 45-minute drive to my home from his Austin location. I have spent the last twenty years as a volunteer advocate for funeral consumers with the Austin Memorial & Burial Information Society (AMBIS), as well as 18 years working as a volunteer with the national organization with which AMBIS is an affiliate, Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA).

 

The counselor and I spent an hour and a half discussing pre-arrangement options that Neptune offers. The best one, from Neptune’s perspective, is being offered right now at a $150 discount, so the cost to me would be only $2,255.

 

Leading up to my request to know the price of the service was about an hour of information about the plan, and information he had gathered about what a few other funeral homes in the Austin area charge. The counselor had no way of knowing that just four days earlier, Nancy Walker (President of the AMBIS board) and I had finished surveying the prices of funerals and cremations for the 51 funeral services located in the Austin area.

 

  Corporation Service International, Who are they?

CSI is the parent owner corporation of:

Naptuna Society

Tredent Society

Dingity Memorial

Funeraria de Los Angel

Advantageous Cremation and Burial

National Creamation Society

C.S.I. sells stock on the New York Stock exchange and is currently valued at $15.52 a share. It has a  trade volume of 1,659,908 shares, those shares are what need to be kept happy. THEY ARE CALLED INVESTORS. The investors "need" your money to be happy, more money than they needed last month to be happy, If they become unhappy, they will pull their investment or sell off their shares and the price falls on the stock thus making the corporation worthless. Get it?

 

It is noteworthy that the counselor mentioned that Naptune is owned by CSI the largest funeral provider in the world. Based on his inflection and the look on his face, I think I was supposed to be impressed by this. But I have written about CSI many times over the last twenty years, discussed legal problems with CSI’s legal staff, and had my own battles with them on behalf of my family over cemetery plots. Their world-wide activity and reputation was not news to me.

 

It surprised me that Naptune uses the outrageous charges at CSI facilities to show how much better its prices are – its counselor cited rates at several CSI locations  that were much higher than Neptune’s. But it wasn’t a fair comparison; in most cases, what the counselor showed me were prices for elaborate cremation and related services, not Direct Cremation prices. Direct Cremation is universally defined as a simple cremation without a viewing or ceremony.
 

When the counselor did show me a price from other providers for Direct Cremation, he pointed out that there were many hidden costs not covered by their price (e.g., refrigeration, crematory fee). But all of his examples were for prices higher than Neptune’s.

 For a few people, the best part of Neptune’s plan is that it includes – for $474 – a “Transportation and Relocation Plan.” This is worthwhile if you are traveling overseas and die on the trip, but the contract for transportation services is not with Naptune. Instead Naptune is a third-party seller for the Medical Air Services Association (MASA). Based on the contract, it appears that MASA will transport the body to the nearest licensed crematory and will return the cremated remains as per the Naptune agreement.  



The counselor tried to convince me that the transport agreement was also very useful in the event I died while on a trip to the Texas coast (about a three and a half hour drive). He explained that a funeral home at the coast would have to take custody of my body and be paid for shipping it back to Austin for cremation. He did not know that I knew this was complete nonsense.

 

If I die down at the coast, my chosen cremation provider in the Austin area could merely arrange for a funeral home, mortuary service, or crematory in the area where I died to handle the cremation for a low wholesale trade price – probably about $400 – and send the cremated remains to the Austin area funeral service. My family would pay my chosen provider’s cost for direct cremation and receive my cremated remains. I’ve had personal experience with this. When my brother died twelve years ago, an Austin funeral home arranged his cremation in the county of his death, and my parents, who lived in that county, picked up his cremated remains directly from the local funeral provider where he died, paying the Austin funeral home for the entire cost. 



Next, the counselor tried to shock me by saying that funeral prices double every seven to ten years. I happen to have funeral cost surveys that AMBIS has done for many years, so I compared the costs from 2000 with those in 2012. Direct cremation averaged $1,468 in our 2000 survey. In 2012, the average cost was $1,899 – a 29% increase, not twice the cost from twelve years earlier. Of course, a lot of those increased costs can be attributed to CSICI funeral homes. Their cremation costs rose about 62% during this same period.

 

In addition, the counselor told me that cremation in central Texas averages $2,700+, which is just not true. The 2013 AMBIS annual survey just published and available on-line at fcaambis.org.  It shows the average cost of cremation for the 51 funeral providers in the Austin Texas area priced is $2,053, nearly $650 less than the counselor claimed. 



Of course, the counselor also did not tell me that I do not have to pay the average price. I can get Direct Cremation for as little as $695 from two providers, and for $775 or less from three others. This compares favorably with 2000 prices, which were $725 from two providers and $740 from another. So competition has made the lowest-cost Direct Cremation less in 2013 than in it was in 2000.

 

But those were not the only misleading statistics the Counselor gave me. He told me that most funeral homes have two price increases yearly. Because we do an annual survey, we know that this is not true for most funeral homes. A handful have annual price increases, but many go two or three years without increases. In my experience, the number of increases has more to do with the general economy and the popularity of cremation, which takes business away from funeral services, than with any other factors. However, one funeral director told me recently that CSI was the best thing that ever happened to him. Because of CSI’s high prices, he can charge more and still offer a better deal than CSI funeral homes. Most of the Cook-Walden chain, which is owned by CSI, charges $2,740 for Direct Cremation at four of its five locations.

 

I was a bit startled when the counselor told me that Clark Howard, the radio consumer advisor, recommends the Naptune Society. For many years, Howard was a member of the Honorary Advisory Board of the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA), for which I spent about eight years serving as a member of its board of directors, including four as President. To my knowledge, Howard has never endorsed pre-paying for funerals or cremation. A search of his website turned up no mention of the Naptune Society.

WHY I DON'T WEAR A SUIT (AT WORK) & CAN"T FIGURE OUT WHY ANYONE DOES!

To be on RECORD, this Blog is my PERSONAL opinion. Professionally, That which concerns me the most is that:

• You are well taken care of
• You are not lied to
• You receive all that you have been charged for
• You are treated with great dignity
• Your loved one is treated as family

When I started Avenidas Funeral Chapel I was 48 years old. I had lost my job as a Drag line Operator and Heavy Equipment operator due to the recession and was close to losing my home (I did lose it)  I was behind on allot of payments on everything, but I did have about 8 suites.

I bought all these wonders, Grey pinstripe, Hunter Green, Royal Blue and on and on and on for some ridiculously stupid price during my career in the funeral industry......  To go with those fashion forward wonders, I had several white polo button downs that I had purchased new and used from a re-sale shop or sears or wherever, and about a million ties that I had bought on sale or had gotten as hand me downs from friends. I realize now that other than an on the job requirement for the many funeral homes I was employed by, OH! How important I felt and THOUGHT I was respected by the community. (I was wrong...)

SWEAT!

I wore those babies when it was cold. I wore them when it was 120 degrees plus outside. I wore them in the sun, late at night doing removals, graveside in the middle of summer, In the cooler. I wore them when families obviously looked at me across the table feeling RELAY uncomfortable with the guy in the suite in the room. I ironed them and when I could I got them dry cleaned. Avenidas Funeral Chapel was started in September of 2010 and over the next few months, starting with those first suits; I wore a suit every work day. I never bought new suits as the business grew. I bought shirts and ties and shoes new instead of used. I went 2 1/2 years without a vacation to make that company work, but I didn’t go a work day without a suit, IN THE BEGINNING!

Someone had once told me that you wear to work what your customers wear to work. That seemed to make sense to me, so I followed it, and expected those who worked for me to follow it as well. BUT I DID NOT MAKE THEM (I insist on name tags); there dress code was a personal preference that they take great pride in enforcing amongst themselves. They must look neat and clean and never ever promote the attitude that they are better than the families we serve. (we are not)

 

Sorry, I'm to Damn Humble to Wear One

 

After I hired a manager, (Lorena) I decided that I never would wear a suit to work again. I was able to hold true to that, and up till now, the community really has not expected any more from me other than what I wear now. You see, I am not a suite man. It is not me.  I do not need to doll myself up to convince you I am respectful or respectable. I do not need to sell you this false image, for I am and I hold those character traits without placing them behind fancy clothes to impress you with $900 suits or Cuff Links or lapel pins or any of that nonsense. I am a simple guy that owns a funeral home that wants to help you, that’s all!

When Lorena was hired as my manager, the suit went out the window completely. I vowed to never wear one again other than weddings and funerals (not even my own), and only then because it wasn’t worth the hassle to deal with people asking why you didn’t wear a suit. I’m certain the people getting married didn’t care, and I don’t think anyone is going to be looking down at me wondering why I showed up at their funeral without a suit. Suits make no sense whatsoever.

Why am I such a suit hater? I’m not a suit hater, I just could never think of any good reason for any sane person to wear a suit in the first place (especially in Arizona in the summer).

Exactly what purpose does a suit serve? Why in the world are so many people required to wear a suit to work? Do the clothes make the man or woman in the western world today? Does wearing a tie make us work harder or smarter? Is this a conspiracy by the clothing, fabric or dry cleaning industry to take our money?

Or are we all just lemmings following a standard we all know makes zero sense, but we follow because we are afraid not to?

If you are a CEO, are there not better things your employees could spend money on than multiple suits, ties, dress shirts, dress shoes, dress socks, dry cleaning, and all the other associated costs ? Gee, no suits would be the same as giving your employees a tax free raise. Think that might make them happy? Or do employees consider having to spend money on suits a perk?

 

I Am The KING!
 

Now I understand some people think wearing a suit provides them with a certain level of stature. It gives them confidence. It helps them feel good about themselves. Well let me be the first to tell you that if you feel like you need a suit to gain that confidence, you got problems. The minute you open your mouth, all those people who might think you have a great suit, forget about the suit and have to deal with the person wearing it.

Is there a reason other than “that’s just the way it is”? Haven’t you looked at someone in a suit, trying to look important and just thought how stupid and out of place it is? Why do we do this to ourselves?

I know this all is a crazy rant, but come on now. If you have had to wear a suit to work every day, haven’t you wondered why? If you are the CEO or in charge of a company, haven’t you wondered yourself why you are making your employees waste all that money and come to work and spend the day in uncomfortable clothing?

Give your suit wearing employees a raise. Tell them every day is casual day. And if they choose to dress to impress anyways? RECOGNIZE THEM! Take them to lunch, fill up their tank, do something other than making or demanding they wear a suite to work in 120 degree weather...

THE REMOVAL (TAKING YOUR LOVED ONE TO THE FUNERAL HOME)

 NOTE - Due to the cease and desist letter I received from a specific corporation, all names are to be considered fictitious, but then again, I did not write the article.

Disclaimer - If none of this information pertains to your staff or your funeral home, don't worry about it. But don't be angry with me for speaking the truth......

 

 

FIRST CALL - The initial visit of the funeral director (rarely), their staff representatives or their "Removal Service"  to the place of death for the purpose of removing the deceased and to secure certain information for which he has immediate need.

 

REMOVAL - Transport of the deceased from the place of death be it a Hospice facility, the residence, the Medical Examiners office or the Hospital to the funeral home for refrigeration, storage or preparation while the administrative duties and responsibilities of the facility are conducted. This is done by either the funeral home staff or the "Removal Service".

LETS TALK!

Of all the concerns I have heard from the community, probably the biggest and most concerning has been, "How do I know your facility is going to be the one that picks up my Mom when she dies, HOW WILL WE KNOW"?
 

You won't know, unless you do your homework and handle your affairs prior to the death. As much as the funeral home may want to ensure everything goes as smooth as it can, as much as they may want to release the burden of the moment or soften the blow from the loss of your loved one, the funeral home can not step into your shoes and tell the Hospice facility or hospital that "YOU" chose "US" at the time of death. This is illegal and for a "care facility" to accept the call or name from a funeral home is illegal. It is also illegal for a hospice or care facility to tell you that they work "specifically" with any one facility. By law, they are required to give you a choice of 3. (Arizona). I have always recommended to the family that at least one person, family representative or friend stay with the deceased until the funeral home of your choice arrives and identifies themselves as your selected and preferred facility. We usually respond in 1/2 hour so the wait is not long to give you a bit of comfort. If you want to ensure you are not getting a removal service, when the staff member arrives, ask who took the "first call?"

What if she ends up elsewhere?

Guess what, this happens also. This happens when the deceased passes away late at night and the hospice has not been notified of a facility or location. This happens late at night when an unethical hospice worker that is doing this for a "kick back" (this happens, I don't care what anyone says, not all the time, but it does). They hope that the family will not question the location selected, especially for just cremation. The bottom line is that no matter what, if the deceased ends up at a facility you did not ask for or select, even if you DID NOT pick one at all, you are not obligated to pay the removal charges. Tell the funeral home to bill the hospice that they selected without your permission.

The Funeral Home is Here.....

A knock at the door, some of the family is in the room with Mom, some are in the kitchen, one of the family members answers the door and a younger looking guy is there in a shirt and tie, its usually not what you expected. He is kind, he says "hi, my name is  ......" from such and such funeral home. You stop and turn your head and say "The Funeral Home is here!" Guess what, most of the time, they are not. In fact, they probably don't even work for the funeral home. It's a contract company that drives all over the valley doing what is called "REMOVALS". this is the term for picking up a deceased person and transporting them to the funeral home.

The guy comes in and asks to see were the deceased is. He then asks for the person in charge. Not much is said and he will not say much. He gives the business card and fills out some paper work. He then speaks to the hospice nurse and asks when you are ready, just let him know. The hospice nurse will share with the family, "Perhaps you would like to leave the room while he places Mom on the gurney" Now, I discourage that, "IN FACT" I encourage family members to help if they wish, it is very comforting helps Begin the grieving process.

The "Removal guy" or "Staff" from my funeral home then bring in the gurney, they lower it to the level of the bed and place a device called a "slide board" under the deceased. It is a flat plastic very smooth board that is used for "sliding" the deceased across the bed onto the gurney. The gurney has two straps to secure the deceased to it. The staff then covers the gurney but I encourage the staff to not cover the deceased face until they get to the front door. It has been my experience that the family walks with the deceased out to the van, again, I encourage this. I ask the children "Walk with your Mom or Dad". We get to the van and the deceased is placed in the back. The staff member then tells the family, "You will be contacted in the morning by the funeral home. Then you leave. Allot of staff from removal services are collage kids trying to get through collage or someone going to mortuary school. Remember, it is illegal for a removal staff person to pick up a deceased with alcohol on their breath.

Were do you go then?

Well, the "removal service" runs to the next removal and on and on and on at times taking your loved on a 3 to 4 hour "tour" of the city. Yes it is legal, and yes they are that busy. The "Funeral Home" staff go to the funeral home that they work for, but more and more removal vehicles go to a central processing unit were they take all the bodies that the company either cremates or buries. The corporate funeral homes use usually one facility in the area. We at Avenidas take the deceased to the funeral home, our funeral home in AVONDALE, Arizona. by our funeral home employee drivers. Thoompson Funeral Chapel of Goodyear AZ uses a "Removal Service" as does THE "no name" funeral home in Tolleson AZ, Avdantage Crystal Rose take the deceased to it's central "Prep. Unit" in central Phoenix, AZ. (Also known as CSI or The Dingity Memorial guys)

Why do they do that?


Got to get to the next removal...........

Ring! Ring!.. not now
 I'm sleeping.........

Because they can? I don't know, because the funeral director is to lazy to get out of bed in the middle of the night? (or the middle of the day or to busy playing video games)  Save money? (not for you! not at the prices these other facilities charge) Who knows. Removal services are a good thing, most are very professional and courteous, but still, I have a staff and chose to run a funeral home so WE can serve you, not a removal service. It's a really good feeling when a family comes into see me and tells me. "Your guy was very nice and professional last night" and I can tell them, "May I bring him in so you can thank him personally?" I like that and they earned the re recognition.

 

CREMATION CONTAINER SWITCH AND HOOK!

THE CREMATION CONTAINER SWITCH AND HOOK SCAM!

Through out  this blog, you will be introduced to various cremation containers, they are different in price and appearance, yet..... THEY ALL DO THE SAME THING!
 

This is a cremation container  ($45)

You have death in the family, you choose cremation. You go to the funeral home and meet with the director. The Direct Cremation option is your service of choice. You do all the paperwork; You understand th the direct cremation is offered with a basic cardboard container. You are content with that. 
 

So is this one.. ($135)

Now comes the "switch", The Funeral Director (owner?) tells you, “Now we select the cremation container for your loved one” (that’s called a set up because there is ALL READY a cremation container included in the package, it is not illegal, but it is intended to instill upon you a sense of desire for you to want to do the best). Next comes a very attractive (and expensive) cremation container that you ASSUME is the one that comes with the cremation service selected, it builds pride and gives you comfort  in you and your decision to select an option that has this impressive container for your loved one. You are very pleased with what you see and proud of your selection. 

 

So is this.. ($300)

Now comes the “Let Down”. OH! I'm sorry sir, that is not the one that comes with the direct cremation, this is an "UPGRADE"......... THIS ONE IS! You are then given a worn, tattered picture that shows the very basic cremation container (brown cardboard Box). It is nothing more than a simple box that is used to transport the deceased to the crematory and cremation. It is not to be used for anything more than that. It is never presented to the public or available for prying eyes to see. Your jaw drops, it is ugly and you feel very embarrassed knowing this is the container that will be used for the deceased. (remember, no one is going to see it, The funeral director is BETTING that you will have the opinion that "I WILL KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE". He is counting on that to close his deal. 

At that time you are told the price of the two, the nicer container is HUNDREDS, if not thousands of dollars more, by then, the funeral director has won.  9 out of 10 people will upgrade to the more attractive expensive unit out of shame and guilt. You have been manipulated into buying something out of guilt, that's all. From the sales perspective, this is a great form of marketing. But this is NOT a car sales lot and the funeral director IS NOT a used car salesman............, and your family member has just died.

Why Did He Do This?

• They both are acceptable as a cremation container
• They both are acceptable for transporting the deceased
• They both are acceptable by the crematory
• They both fit the requirements of the law
• They both are combustible
• You were tricked into buying something that costs more and does the same thing

Think about this for a moment...... Why did he do this? now you know, and if you knew then what you are reading now, now you are getting angry.

REMEMBER!



So is this.... ($350)

The more expensive one is introducing greater profit to the funeral home via an unethical practice by the funeral director who played very heavy on your emotions and sentiment. This brought you to a point of “SEVERE GUILT” because you are thinking of accepting the simple cardboard container "that is in your budget and gets the job done"  over a more attractive box that is not.

 

ETHICS…, WHAT IS THAT?

As is this one.. ($450)

Ethics is defined as a system of moral principles: the ethics of a culture. Also defined as the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class or job title definition. "A set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behavior helps or harms sentient creatures (humans)".  The Cambridge Dictionary states that the word ethics is "commonly used interchangeably with 'morality' ... and sometimes it is used more narrowly to mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group, individual or business.
 

This ones not for sale, you have to earn it...

THIS IS THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS DEFINITION!

Ethics means to do what is right, because it is the right thing to do and do it right all the time, even when no one is around and, no one is looking.

If something you do ever enters your mind as something you might get caught doing, it is "UNETHICAL".

WHAT WENT WRONG?

The funeral director decided that introducing his type of deceitful sales tactics and practices ant he convinced himself that this is acceptable. The risk is worth the financial gain. They have become one that shows absolutely no emotion or have become so callous as to the pain you are feeling during your loss, he has been overcome and drunk on greed. He hopes to gain a profit and allows himself to guide you into a position where he or she emotionally have the upper hand in sales by swindling you into something you do not need, nor did you ask for. He does not care if you can afford it. These practices are "Learned" practices.

How about this one... ($700)

It is at this point in his career that this individual has lost all sense of morality and his best interest, his financial Profit, his  FINANCIAL GAIN  became more important than your best interests. This goes against the laws and principals of a funeral director, the trade and the rule of thumb. He or she is well aware of this. They know that if found out, they could lose their license, their business, their respect from the community and their freedom. This is a very serious offense and is punishable under the law.

 HIPPOCRATIC OATH

 

The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by health care professionals that swear to practice medicine or the performance of their duties ethically, honestly and without question. It is common knowledge that funeral directors try to follow the same guidelines.

SO LETS SAY I DON’T CHOOSE THE FANCY BOX!

And this one is to.. ($800)

Well, the Funeral Home owner has exposed you to substantial duress during a most vulnerable time in your life, perhaps you knew it was not within your budget and you left thinking about it, It hurt you and your family because you were shamed and were exposed to options that you did not ask for and you did not want. This action was done with the sole intent of financial gain on behalf of the owner, all the time hoping that you will upgrade out of guilt, and not necessity. This is illegal.

 

SO WHAT CAN I DO?

With a statement and complaint to any STATE funeral board, the investigators will open a case against the facility and the state will file charges against this facility, the funeral director and the owner.


And Finally, this one is to.. ($3,700)

If the Funeral Board finds in your favor, you will then have all you need to bring criminal charges and a law suit against this facility suing them for an undetermined LARGE amount of financial payment and forfeiture of the facility license (if found guilty). At that time you may also bring a civil suit against the funeral director (person) that did this to you in the amount of thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars if found guilty.

Now, we all know that everyone is innocent until found guilty, so we cannot assume until the powers that be say they are.
 

So ask yourself Mr. Funeral Director, Is it worth it?

NEWS!

 


Oh, this would also make a GREAT Television News Story if you were to give the “ACTION-LINE” a call. They love these stories, and so does the public love to hear about these type of corrupt individuals....


FLASH! Funeral Director and owner get sent to PRISON!

 

 

 FOREVER!

 Oh MY!........., Lets not talk about the I.D. Viewing scam, shall we?

 (CLICK HERE TO READ ON!)