ASD – Answering Service for Directors Celebrates 40 Years Answering Life’s Most Difficult Calls

Funeral Industry News May 16, 2012
CDFuneralNews

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ASD – Answering Service for Directors Celebrates 40 Years Answering Life’s Most Difficult Calls

ASD is the first and oldest funeral home answering service in American. Here’s why:

  • State-of-the-art, unrivaled technology
  • Rigorous, extensive training of all employees
  • Long-standing tradition of providing absolute transparency

Media, PA—This year, ASD – Answering Service for Directors is celebrating their 40th Anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, ASD has recently updated their logo to reflect the company’s growth and evolution over the years. The new logo, which will most commonly be presented with photos of ASD employees, marks the official retirement of the ASD waiter who has served the company well since the 1970s when he was designed by the first generation of the Czachor family.

When Martin Czachor and Barbara Czachor began helping funeral homes with their phones in 1972, they never dreamed their company would one day grow to become the leading funeral home exclusive answering service in the country. At the time, ASD was just a small business with a handful of employees and local clients. During these crucial early stages, ASD’s owners recognized a void in the market for an answering service that catered to the specific needs of funeral professionals.

“ASD has answered our calls since the 1970s and at the time there were services that answered for doctors, freight companies, all different types of business, but nothing that was just for funeral homes. ASD was the first specialized service,” says Funeral Director Hank Griffith with Griffith Funeral Home in Norwood, one of ASD’s first clients. “We have stayed with ASD because of their professionalism, patience, accuracy, and how well they have kept up with technology.”

ASD is a prime example of a company that has expanded exponentially by continually exploring new solutions for their clients. By investing heavily in state-of-the art technology without sacrificing the personal touch of a small, family-owned business, ASD is now the leading answering service for funeral professionals. More than one quarter of funeral homes in America trust ASD to answer their calls professionally and compassionately. ASD has developed and customized solutions to meet the diverse telecommunication needs of their clients. The company’s technology team creates programs capable of serving both small, independent funeral homes and large, multi-location corporations. This flexibility complements ASD’s advanced features and patented mobile tools that are often imitated, but never duplicated.

“ASD is always looking for ways to improve their service for funeral professionals with technology. Over the years, ASD has added features the online service, the text-messaging, and the ASD Mobile application, eliminating my need to carry around a pen and paper all the time” Griffith says. “I remember the old days of having to pull off to the side of the road and how inconvenient it was. Everything is right there for you on the phone now.”

Like Griffith, nearly half of ASD clients have used the service for over a decade. Much of their clients’ loyalty stems from the fact that ASD was the first funeral home exclusive service to allow directors to listen to their calls. This helped establish ASD’s reputation and for the first time, Funeral Directors could hear the difference between ASD and other answering services. ASD’s team of empathetic and patient Call Specialists possess a high level of understanding of the funeral process. This is reenforced through the company’s comprehensive, six month training program and continual call monitoring.

“In addition to the state-of-the-art technology we have in place, ASD’s call handling depth is one of the key differentiators between us and any other businesses out there,” says ASD Vice President and Family Member Owner Kevin Czachor. “Since ASD doesn’t deal with any business other than funeral homes, we make sure every employee who has call taking abilities is fully trained. Every department within ASD assists during busy times. Just like the funeral directors we serve, ASD doesn’t leave anything to chance.”

ASD’s 40th Anniversary year will bring more advanced options to funeral professionals. ASD Mobile, the sophisticated iPhone application launched in late 2011, has already been downloaded by over 2,000 funeral homes. This year, ASD will introduce the ASD Mobile app to Android users.

ABOUT ASD
ASD is the leader in answering services and call support for funeral professionals. Family owned and operated, ASD blends state-of-the-art technology with an experienced team of knowledgable call specialists that possess a high level of understanding of the funeral process. The company’s intensive training programs ensures that the potential value of every call is recognized and communicated to directors in the most cost efficient way. ASD’s innovative technology, custom-built systems and call support expertise have made it a national leader in the death care profession. Headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania, ASD offers comprehensive answering services for funeral homes and funeral related businesses of all sizes. For more information, visit http://www.myasd.com or call 1-800-868-9950.

Connect with ASD online
Facebook: facebook.com/myASD
Twitter: @myASDcalls