Truck and Barter: Deathcare

June 08, 2004

Deathcare

By Kevin

Remember, in the long run, we're all dead.

That's why there's funeralwire.com, the self-proclaimed Leading Source for Deathcare Industry News.

I bring this up because they provide a great selection of nonscientific surveys of funeral directors--with some questions about regulation and business management.

For instance, Should pre-need counsellors be required to hold a funeral director's license? 56% of 399 respondents said yes, 36% said no.

Why should selling a contract for future funeral services (not performing services themselves) require any training or experience other than sales in sensitive situations?

Still, many funeral directors think having training in mortuary science and/or government licensing should be a requirement for such a sales position. Nope, no regulator capture in this industry...

Other questions are just as interesting. How about When a relative dies and you are asked to take the funeral how much of a discount do you give them off the price? Out of 194 votes:

0-5% 6.19% (12)
6-10% 9.79% (19)
11-20% 27.32% (53)
21-30% 10.31% (20)
31-50 11.34% (22)
51%+ 24.74% (48)
None 10.31% (20)

That's an extremely wide range of discount.

Another cool question: How long has your funeral home been in existence? Out of 180 votes:

0 - 5 Years 6.67% (12)
5 - 20 years 8.89% (16)
20 - 50 Years 15.56% (28)
50 - 100 Years 43.33% (78)
Over 100 Years 25.56% (46)

I wonder what the distribution would be for law firms and accountancies?

Also note that 85% of funeral directors are in favor of using emergency lights in funeral processions, since many cars now have automatic day running lights.

Posted at June 8, 2004 03:17 PM

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