Consumer Group Compares Funeral Prices in Vermont

I was looking over the latest figures for average funeral costs, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. According to their calculations, the average price of a funeral is $7,755. Of course, they point out that the figure doesn’t include the cost of a cemetery plot, flowers, monument marker and obituary. That figure, however, remains in sharp contrast to the prices I generally see. I often see a television commercial for an insurance company, which points to a similar $7,000 price point.

I ran across another article pointing the finger at corporate funeral homes for the higher-priced funerals. And perhaps this is true, as my experience with higher costs involved corporate firms. If I recall correctly, the last handful of funerals I arranged were priced from $12,000 - $17,000, sold in a corporate setting and were purchased as packages.

Anyway, back to the article, In Vermont, the average price tag for a traditional funeral is $4,330, according to a recent survey by the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Vermont. Cremation costs about $2,200. The alliance released its 2011 General Price Survey of the state’s 81 funeral homes last week, which includes a breakdown of prices for 29 individual services from embalming to burial that are provided by mortuaries in Vermont.

Lisa Carlson, a funeral consumer advocate and author, said the prices are “particularly admirable because these guys are paying the exorbitant fees for gas and fuel that everyone else is.”

Funeral prices in Vermont are low compared with the national average, but costs have gone up dramatically at a handful of funeral homes in southern Vermont that are owned by a multinational corporation, according to the alliance.

Service Corporation International, a publicly traded company based in Houston, Texas, with assets of $9 billion, owns four funeral homes in southern Vermont. The average total cost of a funeral at these homes, is $6,125, or $1,695 more than the statewide average, as reported in the alliance survey.

Adams & Kenney Funeral Homes in Ludlow and Ker Westerlund Funeral Homes in Brattleboro are two of the local entities that are part of the Dignity Memorial network of 1,600 funeral homes nationwide. Dignity Memorial is a subsidiary of Service Corporation International, which bills itself as “North America’s largest provider of deathcare products and services.” The company generated $1.5 billion in revenues in 2010.

“Those plans often come in the form of package deals, in which consumers choose a fixed array of services that include all the necessary components of a funeral, plus many unnecessary services as well," according to Carleson.

Carlson, an author and former executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, said grieving family members often spend more than they have to on funerals because they don’t shop around. Fifty-three percent of funeral consumers choose a funeral home because it has been used by their family in the past, and 33 percent go to the nearest available funeral home.

“A lot of people assume they have to call the only funeral home in town,” said Carlson, co-author of Final Rights, a book on the legal and business aspects of funerals and how they affect consumers.

For more information about funeral service costs, go to the Federal Trade Commission website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro26.shtm

Woman Finds Debris Mixed In With Father’s Cremated Remains

Long Island, New York

A Long Island woman found more than she bargained for while attempting to scatter the cremated remains of her father.

Jennie Spooner, of Amityville, had planned on giving her father the send-off he deserved. She dusted some of his ashes on a dinosaur in the Museum of Natural History, attached some to the tail of a kite and spilled some on the water at Canaan Lake as her dad wanted, reports The New York Post.

Before she could continue spreading her father’s ashes at his favorite haunts throughout the city, Spooner discovered debris mixed in with the cremated remains. The debris included:

• Pieces of Bone
• Pieces of a broom
• Glass shards
• Metal staples
• Partially melted crucifix

The 52-year-old Spooner, upon finding the trash, immediately called Joseph Slinger-Hasgill Funeral Home to complain, but the director blamed the crematorium. Spooner was horrified.

“My heart was pounding. I said, ‘What the heck is that? A spring? It flipped me out,” said Spooner, whose father died eight months ago from pneumonia and an infection. He was 79.

Spooner hired an attorney and is considering a lawsuit against the funeral and the crematorium.

Both the funeral home and the crematorium have declined comment.

Kansas Adds Eco-Friendly Cremation Alternative

Source

Topeka, Kansas

Funeral industry regulators in Kansas are working on putting rules into place that would allow funeral service providers to use a new method of cremation by July. Many funeral homes, already struggling with declining profits with the popularity of cremation, are against the process, as it allows for another potentially lower-cost solution for consumers.

The scientific term for the new method, Alkaline Hydrolysis, removes the need for a flame. Instead, the process combines heat, pressure and sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide solution. The human remains is reduced to dry bone residue and a slightly alkaline coffee-colored liquid mix of nutrients, sugars and protein parts that can be discarded.

Kansas legislators in 2010 passed a law that broadens the definition of cremation and makes the state just the seventh in the nation to allow the practice.

Alkaline Hydrolysis, also called bio-cremation, has already been in place in the world of medical research. Medical researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the University of Florida already use the process for human cadavers. Researchers at other universities have used it for decades on animal carcasses too.

Proponents of the method point to its ecologically friendly nature, as the removal of fire eliminates emissions of carbon dioxide and of potentially noxious fumes such as mercury from dental fillings.

As of this writing, there have been no Kansas funeral homes applying to open a hydrolysis cremation unit. So far, Ohio is the only state in the U.S. where the process has been used. That state’s definition of cremation remains narrower than Kansas’ however, and regulators there consequently have questioned whether it is legal. Six other states have approved broader definitions such as Kansas’; legislators in 14 others are contemplating similar changes.

Costs structures for the potentially emerging alternative remain sketchy. Traditional cremation costs vary widely. However, they often range between $1,000 and $4,000, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. Costs for traditional funerals also vary but often range from $6,000 upward, according to Association figures.

Paid Newspaper Ad From SCI Funeral Chain Has Texans Crying Foul

Austin, Texas

A well-known (well, former well-known name) in Austin funeral service has created a debate that’s growing bigger than Texas. A former funeral home owner, Charles Walden, allowed his name to appear in an advertisement (designed to look like an open-letter) placed by Houston-based funeral corporation, Service Corporation International. The advertisement appeared in the Austin American Statesman’s May 26th edition.

In the ad, Walden attempts to convince Austin readers that all Cook-Walden funeral service locations are the same now as they have been for the last 100 years. Well, that statement has stirred up more than a few Texans (and others) who claim the statement is misleading. You see, Cook-Walden originally had just one funeral home 40 years ago. It is now owned by Service Corporation International (SCI)-the largest funeral and cemetery chain in the world.


According to the history of Cook-Walden funeral services published at its own website, in the late 1800s a funeral home was opened in downtown Austin by Samuel E. Rosengren. In 1920, Charles B. Cook purchased that business. In 1971, Charles Walden purchased Cook Funeral Home. The name was changed to Cook-Walden. Shortly thereafter, Charles Walden bought two adjacent cemeteries in the Pflugerville area. In 1985, he bought Davis Funeral Home in Georgetown, then Forest Oaks funeral and cemetery in 1992. The two funeral homes at the Pflugerville cemeteries location and on Hwy. 183 at Anderson Mill were built more recently.

In 1997, Cook-Walden sold all of its operations to SCI. The recent open letter in the Statesman claims that in 1993 the Cook-Walden chain joined the Dignity Memorial(R) network (a registered service mark of SCI). But Cook-Walden could not have joined the Dignity Memorial(R) network until 2004 because that network did not exist until then, and that network is used only by SCI-owned facilities.

Charles Walden has continued to provide some consulting services, since the 1997 purchase by the corporation. However, local sources are unclear on his exact involvement. It is clear that SCI focuses mainly on making profits, which is the primary responsibility of all corporations. If, as its ad claims, it can provide “compassionate care” in doing so, that is a benefit to families.

However, another debate is unfolding – in addition to the botched history lesson by Charles Walden. The debate is now focusing on the overall reputation of Service Corporation International. The company is no stranger to bad press, lawsuits and now, online employee message forums. These forums are accusing the company of being extremely uncompassionate to its employees, even when those employees are trying to provide compassionate service to grieving families. In the original article, a number of examples pulled from forums are given.

“I am a funeral director and embalmer for SCI. It is a terrible company to work for, and I would discourage anyone from applying with them. The management is terrible, from the top all the way down the the location manager. You have no home life, you are expected to get the work done, but get in trouble for getting overtime hours. There is no such thing as christmas bonuses or raises in this company. You are not respected as a professional in your field. Bottom line, in my oppinion, this company cares about nothing but money. I got into this field to help people, not rob them without a gun.”

“This place is horrible! We got baught by SCI about 3 years ago and its been down hill from there. We’ve had 4 different managers. The average employee leaves within a few years. Im on my fourth year and havent even broke a dollar as far as raises. Micro-management, Micro-management. You work your ass off just to keep your job. They will suck the life out of your ability to care for grieving families. STAY AWAY!”

A local columnist has this to say:

Local families who need to plan a funeral would be wise to ignore SCI’s self-promotion and shop around. There are many good and fair-priced funeral services available in the Austin area. Cost comparisons are made simple by the annual survey of funeral costs published by AMBIS-the nonprofit Funeral Consumers Alliance affiliate serving central Texas. The 2011 survey can be found on-line.

I think we all have our own opinions about service providers of all types. And I also think we understand the goal of newspaper and television ads. As for the forums, I have looked at a few, but understand the subjective nature of opinions. In my own experience with the corporation, I would not choose them to take care of a loved one of mine. Now, regardless of your opinion of SCI, the part of this article that I would pay closer attention to is the idea of shopping around.

Why The Cost of Cremations Will Probably Go Higher

Houston, Texas

The largest funeral and cremation provider in North America, Houston-based Service Corporation International, has taken steps to increase their size. The company (NYSE:SCI) has officially announced the purchase of 70% of the outstanding shares of The Neptune Society.

Includes:

• The Neptune Society
• Neptune Cremation Service
• Trident Society

Neptune is the nation's largest direct cremation organization, with annual revenues of more than $55 million and a network of 30 locations in nine states. Through an active preneed sales program, Neptune has built a backlog of future revenues of more than $125 million. Neptune operates under the brand names Neptune Society, Neptune Cremation Service and Trident Society.

Neptune's owner, BG Capital Management Corp., a diversified private equity company, will continue to hold 30% of the outstanding shares, and the company will continue to be managed by its current Chief Executive Officer, Marco Markin.

"We look forward to welcoming Neptune's associates into the SCI family of businesses," said Thomas L. Ryan, SCI President and CEO. "This partnership is a wonderful opportunity for us to join forces with the largest and fastest growing direct cremation company in North America. Neptune serves a segment of the market that will continue to grow and that we do not currently target through our traditional funeral service and cemetery network. In addition to building on Neptune's successful growth and customer service we will be able to yield immediate synergies by providing back office and fulfilment support through SCI's infrastructure."

Marco Markin, CEO of Neptune commented, "In our stage of rapid growth and development, it is the perfect time to partner with a company having SCI's scale, resources and capital. Neptune is a great organization with fabulous employees and we are all excited to pursue the tremendous growth prospects ahead of us."

It's no secret, traditional funerals are not as popular as they once were. Cremation has been on the rise for many years, actually becoming the dominant choice. There are a number of reasons, one of which is price. Of course, with funeral homes struggling to find ways to revive revenue streams, we could have seen this move by SCI coming. Now, more than ever, it appears to be a battle over controlling consumer choices. 

If history proves anything, I suspect you will notice a price increase over at the mighty Neptune pretty soon. Remember, shopping around is key. 

Arizona Crematory Facing Trouble Over Mishandling of Bodies

Mesa, Arizona

Arizona’s funeral board is moving to shut down a Mesa crematorium that a television station’s investigation found had stored dozens of bodies in unsanitary conditions in the business and others in a van outside.

The unanimous action Tuesday by the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers was spurred by findings that incorporated the results of KNXV-TV’s April investigation.

The station reported that dozens of bodies were not refrigerated inside the business because coolers were full and several others were kept overnight in a van. Maggots were observed on the floor of the crematory and on boxes containing bodies, the station reported.

All State Crematory’s owner Franklin Lambert admitted to the findings of the board's investigation, which had included the station's report, said Executive Director Rodolfo Thomas.

The board's staff was preparing a consent agreement under which Lambert and his business would lose their licenses and pay a $3,000 civil penalty, plus administrative costs, Thomas said Wednesday.

Lambert should get the proposed consent agreement by next week, and he will then have 30 days to either consent to the agreement or face formal proceedings, Thomas said.

Board President Katherine Shindel said Lambert's actions were unacceptable.

"When family members entrusted their loved ones to you, they expected them to be treated with dignity and care," she said. "They could not have imagined that you would let their loved ones rot like spoiled meat in the heat."

Good News In California: New Senate Bill Would Cause Funeral Home Prices to Be Posted Online

News out of California

Many funeral homes are now promoting their services on the Internet. While some prices are noted, the majority are not. In California, the state Senate has approved legislation requiring funeral homes to post their prices online.

State law already requires funeral directors to provide a general price list detailing the cost of caskets and other services at the start of any discussion with a potential consumer. Senate Bill 658 extends those requirements to funeral home websites, requiring that the home page features a link to the price list.

“The goal is to make shopping for funeral services a little easier for the consumer,” author Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, said on the floor.

A committee analysis says the Center for Public Interest Law, which sponsored the bill, is arguing that the change would help grieving consumers to make informed choices about the costly services as they explore their options online.

The bill, which passed 23-14, now goes to the Assembly.

Now, if only other states will follow.

Source