By Joseph Casper
How many times has a great expectation of yours turned into a grate expectation? Just when you believe everything is going spectacularly well, great becomes grate and soon a very bad experience evolves.
The Federal Trade Commission requires all funeral services to provide a full price list of all possible costs before the arrangements begin being made; not during or after. You should know what the complete cost of the funeral service will be before it is provided.
While inquiring about making funeral arrangements, you must listen to what you are being told. If you are not comfortable with the discussion and the direction things are moving towards, or if you feel even remotely unsure about the situation, move on.
When your requests or questions are answered with “maybe,” that should be a loud “no” in your mind. Second opinions are always important. Making any type of funeral arrangement requires care and thoughtfulness. As in most things in life, act in haste, repent in leisure.
If you do not like the response or cost that has been quoted, move on. There is no obligation to stay with any specific funeral service provider, and you always have the freedom to choose. You’ll discover you have options and choices if you take the time to listen to a second opinion. Without pursuing additional advice, you may be paying for much more than you will be receiving.
A phone call with a funeral service provider should not hold the same tone one would have as if you were calling to move furniture. A bad funeral service experience remains a bad experience forever. Your loved one or friend deserves better. As in any relationship, if it begins badly, it will end worse.
Don’t let the great expectation of a funeral service turn into a grate expectation.
Joseph Casper is with Casper Funeral Services in Boston. He can be reached at 800-314-1890 or email him at jc@casperfuneralservices.com. Archives of articles from previous issues can be read at www.fiftyplusadvocate.com
