Five Things That Makes Us Different From Other Funeral Homes
Not Better / Not Worse – Different
#2 We Only Have Low Prices
The Background
From day one I decided to have only low prices. This was one of two foundation stones that SDF was based on. The other one I will write about in next week’s blog.
The expense of funerals is something many people have heard about. For some people, this isn’t an issue. For others, it is a real concern.
The number of elderly people who are worried about the burden left to their family with their funeral costs is very real. And the advertising around funeral insurance and pre-paid funerals only adds to their concerns. They don’t want to be a financial bother.
With the increase of the “funeral business” and often the big businesses behind it has only encourage more ways to make money. Which is fine in our capitalistic set-up. But as we also know, there can be some who, if given the opportunity, will charge as much as they can get away with. So I saw an opportunity to offer an alternative.
Why Only Low-Cost Funerals?
There were several reasons to go down this path. Here are a few…
- The first was to give families certainty regarding how much a funeral will cost. No surprises, no hidden costs, no additional stresses. Only low prices.
I’m someone who doesn’t enjoy stress and so I always try and alleviate any stress for others if I can. So having these set prices took away so much additional hassle for me and families. There was no need for me to try and offer (sell) more services. - Low costs don’t limit what a family can do to remember and celebrate the life of a person. Today, there are many ways to have a funeral that you want. I’ve had formal and informal funerals, some with hundreds of people present and others with a few.
- When I started SDF, I was shocked by what some people told me they were charged for even a direct cremation. Excuse the terrible pun, but someone was making a killing. So my focus was on people who wanted a low-cost funeral – no surprises.
Professional Care
Regardless of the cost, I wanted families to feel confident and assured using SDF. Although we don’t come across as formal as others, we would happily compare how we operate from other homes. The low-cost approach has sometimes meant very limited services. No viewing, pick up ashes at funeral home, etc.
Service doesn’t really cost, if it helps families. So we always want to do as much as we can for families regardless of the funeral price. Over our time, it has been our service that families comment on positively the most.
No Gimmicks
When I started I don’t think there was any funeral home focusing on low-cost funerals. Listening and reading adverts today, there has been a huge change in focus. Unfortunately there are some who advertise low-costs so to get people “through the door”. Then they can cleverly increase costs with extra services.
There is no way we can do this. Families are assured that the price is the price. The most expensive funerals we have done have both been $5000 and this included trips to Christchurch and Westport.
We definitely don’t subsidise “cheap” funerals with more expensive funerals, which is really what most funeral homes do.
Conclusion
The cost of funerals has become a little clearer, but there is still a long way to go. Our setup from the start meant that reducing costs could happen. Low prices without the compromise on service.
For us, our slogan is more than financial. It includes all costs – emotional, stress, etc. Quite a few things have changed from day one. And they have been for the better. But one thing that won’t change is this…
Do not let the cost of saying goodbye add to your grief
Read more here