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When you take a long-term view, green burial is not new. It’s just the way burial used to be. But that was a long time ago, and some cemetery professionals and families need to be educated about what it means today and what it offers. Cemetery Impossible What exactly is green burial and why should a cemetery consider offering it?   Dear Cemetery Impossible, I hear a lot of people talking about green or natural burial.  Frankly, I don’t get it.  Can you explain it so that a country undertaker can understand why I should consider it?             Country Undertaker   Dear Country Undertaker, Green or natural burial is not new. From a religious perspective, this is the burial requirement of Jews and Moslems. Biblically, it is established as “dust to dust.” This is what all burial was, regardless of […]

The fine line between donations and advertising.   Dear Dan, I am embarrassed to write this letter and will be even more embarrassed if you publish it. Now I know why you have fake names at the end of each letter. I am a 120-call business in a small town, and my competitor, who is the same size, is two blocks away. Neither of us are making much of a living, but we continue to fight for each call like our fathers and grandfathers did. Every week, I get at least five requests from churches, local organizations, religious groups and schools for “advertising.” These are nominal and generally amount to between $25 and $200. Little League wants new T-shirts, the high school yearbook wants ads, the senior center needs donations, etc. While each request is not a lot, last year, […]

My objective for this article is to challenge readers to consider refreshing stale practices developed over the last few years. In addition, I challenge you to take a new view of what has become “passé” (for my fellow preppy rednecks, that means the same old thing) in many funeral home and cemetery operations. Offering keepsakes and personalization has become a staple in our business, but in some cases, the way we’re going about it is making us lazy and failing the families we serve. I wonder whether keepsakes and personalized products have the same value to the families you serve as they do to you. From a historical perspective, keepsakes to remember the dead have been around a long time. Just for reference, the Webster’s Dictionary definition of keepsake: “(noun) something given or kept as a memento.” It is interesting […]

The Right Fit Placing personnel where they will flourish and training them for success.   By Jeff Harbeson   The funeral profession is facing a crisis, and it’s not cremation, it’s not foreign caskets, it’s not even online funeral providers, it’s ­people! Right now, there are more funeral directors leaving the business, either by retirement or simply quitting, than are entering. In my lifetime, I have been bombed, shot at and cut, so if readers get their starched boxers in a twist, so be it – I ain’t scared. The truth is that we (in the profession) are our own biggest enemy. That’s right – the king is butt-naked. In this country, each state has individual requirements to enter this profession. The regulations range from zero licensing to dual licensure with a four-year bachelor of science degree. I’ve been around […]