Hello again. I am going to attempt to define a few things herein and hope readers don't get upset.
Trust me when I say I understand the funeral consumer doesn't do this every day and we do so I understand some misconceptions when it comes to funeral planning. I keep this in mind when I write the following suggestions and a relateable story.
Your faith concerns are my first concern. If you are more comfortable calling your priest, minister or rabbi first, by all means please do so but please don't set all your dates and times of service with them before speaking with the funeral professional. Once the religious aspect is addressed, contact the funeral home so we can make arrangements to take your loved one into our care.
Funeral attendants will come to take your loved one into our care, provide preliminary and either provide a meeting time and date or advise you when to expect a call from the funeral home to schedule same. The funeral experts will guide you through everything.
Why do I say this? Well, if you remember from my earliest posts, one of my goals with this blog was to address questions, concerns etc. for many to benefit by the answer. This is one of those instances.
A friend of mine in the industry (who only has one chapel in his funeral home) came to me and explained the following which I put in synopsis form:
'Hey Mark. I had this family that called me when their loved one died just the other day. I got the info to make the removal from the place of death and that's when they hit me. They had contacted their clergy, church, cemetery and yes...even their caterer BEFORE calling me. They told me when they had everything set up and when they were having calling hours. I told them I already had calling hours arranged for another family I served before them so they couldn't have it when they wanted. They were highly insulted and angry with me.'
Well...that was the gist of it all. While this is the extreme exception and not the rule, it happened and I thought I'd pass it along.
Please leave the arranging to the arrangers.
