Issue 26.13
I appreciated and was intrigued by a commercial that aired recently. A long-time hometown experienced reputable barber noticed a new store opening up across and down the street from his shop. Despite his decades of vested interest in his shop and in the community, the new salon had attracted some of his customers with the promise of lower prices.
A large sign in their door advertised, “$6.00 Haircuts,” and a young new stylist with commodity pricing seemed to be attracting some attention. The barber, looking out his window, paused only for a moment to shake his head, but it wasn’t a shake of defeat. It was that look only wisdom can pass on to the unassuming headstrong child who tells his mother he shouldn’t really need go to school this morning. ” After a few days and some experience with the new shop the wise experienced barber hoisted a new banner above his shop with these simple words: “We fix $6.00 Haircuts”
The story in this ad speaks volumes about the choices consumers consider daily between real value and commodity pricing.. Even though we are taking about a simple haircut, the experienced, vested barber was no doubt the better value and understood that he added this value to his customers’ lives.
I recently received a coupon in the mail from a local restaurant with an invitation to come in and try their entree at reduced price or buy one get the second one free offer. The restaurant wanted the opportunity to introduce their fare knowing if they could just get us to try it we would surely be back for more.
In the Funeral Service we cannot offer a “try a taste of our services,” a “buy one get one free” or even bulk pricing. Understandably, no one wants a taste and no two funerals or memorial services are the same. While it would be nice to offer a fix to the funeral service equivalent of the “$6.00 Haircut,” realistically you only get one chance to get it right.
Funeral service is not a commodity. It is a personal service, when done right, adds value and quality to life. One needs to ask themselves, which is the better value?
A contributing member of our community, Metcalfe Mortuary & Cremation Center offers genuine value demonstrated by many years of caring and experience.
Ron Metcalf is the Personal Funeral Director at Metcalf Mortuary,300 W. St. George Blvd ,St. George and can be reached at 435-673-4221.