Sunday night marked the debut of ‘Best Funeral Ever‘, a reality show being test piloted by TLC. The show follows Golden Gate Funeral Home in Dallas, Texas as they produce and director elaborate funeral ‘home goings’. Also known as a ‘life celebration’.
‘Home goings’ are about as far away from a traditional funeral service as possible, and that’s what makes them unimaginable. The staff at Golden Gate Funeral Home are creative, energetic and completely service oriented. There focus is completely on blowing the mind of the family they are serving and it was crystal clear from the show that the families are blown away and are beyond satisfied.
I love Walt Disney World because of the experience that is created from the moment you step on Disney property. If Walt Disney himself would have been a funeral director I believe the funeral experience he would have created would be a mirror image of what the staff at Golden Gate Funeral Home creates.
ConnectingDirectors.com held a Live Chat during the show (view an archive log of the chat here: http://connectingdirectors.com/live) . The conversation between the funeral professionals on the chat was 95% positive but the conversation by funeral professionals on other social media channels was not.
#bestfuneralever was a trending topic on Twitter last night, meaning millions were sending tweets that included the hashtag #bestfuneralever. That means millions were having conversations about funeral service. You would think that would be a positive thing for funeral professionals but many funeral professionals were offended and even called the show; tasteless, undignified, over the top and unprofessional.
I COMPLETELY disagree. My response and review are in the video below. (Please view the disclaimer at the beginning of the video).
Yes I suspect that some of our colleagues found it too far out there,
however, it shows the trend of the non traditional service and the
ability to use imagination within funeral service. Some of the props
they used were a bit cheesy ins some
aspects, however the families they served loved it. And that is the
point, please the family. I believe we should all use a similar
approach, maybe not quite so far out there….depending on the
family….