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The Family Funeral Home Provides
Better Quality Than Corporate Owned Ones
By Mike Selvon
Roughly 3,000 of 22,000 funeral homes are owned by large
corporations. Houston-based Service Corporation
International (SCI) is the biggest owner, claiming a 14%
share of revenues from afar, while still allowing local
management and control. Other giants include Carriage
Services, and Stewarts, who own thousands of them and
cemeteries.
Prices at the busiest of them could rise as much as 35%
in some areas, following the acquisitions. While some
are excited about the mergers that bring additional
finances and services, others worry that the
corporations won't provide the same quality of service,
as given by a family owned funeral home.
As of 2007, there aren't a lot of visible differences
between the family-owned funeral home and its
corporate-run competitors. Even with part of the cost
being funneled to another company in another state, many
are still a locally owned and managed parlor. The prices
may be slightly higher or customers may be subtly urged
to purchase packages, rather than simply a cremation or
a casket.
Since 1984, there have been heavy regulations mandated
by the government in a document otherwise known as "The
Funeral Rule." Therefore, there are certain protections
for bereft families and they cannot be overtly pushed
into buying anything unnecessary or beyond their
budgets.
Secondly, branding has become part of the corporate
appeal. Twenty-four-hour "compassion hotline" services
are marketed on television, some targeting Latino
viewers or other specific demographics. They choose new
names like "Dignity Memorial" or "Forever Remembered" to
be marketed from coast to coast.
Websites will become more elaborate and marketing
techniques could begin to edge out the smaller
competition. However, many argue that the appeal of the
family-owned parlor will never die because people
generally associate higher levels of care and fairer
prices from the independents.
Thirdly, big companies with big money can sometimes
offer better musical arrangements, more funeral flowers
and more elaborate memorials. Some directors can even
offer videographers who will put together a multimedia
presentation for guests at the wake or memorial.
Another newer service being offered by funeral
homes/laboratory partnerships is DNA storage, which can
help with paternal tests, family genealogical history
studying and disease screening. The price for this
service is about $295 for DNA retrieval and 25 years of
storage. These services are valuable to some, but could
one day usurp all the little funeral homes that can't
accommodate these extra, high tech goodies.
Typically, the mourning families don't care whether a
funeral home is owned by a corporation or a family, when
it comes down to the day of loss. Therefore, it's a good
idea to check out local ones and cemeteries and discuss
things like cremation or funeral expenses beforehand,
and get these things in writing! While it seems sort of
morbid to think about it, thinking ahead can lessen the
financial burden later on.
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