Y’all! We have made it to the sweatiest month of the year. Now, in my opinion, August is not a top 5 month. There are no major fun holidays, the temperatures still get in the 100s, and it begins the end of Summer without really being the beginning of Fall.
But have no fear- the FFFW exists because the funeral profession isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. We exist so you can get a little 5-minute grin even in the midst of a 100-degree soulless month like August.
So that’s what we’ll do. Let’s get to it!
HOLIDAY TRACKER!
12 Fridays until Halloween
15 Fridays until Thanksgiving
19 Fridays until Christmas
Who Was There?
Why Online Guest Registration Matters
The day after the funeral, the phone rings. The family is calling. They’re asking if you know who attended the service via livestream.
“We’d like to know if Aunty Marlene was able to be there.”
For some families, knowing who attended remotely is as important as knowing who was there in-person.
Inviting livestream guests to register, allows you to offer a premium standard of care for each online guest. They automatically get a secure personalized link for the broadcast and timely reminders from your funeral home. Plus they get free access to expert live support if they have questions about the livestream.
And just like the physical guest register, having that list of who attended the livestream, including their email addresses, can be a meaningful keepsake for families. It also makes sending thank-you messages so much easier afterwards.
Make guest registration seamless and level-up your livestream experience with Foveo. Discover six ways online guest registration can help you elevate your funeral home’s standard of care for families and their online guests every time you livestream.
Check Out Tip #18 to Unlock the Value of Guest Registration!
Arrangement Conference Delayed 27 Minutes While Family Waits for One Sibling “Who’s Almost Here”
Springfield, Missouri — A 2:00 p.m. arrangement conference was reportedly pushed back nearly half an hour Tuesday after the family insisted they couldn’t begin without one sibling who was repeatedly described as “almost here.”
According to those present, the funeral director simply smiled, nodded, and continued suppressing the growing urge to say, “He’s clearly not.”
Meanwhile, the sibling’s afternoon unfolded as follows:
2:01 p.m. “He just left.”
2:05 p.m. “Actually… he forgot something and had to go back.”
2:09 p.m. “He figured he’d stop and grab a coffee real quick.”
2:13 p.m. “He was hungry, so he grabbed food too.”
Witnesses say the funeral director briefly stared into the middle distance before assuring the family, “No problem at all.”
2:18 p.m. “He says he’s five minutes away.”
Industry veterans confirmed this estimate has never once been accurate.
2:23 p.m. “He missed the turn, but NOW he’s almost here.”
2:27 p.m. “He’s parking.”
Sources say this announcement was met with little confidence, as everyone knew “parking” still included checking his phone, finishing his fries, and slowly making his way to the front door.
At 2:31 p.m., the sibling finally entered the arrangement room carrying a large iced coffee and a fresh fast-food bag.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “Have y’all started?”
The funeral director reportedly smiled and replied, “No, we’ve been waiting for you,” while successfully keeping every other thought to himself.
Ask the Funeral Dude!
Dear Funeral Dude,
My owner keeps saying, “Don’t be afraid to use your PTO.” Every time I actually request a day off, he suddenly remembers we have three services, two removals, an arrangement conference, and that I’m apparently the only person who knows how to use the printer.
Is PTO just a fun little concept, or has anyone actually seen it in the wild?
-AlwaysOnCall
AlwaysOnCall,
Of course you should use your PTO.
That’s why your employee handbook clearly states you’re entitled to Paid Theoretically Off.
You simply need to request it at least six months in advance, find your own coverage, train your replacement, convince three coworkers to swap call weekends, make sure no one dies that day, and hope your owner doesn’t walk into your office five minutes later and say, “Hey… any chance you could move that to next month?”
Funeral homes love encouraging work-life balance. They just prefer both of those things happen at work.
Some say PTO exists. I’ve heard stories. Allegedly there are funeral directors who have taken an entire week off without answering a single phone call. The same people also claim they’ve seen Bigfoot, a family that all arrived early for the arrangement conference, and an obituary submitted with every name spelled correctly on the first try.
My advice? Keep requesting it.
One day you’ll accidentally pick the one Tuesday in February when nothing is happening. Then you’ll spend the entire vacation waiting for someone to call because you’ve become emotionally conditioned to believe silence means something has gone terribly wrong.
Enjoy your day off… if they let you have one.
GIF OF THE WEEK
