According to an article and news video that you can see here from CBSlocal 2 in California, a home removal has led to a complaint against the Trident Society in Rancho Mirage, California.

The article tells of the death of Karol Spohn at her home on November 12.  Ms. Spohn had pre-arranged and paid over $1200 for cremation services with Trident.  At the time of the removal, according to Spohn’s daughter, Amanda Knobloch, the removal personal were unprofessional and “joking” and “laughing” as they removed the body from the house.

Knobloch was disappointed and later contacted Trident to have another cremation service take charge of the services.  Again, according to Knoblch, Trident Society would not release the body until they were paid $319 for transportation charges.  Knobloch made the payment but then later found out, that according to state law, that requiring payment prior to transfer in the State of California is illegal.  Knobloch then made a complaint to the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, who according to the article, are now doing an investigation on the matter.

The Trident Society has disputed the facts as presented by Knobloch and has issued this statement, “Trident Society strongly disputes the facts as presented.  However, as part of our commitment to all of our client families, we guard their privacy, and because of this, we cannot discuss the specific details of these client arrangements with the media at this time.”

Funeral Director Daily take:  We also only know what the article says and Trident’s response.  We have found, with these types of incidents, that the real story is probably between the two extremes of absolute un-professionalism and nothing happening.

However, the story is a great reminder to funeral home operators to really be professional and empathetic when making removals.  We are entering the homes of people who have just lost a loved one and their emotional states can be quite fragile.  Funeral directors can have bad days, the call for the removal can come at bad times and odd hours, but as professionals, we have to rise above the situation and be professional with the families we are serving.

Whatever happened in the above case, it led to bad publicity for the Trident Society.  Staff members and owners should always remember who your are representing when in public.  Funeral service companies work hard to create positive thoughts about their brands and stories like this only put negative thoughts into the consumer minds.  Whatever it takes, whatever your state of mind, push professionalism forward — we owe it to the consumers who trust us.

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