Denton County Living Well Magazine September/October 2020 | Page 43

FOLLOW YOUR
Instinct
PHOTO BY JULIA CAESAR
By RICK ALLEN
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 weeks 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 of cheap services. You can bet there is a shortcut
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.
DENTON COUNTY • 41