We came across this article in the Scotsman that you can read here.  It is an interview with Tim Purves who is the Chairman of William Purves Funeral Directors of Scotland.  Mr. Purves is the 5th generation family funeral director of the company which was started in 1888 by a craftsman and cabinet maker.  The firm is said to be Scotland’s largest independent operator with 31 locations in Scotland and northeast England.

American funeral directors who read the article will understand that funeral service in Scotland and England is somewhat different, but very similar to the business in the states.  Here are some selected excerpts taken from Mr. Purves in the article that we thought to share with you:

• on the Industry:  “(we) stress the firm’s aim to balance a professional level of service with competitive pricing — as it seeks to evolve in a still traditional, slow moving sector where ceremonies remain somewhat “Victorian and theatrical”.  What’s more, cost alone takes up much of the limelight when people consider the industry.

• on re-investing in the business:  “Ultimately, the way we view things is you’ve got to invest in your business for it to continue. I mean, we’ve been here since 1888. There’s no reason to say that we will always be here unless we invest in the business. So things like the property, the staff, the vehicles, these things we’re always investing in… we’re also putting some of our profits back into the business and making sure that everything is kept to a standard.”

This year alone it is said that William Purves Funeral Directors is investing US $ 1.3 million in corporate automobiles such as limousines and hearses.

• On Funeral Poverty:    Tim Purves also touches on the subject of funeral poverty, having previously pointed out that around 15 per cent of Scots admitted they would struggle to pay for their funeral.

Royal London in September published its sixth annual funeral cost report. The insurer found that the average cost of a funeral had risen by £28 (US $37) from last year to £3,785 (US $ 4,976). The increase was mainly attributed to rising burial and cremation fees, with funeral directors having lowered their own bills a little. Also noted was that the amount people spent on a funeral varied little based on their level of income, so the poorest are disproportionately affected by funeral costs

Purves also mentions that the firm is working to drive transparency in pricing across the industry and make its service as accessible as possible while maintaining standards.

• on Acquisitions and Growth:  “Looking ahead, William Purves is taking a highly selective approach to the possibility of more acquisitions, both in terms of the nature of a business and its location. “We’ve always said that we would like it to be somewhere that we can get to and back within a day, so we wouldn’t be looking to open up in London, or really far south.”

And in terms of succession planning, Tim would love William Purves to stay in the family (he works alongside second cousin Andrew) but would not oblige anyone to do so. “We would put something in place that meant that the same values and everything that we have now would continue… if it turns out that there wasn’t a Purves in the business at some stage in the future.”

• on His Occupation:  For now, when he tells people what he does for a living, they either won’t stop asking questions or they “don’t really want to speak to you again”. The nature of the job means there are inevitably emotional moments for the staff (“we are human beings as well, we’re not robots”).

But he cites a colleague who as a youngster would cross the road to avoid directly passing a local funeral business, as he didn’t know what went on in there – but who now wishes he could invite people in to see what goes on.

“It’s a real privilege for us to be involved at a key moment in people’s lives… and to be able to guide families through it,” he says.

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