Funeral costs – why aren’t they cheaper?
You might have seen a number of adverts on TV talking about pre-paid funerals, which are a very good idea, but have you thought about why a proper funeral costs what it does? Up and down the country, funeral directors work hard to make the worst times in life as bearable as possible for their clients. We’re trained professionals and always try to offer the advice most suitable to the needs of each client, who are most often a grieving family or friend of the deceased.
From pick-up of a deceased person to erecting a memorial, the work of a funeral director takes well over 60 man-hours.
First contact
Unless a person has arranged a pre-paid funeral plan, the first contact we have with a family is usually their call for us to take the deceased’s body into our care. Our first response team will come out at all hours and pick up from all kinds of circumstances. The team will usually consist of two men, driving a specially converted vehicle, and with great care they will transport the deceased to one of our mortuaries.
The deceased will be stored in a dedicated mortuary, where their body will be cleansed, prepared, and, most often, embalmed by a professional embalmer. They are always treated with the utmost dignity and respect and we will take whatever time is needed to make sure they are ready for viewing, if that is what their loved ones want. There might be a wait of up to three weeks for the funeral to take place, and more if there is a coroner involved.
Arrangements
There can be a huge amount of paperwork after a death, and your funeral director does as much as they possibly can to help. The funeral arranger is specially trained to help clients deal with all of the detail and will take as much time as needed. All the while, the funeral arranger will arrange a suitable funeral service (whether a burial, cremation, or direct cremation), walking the client through every detail, choice, and decision about dates, times, venue, chapel visits, music, celebrant, coffin, clothing, flowers, vehicles, bearers, printed orders of service, donations, and all the other things that must be finalised. They will take time to listen to their client, helping them as they begin the process of grieving.
In our experience, the more carefully we address the details, the less likely it is that the day of the funeral will feel like an ordeal. A good funeral director’s team will be compassionate and highly professional, something that we’re proud to say our own team most definitely are.
The funeral and the days following
On the day of the service itself, everything should run smoothly, from transport to the service itself. There are between 6 and 10 people working on your behalf; the conductor, the celebrant, drivers, bearers… not to mention the staff at the venues. Then, after the service, we continue to support the client. Following a burial, we assist with the choice of memorial, manufacturing, engraving, and installing it for the client. Similarly, after a cremation, we pick up and store any cremated remains, and help the client to consider and choose a suitable container or memorial, if that is their wish.
Continued support
Even after the practicalities are finished, a good funeral director will keep in touch and help in any way they can. The Hunnaball Family Funeral Group hosts annual remembrance events called ‘Light a Candle’ and ‘Name a Star’, giving grieving families and friends the space to remember and give thanks. We understand that the ordeal of losing a loved ones does not end with the funeral service.
You get what you pay for
Funeral services are not cheap, and we’re sometimes asked why this is. The simple answer is that behind the scenes, a large number of specially trained people, dedicated facilities and specialist transport are involved. Care of the deceased and their families can never be rushed or skimped; it is a sacred trust which takes many hours of dedicated work.
