A “Preneed fulfillment” debacle

October 28, 2026/Afternoon Edition/

An NFDA Convention Discussion Topic

Okay. This is not about funerals, cremations, or cemeteries and the agreements that they make with customers for preneed services, but it is about the fulfillment of promises implied today for services to be used in the future.

The thought process came to me because of the current baseball World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. It goes back to an interesting story and public relations development by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015. At that time, the Milwaukee Brewers had never won a World Series and to give some excitement to the team and a reward for investing in the team the Brewers issued what became known as “Golden” or “Timeless” Tickets.

Editor’s Note: This article was supposed to be in your Inbox at 4 am. . . However, I actually marked 4 “pm” and when I noticed I did not receive it this morning I reset it for the Afternoon Edition. I’ve been at the NFDA Convention this week and maybe have learned I’m not as good at “multi-tasking” as I thought. : ) Enjoy the (late) article!!!

Those Brewer fans who invested $1,000 in a “Golden Ticket” were given certain assurances into the future for purchasing that “Golden Ticket” at the time. One of those assurances was that a holder of a “Golden Ticket” could trade it in at any time for “any” game in the future. Obviously, as you would guess, holders would not trade in the “Golden Ticket” for a run-of-the-mill regular season game, but would hold the option for a game of significance that might be expensive . . . . .such as a future World Series game.

You guessed it. The maximum of 1,000 “Golden Tickets” were sold back in 2015 and in October 2026 the Milwaukee Brewers qualified for the World Series. Guess what? Many of those “Golden Ticket” holders have asked to redeem their ticket for a 2026 World Series ticket.

According to this article from CBS, here is an announcement that the Brewer management has had to make, “… While we were able to accommodate all with seats, we received feedback from some that they were unhappy with their seat locations. Clearly, even with extraordinary limitations on available seats, we did not live up to the spirit of the program, and we have been working through a resolution. . . . . . .We regret our mistake and look forward to welcoming them (ticket holders) to American Family Field for their World Series experience.”

So, while getting all of the holders available seats is probably a remarkable feat by the Brewers management, the situation on the “preneed” ticket has turned into somewhat of a public relations misplay that happened to some of the Brewers biggest fans who had been waiting for “great seats” if and when the Brewers made the World Series

According to that same article here’s how one fan saw the situation with his “Timeless” or “Golden Ticket””

“Back in 2015, that was a big selling point from the salespeople about this,” Timeless Ticket holder Danny Fochesato told the Associated Press. “They really touted, ‘Hey, this is going to be the best available seats. You’re getting the priority just behind season ticket holders. Anything the season ticket holders don’t have, you’ll have dibs at it for the World Series.’ That’s kind of the story they sold.”

Fochesato said he was given 400-level or standing room only options for the World Series, and he could only list his preferred game, not select the specific game to attend. He added that better seats were available through the usual ticket purchasing options. In an effort to make things right, Schlesinger said Timeless Ticket holders will be able to keep their World Series tickets and also retain the voucher for use in the future.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: From my point of view, the Brewer management did what they could do to accomodate the holders of these tickets. In doing so, however, the people who held these tickets did not believe that they were getting what they paid for. . . . .and it appears to have left some bad feelings with them.

I think that there is a lesson to be learned here for Death Care. As portrayed in this recent article, many of us have been in the situation when a preneed casket has been unavailable at the time of death. Funeral homes generally look at the policy of replacing that preneed casket with one of equal or higher value — that is the norm.

However, that doesn’t mean that our preneed client family will be satisfied. Sometimes, it is not “the casket” but the “decision” that their loved one chose a specific casket that is meaningful to the family. A casket of “equal value or above” is nice, but it is not the casket that their dad, or grandpa, or mother, chose. . . . . and that might make a meaningful difference.

I point this out because preneed clients, much like the Brewers ticket holders, should be seen as valued client families. Disappointing them, in any way, with our services can be a potential public relations problem going forward.

By the way — I’m really enjoying the World Series between two “small market” teams. I’ve been a baseball fan since I was fortunate enough to be “Batboy” for our town baseball team as a youngster. I played the game through high school, coached house-league and traveling Little League for years, and was even President of the Alexandria Area Baseball Association for a couple of years!!