A Job for Life?
- 3 February 2010 19:1239548With years of leaflets coming through the letterbox, this is the first time I`ve had one like this. It`s a colour brochure with colourful trees on it like New England in the fall. It`s advertising funeral plans from W J Farrier & Son Ltd, long time funeral business from Dover. Are there less people dying in the Dover district? I thought there`s would be a job for life? (no pun intended).Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
- 3 February 2010 19:2739550WJ Farrier and Son is a very well know Dover family run business and my family have always used them Mum Dad and also my wifes family mum dad son and so on I do not think they need to do any advertising at all but for some years now the trade as been hit ,+we do have alot more funeral companys about now and the cost is very high now that is why we see funeral plans over about 10years or more just so much aweek. It is all to late for me to take one out but good if you are in your fiftys. And the public are living longer today then say 10years ago
- 3 February 2010 20:1439554Thank you Vic, I just thought it an unusual item from the norm through the mailbox, but makes a change from the rest of the junk that comes through there. I haven`t really taken much notice of how many funeral companies we have, but are there many new one`s in Dover?Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
- 3 February 2010 20:4439557Funeral directors are discovering that their clients' thrift - basic coffins, cheese-and-cracker nibbles instead of traditional funeral luncheons, cutting down on cars, is positively killing profits. People, rather than selecting a mahogany coffin made of real mahogany may choose a poplar coffin stained with a mahogany stain, which to most observers looks the same.
It's not that people have stopped dying although there's some evidence that the death rate drops during a recession (people drive less, for example, so they have fewer accidents!)
Buying a package funeral package seems to be the easiest option for grief-stricken family members—and that's the way it's intended. Instead of scaling down to the necessities, many people buy an all-inclusive "traditional" funeral—an embalming, an ornate coffin, fancy flowers, hearses and graveside service. However, according to the Funeral Consumer's Alliance (FCA), this type of funeral is a fairly recent commercial invention—and not necessarily a good one.
When it comes in a package, it's easier to be overcharged for unnecessary expenses and there is less transparency for the charges. The FCA recommends looking for these things.
• Early on in your discussions, ask for a general price list, which outlines costs.
• Before picking out a coffin, ask for a price list, which should include cheaper variations.
• If you were told that something was required by law, you should have been given that evidence in writing.
• You should get an itemised statement of goods and services selected before the funeral so you know the total cost. - 3 February 2010 20:5339558You are right, though Jeanne. Tis hard when struck by grief. My Dad died in 2008 - on April 1st, which would have tickled him! - and I had to do all the arranging in Ireland. It was easier and less painful to let the undertakers and the priest manage it and just pay up - but in doing so I was very aware that we would - pun intended - be stiffed!! there were extras all over the place, including the cash in hand for the grave diggers and the people who will "help" my Mother tend the grave. That is, in part, the irish way, but it is also part of that buying in thing - we know there will be a price, but for me, thunderstruck with grief, it was worth paying.
- 3 February 2010 21:3439563It is hard to arrange a funeral when you are stricken by grief. Most people don't take advantage of that situation but alas there are some that do and it's very very wrong.
I have studied Burial rites and Mortuary Science and did some 'work experience' in a funeral directors. I found it totally fascinating to gain an insight into an area that, frankly, most people don't want to explore unless they have to arrange a funeral. The industry has changed considerably over the years.
Gone are the days of being told what you could have at the funeral; now the emphasis is on when do you want it and what do you want? As regards burials and cremations, anything is possible as long as it's legal. On the first day I was there one funeral was being conducted using an environmentally friendly cardboard coffin. The branch I was at (a well known family firm in North London who conducted the late Princess Diana's and the Queen Mothers funerals) average around five funerals per day. Each one is tailored to specific religious / location / budgetary requirements and carried out with the utmost dignity.
I did find the chapels of rest a little unnerving at first but by the end of the day I was more like, "Hello John, are you alright there"? "I'm just going to tidy you up a bit before your family arrive". Black horses are occasionally required, they are Dutch and stabled in Essex. It takes around three years of training (similar to police horses) before they can be used. They are transported by truck to the site, along with the hearse carriage, and on arrival travel along special routes in order to avoid steep hills etc - yes, I admit I hadn't thought about a horse and carriage on an incline! There's no second chance with a funeral so everything is double, treble and quadruple checked to ensure that nothing can go wrong. One thing that did make me laugh was one of the horses had a small white patch on his head which was cunningly disguised with shoe polish so it didn't show (thankfully it didn't rain!)
Incidentally more people die in January than at any other time of the year.
A couple more (rue) funeral related funnies -
I was attending my cousin's funeral some years ago and busying myself at the back of the church sorting the wreaths from the relatives. I had left my handbag in a corner when to my horror my mobile rang and echoed around the church. My Emenim "Stan" ring tone could be heard by all! Needless to say the priest was not amused!!
When I lived in London I passed an interesting looking church. I went inside and discovered a funeral was taking place. Having been brought up as a Catholic I was always told you never walk out of a church during mass or funeral once you were inside. I found a seat at the back and when the service finished I made my way to the door. One of the deceased's friends or relatives asked me how I knew the dead guy and I admitted I didn't (and hastily added I didn't want to just walk out during the service.) I was more concerned that in my usual black attire hiding at the back someone may have thought I was a secret mistress -
! Another person thinking I was family informed me the buffet and drinks would be at the pub across the road - no I didn't go!!