"The Difference Genuine Care Can Make"

A thoughtful conversation about what truly separates a good funeral home from the rest. From genuine compassion to the small gestures families never forget, this segment highlights the importance of trust, care, and community during life’s most difficult moments. Hear how personal touches, familiar faces, and heartfelt service can make an overwhelming situation feel just a little easier.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

So what's your recommendations for when looking for a funeral home? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Um probably my first thing would be is to look for a locally owned funeral home. Um there are funeral homes that are owned by a corporation, um, and they can do a service just fine, but I feel like a locally owned um is is the best option. Um you know, say you can get a funeral at any funeral home in your area, you can get a cremation, you can buy a casket from anywhere, but it's the little things that makes the difference for for a funeral home. And um as I mentioned before, you know, we have a lot of families that have been there time and time again. And um having that reputation and you know, when they say you're the one we're gonna call, um, that is showing a lot of trust uh in us. And that's something that that I take very important. Um it's very important to me. Um because you're right, it it is you're they're entrusting their loved one to us, and it may sound like it's a cliche, but it it's it's very important because if they don't trust us, then you have a big problem. And so um, you know, it's the little things that that make a difference um for families.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Yeah. In your opinion, what separates a good funeral home from a bad funeral home? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Um I think putting yourself in someone's shoes and showing real care and where it's not just a job to you. Um that that it's your calling and that's what you're supposed to be doing. And uh we have a lot of good part-time people um that work for us and they're in the community. Um you know, they are out doing things, they know a lot of people, and and I think that makes a difference too, is that um you see a familiar face, that helps too, because no one wants to be at the funeral home, whether it's their loved one or it's someone they know, no one wants to be there. And I totally understand that. But our job is to make them more at ease, to make the situation better. And for me personally, that is the biggest compliment that that I can get is if a family after arrangements or after a service, when they tell me you made a hard situation easier on us, or they say, I I was worried about this, but it wasn't as bad as I thought the process, and you made it easier, and that's what it's all about. Um so you know, our I can't do it by myself. We have a lot of good part-time people and support staff, and um it's it's uh it's definitely difficult at times, but um having uh having good people makes a huge difference.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Yeah, professional too. Yes. That makes a big difference too. What stands out to you the most about funeral homes, um, especially for the one you work at? What stands out the most with the funeral home you work at um that you would recommend to anyone?

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Sure. Um even um it's the little things that that make a difference. Um, you know, one thing that we do is we do a memorial blanket. Um we use um the company out of North Carolina and we uh send a picture, and there's a lot of different options for backgrounds. Um we just um take somebody's hobby, put a picture in there, and then they send that to us the next day. And so we hang that up for the for the family or for the service. Um and little things like that um make it make a huge difference. Uh we're the only one in the area that does that. Um even something as simple as when we uh are on a call, uh, once we have the individual on our cot, uh, we make the bed and um you leave a rose on the bed. And even something as simple as that. It's uh artificial rose, but uh just little uh gestures like that, I feel like are important to just to show the family that we we do care. As I mentioned, you know, being uh having genuine care makes a difference. And uh we want families to know that this isn't just um we're trying to get done with your service and on to the next one. And I know it gets busy um and sometimes it's difficult, but each family is important to us and to show that care is is what makes the difference.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Because they'll always go back and remember those little things, it'll be that rose on the bed. Exactly. It will be that that last conversation they had with you after the funeral when you give them the flowers at their house. Exactly. Those are the things that stick out, yeah. So true.