Cremation and The Ultimate Cremation Experience Through Questioning Strategies
“Cremation & Creating the Ultimate Cremation Experience Through Questioning Strategies. ” There are two types of customers funeral directors serve, according to Wages. The external client includes the client families served by the funeral director. These are the people from outside the funeral home environment. The second type of customer, said Wages, is often forgotten about but equally important and that is the internal customer-the funeral home staff. Wage’s “questioning strategy” applies to both the internal and external customer. As far as the internal customer, or employees, are concerned, the funeral home owner must make sure they are in sync with each other and able to communicate with the external customers. Wages pointed out that often funeral directors get away from the basics, the simple little things that they should be doing for families. For example, she warned the first thing to consider is the initial feeling that a family has about your funeral home. She encouraged the audience to take a good look at how their employees are dressed as they are out representing the funeral home. It is important that they dress appropriately as they are the face of the funeral home. It is also important to maximize every interaction with people in the community. “It is important to look at how you and your staff are going to get the most out of every interaction that you have so that when people go away then can say, “I can tell you who to use, there is nobody better to use in this community,” said Wages. “You have got to focus on how to set yourself apart from other service providers. ” One way a funeral home can set itself apart is through positive telephone contact. According to Wages, there are four main types of phone calls that the funeral home will get: routine calls, which include the florist or someone looking for directions; at-need calls; preneed calls; and shopper calls. The shopper calls, she said often get brushed off. But this is a mistake. These calls should instead be used as a chance to build a relationship. Get the person’s name and have a conversation with them. Sometimes the difference is in the details. For identification purposes, Wages suggested placing the deceased on a daybed in one of the parlors that is not often used, allowing the families to spend some time with their loved one in a comfortable environment. In the same vein, when families come in to pick up their cremated remains, that same parlor can be set up with a nice draped table, a candle and a picture of the deceased. Though it may be more work, she said it will set the funeral home apart from the others. She also suggested walking family members around the funeral home on their first visit and introducing them to the staff, allowing them to see the facilities. “By allowing them to see everything you have to offer, you can add value before you ever even have to add charges,” she said. Also on the initial visit, she said the funeral director should not ask for the basic statistics: name, social security number, etc. At that time, it is more important to get to know more about the deceased. The funeral director’s main goal is to help the family create a service that represents that person’s life. “Learn about the unique life of the deceased through questioning and listening,” she said. “Have a conversation. Don’t think about the service just get to know the person. ” When meeting with new families, one detail that will help in building an immediate positive relationship is to get to know everyone’s name. “Remember you are getting ready to sit down with a family whose loved one was special to them. Allow them to talk about their loved one,” she said. “Your role is to help them celebrate their loved one’s life. Help them to plan the service they want. You need to think for them as they are grieving. ” When a funeral director truly listens to the family’s stories, helping that family personalize the funeral will be that much easier. Wages stressed the importance of open-ended questions, such as: Tell me a little bit about your dad’s service in the military? What did your father do better than anybody else? What did your father enjoy talking about? How do you think your father would most like to be remembered? “Get personal with the families,” she said, yet a funeral director must also be ready for any response from the family. They may be happy to share or they may be skeptical of all the questions. Explain to them why you are asking the questions. ” If the family is skeptical at first, she said let them know that these questions will help honor their loved one’s life. “Be prepared to respond to any questions the client may have,” she added. Once that initial conversation has taken place, then the funeral director can present the General Price List. She also suggested leaving the price list out so that the family can ask questions when they are ready. “You have met FTC regulations,” Wages said. “You do not have to sit the family down and break the list down piece by piece. ” When everything has been addressed, the funeral director should give the family a sub total, then step out of the room to give the family time to talk over payment options. When the funeral director returns, the family will be able to sign the legal forms and take care of payment. Once the funeral has taken place, Wages encouraged every funeral director to survey the family about their experience with that funeral home. There will always be those few clients who are angry with the service they received, which puts the funeral director in an awkward position. But no matter how seemingly unfair this anger seems, “you have to take it,” said Wages. “You have to hear out the problem. Then you have to empathize with the person and apologize. ” Also, she said, “Find out what happened, gather the information and respond. ” This doesn’t mean the funeral director has to get scared and give the whole funeral away, but this is the time for the funeral director to really listen and let the family “tell you what has to be done to regain their trust. ”
If you or a family member have any further questions or concerns with respect to cremation, cremation services, cremation costs or a direct cremation please feel free to contact Cremation Options toll free 24 hours daily at 1-877-989-9090.