What exactly is a Direct Cremations?
The Direct Cremation has become a more popular option over the years. For some it is simply a financial reason to avoid the expense of the usual funeral service. Other people just don’t want the fuss and bother of a funeral service. There are all kinds of reasons why someone may chose this option today.
In the past, a direct cremation was more for someone who died and had no family or friends to organise the funeral. It is a sad conclusion to one’s life. But for practical reasons, this was the best option logistically – so to speak.
With a Direct Cremation there is usually no viewing of the person after they have died. The person is collected and taken to the funeral home and then when the paperwork is finalised, they can be cremated. The family can then collect the ashes or in some cases the funeral home will deliver the ashes. It seems very quick and a little impersonal, but it is what people want.
When Funeral Homes advertise “Direct Cremations” it certainly pays to read the fine print, because there can be a lot of variation in costs. Even more can what services they will provide. This can vary dramatically from one funeral home to another. Some are very strict on what they will provide and if anything else is wanted there will be an additional cost.
Without doubt Direct Cremations are not what Funeral Homes want, because the profits are minimal. But as society changes, funeral homes need to change also. I’ve mentioned before that the tactics of some funeral homes is to advertise a low price in order to “get you through the door” and then encourage you with more options. It something I detest at a time of vulnerability and stress.
The difference with SDF is that we don’t have the ability to charge more or need to encourage families to spend more with us. Our focus is on what the family wants with them reassured that costs won’t increase with small changes. Having this discretion, to do more for less, is something we enjoy providing. This simply means that if there are some extra requests – we don’t charge more. A private viewing is one option. If there is some extra driving, we won’t charge for that. If there is an error with the Death Certificate we correct this without cost to the family. Definitely not after-hours fees…
Let me give you a few examples:
There was one family who wanted to wait a few days before the cremation and over those days they wanted to come at visit the person. This was easily arranged each day, at no extra cost. Also, because they didn’t want to go to the chapel, they gathered here before I left and had a small service which they organised themselves. No extra charge.
Another time some family members thought the person just wanted a cremation asap and we organised this. But a few hours later there were other family members who wanted to see the person before the cremation. So I delayed the cremation for the day. The next morning a couple came to my place to see the person. Then I got a phone call shortly afterwards asking if I could take the person to their place rather than the rest of the family coming here. I was more than happy to do this. They lived near and with a larger number of people attending their location on the lawn under the large tree was ideal.
Direct Cremations do give families other options and the more we can offer without the expense the better. If we make enough so that we can continue to offer this low-cost / high-service option, that suits us fine.
