Business

Are funeral directors losing their “clout”?

By Funeral Director Daily / November 30, 2022 /

There was a time when if you needed information on a task or a service you went direct to the source to find the information needed.  Remember, when your watch didn’t work you would take it to the local jeweler to diagnose the issue. . . . Or if the electronic device you just purchased…

Read More

Is the cavalry on the way in the funeral director staffing crisis?

By Funeral Director Daily / November 29, 2022 /

If you read all of the articles that I do while I’m doing my research you would notice that a great many articles get written on what I’ll call the staffing crisis in funeral homes around the country.  And, while not really contradictory, they seem to be on one of three subjects. Those subjects are…

Read More

Checking in on Natural Organic Reduction

By Funeral Director Daily / November 25, 2022 /

In December it will be a full two years since Recompose, the United States first human natural organic reduction (NOR) disposition service was legal and open for business.  NOR is more commonly known as “human composting”. We thought it might be a good time — on the precipice of the business’ second anniversary of being…

Read More

The Best of Baltimore

By Funeral Director Daily / November 23, 2022 /

In my home state of Minnesota there is a sports writer who every Thanksgiving creates an article and makes a case for the worst person or thing that has happened on the Minnesota sports scene in the past year.  I’ve taken some inspiration from that but have also taken into account something my mom drilled…

Read More

Your Business Value: A Funeral Home Owner’s Guide to Prepping for 2023

By Funeral Director Daily / November 21, 2022 /

Editor’s Note:  Today’s guest columnist is Jake Johnson, CEO of Johnson Consulting Group.  His article begins here:   It’s no secret to anyone right now that businesses everywhere are feeling the impacts of inflation. The funeral profession specifically has seen a rise in costs, and it’s resulted in increased stress and pressure on owners. These…

Read More

Online price lists are showing up

By Funeral Director Daily / November 17, 2022 /

Earlier this week I was informed by a Funeral Director Daily reader that online price lists have started to appear on the websites of Service Corporation International (SCI) funeral homes.  Just to be clear, I’m not sure that this is news or not — because I’ve never taken the time to check out individual SCI…

Read More

Yes, things will change over time

By Funeral Director Daily / November 16, 2022 /

“There is an appointed time for everything.  And there is a time for every event under heaven –“.  That is the first verse in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 and the 2nd verse goes on to say “A time to give birth, and a time to die“. Any funeral director who has ever spent time on a…

Read More

Dignity plc and their price point pivot. . . . can they remain profitable?

By Funeral Director Daily / November 15, 2022 /

2022 marked a point in the history of Great Britain’s largest death care provider, Dignity plc, where they planned to increase consumer market share for their services by lowering their prices.  What they maybe didn’t anticipate was the highest inflationary pressures in the last 40 years on the costs of their services to happen at…

Read More

Will Vermont lead a funeral director employee comeback?

By Funeral Director Daily / November 10, 2022 /

We’ve all talked about it and see it out in the profession — a lack of trained and licensed funeral directors to combat the coming years when America faces a wave of Baby Boomer deaths.  Without the influx of new professionals, many funeral homes will be understaffed which can lead to a vicious cycle of…

Read More

SCI sees “more mortality” than expected. . .What’s behind it?. . .I don’t think this will surprise you

By Funeral Director Daily / November 9, 2022 /

Because I report on them, and partly because I just like learning what is happening, I generally read the “Earnings Call Transcripts” that take place every quarter between the public company death care executives and the financial brokers that cover their companies.  If you’ve never read these they end up being a “give and take”…

Read More