 |
A Quiet Funeral Trust? |
"I know death hath ten thousand several doors for men to take their exit" | ||
| Funeral What to do first Non religious services Save a fortune Before it happens Make it personal How to complain Details Of mice & men Snippets
|
Unfortunately, the larger
companies now appear to be moving firmly towards taking an aggressive sales
stance. The soft spoken funeral arrangers, while genuinely concerned to
provide you with the best service and to help you through this difficult
time, are also having to work to strict guidelines on sales targets and
techniques, laid down by their
company.
"When selling a coffin: - Present the coffin range to it's advantage. - Direct the attention of the family to the highest quality item on display.... - Do not judge the ability of a family to afford a particular coffin or casket by their appearance. Prejudging could mean you talk yourself out of a higher priced item and your selling technique will reflect this." And on dealing with "objections" "I can understand your concern about the price but let me explain the difference in design and manufacture, again." Or, for example, "Yes, I can see your point about them just going into the ground, but we need to provide an extensive range like this in order to suit everyone's taste." Source: "The Guardian", February 27th 1996 "The press release followed the ITV ‘World in Action’ programme that was produced across the nations screens. The programme revealed that an ... employee had offered the hospital patients’ officer of the Royal Free Hospital, London, £500 towards his annual holiday. The employee later resigned from .... Later on ... admitted to having offered inducement payments to nursing homes."Gentle but persuasive suggestions can easily be fed into the arrangement interview and lovingly stroking a coffin (!) can seem to emphasise it's quality thereby making it a desirable item. There are several areas that are particularly lucrative to the funeral company, floral tributes, printed order of service, extra limousines, cremated remains caskets, memorials..... Of course they are in business to make money and this has to be recognised, but what must also be understood is the extreme vulnerability of the majority of clients to any high pressure selling at a time like this. |
LINKS
The disclaimer bit Persons acting upon information gained from these pages or personal contact do so at their own risk. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of any information contained herein. |
