Follow Your Instinct
A woman called me just the other day and I recognized her by name but was not able to immediately recall the details of our previous meeting . After a few seconds of conversation , I remembered everything we had previously discussed and the entire scenario became clear to me . The person on the other end of the line had come by our office a couple of week before and was asking about pricing and other general information related to pre-need planning for her parents . She told me at the time she was going to visit with a few other funeral homes just to get an idea of the differences in cost and things of that sort . What she conveyed to me in our telephone conversation prompted me to choose the subject for this article .
I was not surprised to hear the details of what she had learned , but knew it would be important for her to find the things out that she wanted to know herself . She began telling me what a wide range of cost there was between various funeral homes for the same type services . She also told me of situations where she saw a price advertised in the newspaper and because it appeared to be such a value she followed up on it only to learn that the price advertised wasn ’ t really the true cost after all the added extras . There was even one funeral home that told her she would have to pay a considerable amount more if she wanted to create a pre-need contract and pre-pay for services in advance of need .
Having been in this industry for over 35 years , none of what she told me was shocking or much of a surprise to me –– I deal with these issues on a
daily basis . However , to the average person , who only deals with funeral planning maybe once or twice in a lifetime , she was appalled –– as well she should have been . While it is true that funeral planning is a very detail oriented process and there are many choices to be made and items to be addressed , the consumer should not
feel overwhelmed or confused and certainly should not feel taken advantage of . As we talked further , I tried to gently explain to her that if you look at the range of costs she was quoted , there are two clear reasons why you have the low end and the high end of the spectrum . If you have ever heard the phrase , “ You get what you pay for ,” that describes the low-cost advertisers
Rick Allen is the owner of Allen Family Funeral Options . Visit their informative website at affoplano . com or give them a call at 972-596-8200 .
By Rick Allen
of cheap services . You can bet there is a short-cut in service , professionalism , genuine care or concern in the way the process is handled . On the other end of the spectrum , the reason for the most costly providers for the same services can be attributed to nothing more than greed . Some funeral homes actually take pride in saying they are the most expensive . Sadly , those who are the most expensive typically exhibit the least care and professionalism .
So , that brings us to the topic and title of this article : “ Follow Your Instinct .” The caller told me that of all the people she talked with , she felt the most comfortable with us . She told me how much she appreciated the time she was given and how we answered all of her questions in a fashion she understood and that made sense to her . She also told me we were not the cheapest , but we were far from the most expensive . She even said that she felt we would be her ultimate choice , but she felt obligated to shop around . I encourage people to call more than one funeral home , but with something as important as planning a final tribute to someone who was so very important to you , choosing a provider solely on who is the cheapest is like treading on thin ice .
Whether you are in need of immediate care when a death has occurred or are wisely planning in advance , I encourage you to talk with more than one provider and ultimately go with who makes you feel the most comfortable . Cost obviously needs to be considered , but it absolutely should not be the only consideration .
COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | MARCH / APRIL 2018
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