Issue 48.10
Given today’s economic conditions we are all more cautious with how we allocate our time and money. This has caused me to reflect deeply on a recent conversation I had with a wise old timer. As he describes himself “he has been around and seen it all”.
I queried him about what has changed the most during his adventures through life. I surely expected him to expound on the many great advances in technology or medicine, but to my astonishment he stated without hesitation “what has changed the most, is the cost of goods in relation to the quality and service received”. He went on to elaborate how items seem to cost astoundingly more, yet service has dropped out of sight. Once we could pull into a service station and be greeted by a familiar face, eager to check tires, fill fluids and clean the windows just as part of a regular fill up. Now everything is self serve.
This conversation got me thinking about how this trend has affected the funeral industry. Has our level of service or quality of goods diminished also? To answer the question I did some research and referenced the cost of an adult funeral dating back more than 60 years, and these are the results according to the 2010 NFDA General Price List Survey:
1960 $708
1965 $790
1971 $983
1975 $1285
1980 $1809
1985 $2737
1991 $3742
1995 $4626
2000 $5180
2006 $6195
2010 $7755
These amounts do not include cemetery services or governmental fees, which bring today’s average closer to $10,000. Even with these considerable increases, we have seen quality and service begin to diminish in response to an increased presence of discount driven outlets or chain type providers.
At Pine View Mortuary we are pioneering a different business model to compete on price without sacrificing quality or service one iota. I liken our structure to a hybrid car, our unique business engine allows us to stretch our customers dollars further than previously considered possible. We are able to do this with efficient business practices and a committed, professional staff. In short, we strive to deliver the quality of yesterday even with today’s economic constraints.
Visit Pine View Mortuary anytime and see for yourself just how far we haven’t gone in the way we value our customers.