Dear Mr Tinning
I am writing in the aftermath of Undercover Undertaker to proffer an olive branch. The Good Funeral Guide has attempted to talk to Funeralcare in the past and met with no reply. In the best interests of the bereaved, the cause we both have in common, I want you now to consider opening a channel of communication.
For Funeralcare, the transmission of Undercover Undertaker may, as you know, prove to be a ground zero event. It has shattered trust and confidence in a well-loved institution. It must have taken great courage for your staff come to work yesterday. Goodness knows what some of them endured. We felt for them.
Here at the Good Funeral Guide we subscribe to the ideals and goals of co-operation. Indeed, we recently launched an initiative to encourage communities to establish their own funeral co-operatives: www.CommunityFunerals.org.uk. We also recommend Scotmid, an excellent co-operative funeral service in Edinburgh.
We believe the co-operative model has great potential to be pre-eminent in the funeral market. It is because we believe in the co-operative model so strongly that we have been so unfriendly towards Funeralcare. We think that your organisation lost sight of its original purpose and its foundational values. On a commercial level, we have been dismayed that, though the Funeralcare operation enjoys impressive economies of scale, the fruits of these have never been passed on to consumers – which is the whole point of them. We deplore the culture of pressure selling, just one of the factors which has contributed to the ethical ill health of Funeralcare. We knew that it was only a matter of time before Funeralcare would be found out.
As to the concept of the hub, we make no objection in principle so long as it is appointed and staffed in a way which meets the needs, wishes and expectations of clients. There are other consolidated businesses that run perfectly respectable hubs.
Looking to the future, a cleaned up version of the status quo obviously won’t do. Only a return to core values can restore the good name of Funeralcare and, at the same time, bring out the best in your staff, many of whom, as you are well aware, are superb. The upside of catastrophe is that it breeds opportunity.
We don’t expect you to re-vision Funeralcare on our terms, of course, and we don’t ask you to. We ask just two things. First, we ask you to return to the spirit of the Rochdale Principles. Second, we ask you to consider what Terry Leahy has to say in his excellent new book ‘Management in 10 Words’. He talks about the importance of ‘great and noble objectives’. One of his objectives at Tesco was “to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty”. If you translate this idea to the funeral industry you get: “to create funeral experiences for customers to earn their lifelong gratitude”.
I would like to finish by making you an offer. A great many people visit this website, this blog in particular. Doubtless you will, in the coming weeks and months, wish to get messages out to consumers which will restore their faith in Funeralcare. We should be very happy to publicise these for you.
With all best wishes,
Charles
Readers interested to discover what Terry Leahy’s 10 words are can find them here.
It’s a good offer.
But my pal, who is employed by Funeralcare claimed at a scheduled meeting with a Regional manager on Tuesday morning she was told it was business as usual. Her boss said they expected short-term damage, but to push hygienic treatment and flowers. All her existing targets stand.
Unless the lines of communication are very obstructed, I think some may conclude that Funeralcare just don’t get it.
Mr xxx I do not believe that for one moment and I bet you can’t name a manager or location……… No organisation subjected to the unbalanced, misleading and quite frankly laughable ( well it would be if it were not so serious) programme would behave in the way you describe. I truly hope that this will bring forward regulation, questions have already been submitted to the house, SAIF are already running scared thinking that regulation will follow as are the NAFD as the future of the majority of Independent will be in serious doubt as they could not hope to… Read more »
Simon
I just cannot see family outfits turning out to be ‘crash and burn’ cases, they have far more realistic views on their own abilities, which f’care and Dignity do not have – the possibility that f’care and Dignity will be all mighty is frankly extremely unlikely imo
andrew
Mr XX
well internal morale clearly needs to be maintained………
but nevertheless there is a slight whiff of arrogance in that stance
andrew
Hello Charles in the absence of no one having yet come forward, this is an excellent letter and a very well though of approach as well funeralcare will be here to stay (that’s for sure), what I’m looking forward to, which I suspect is the same as you, is a massive overhaul of the f’care business to eradicate everything bad which has been highlighted in this blog during the past couple of years. This may be a pipe dream however………….There is more than ‘enough profit’ available within this organisation to take steps to remove all of those bad practices best… Read more »
Simon I am reporting only what I heard. I have 100% faith in my Funeralcare colleague. I’m afraid their is no chance of my naming her. Your prediction of independent’s ‘crashing and burning’ is laughable. In my experience, most are sincere people running first class businesses. They have the necessary equipment and charge less too. On two issues we can agree. Funeralcare are not the only big business to operate like this. In that respect they can feel hard done by. Regulation would certainly benefit the larger firms. It has long been their dream to put-off new start operators, often… Read more »
You have all missed the point, the comment on crashing and burning is in relation to a move to a regulated industry and was not meant to sound arrogant, I actually work for an independent! I firmly believe that the vast majority of Independent firms will have no way of coping if the profession were to become regulated and this exposé on Funeralcare will move us all a step closer to this. It’s just a prediction but I already hear of some small firms closing up because of all the Health and Safety regulations etc and that will not be… Read more »
My view, for what it is worth, is that the open letter is more than a little patronising.Whilst I have only just discovered the site, I have read much of the historical stuff and I fail to understand why you single out large organisations for criticism. As I have said previously, as a trade embalmer, I have been appalled at some privately owned firm’s standards( Two of whom I note are on your list of recommended funeral firms). Do you truly believe that a minority group such as you are will change the British way of death ? the Dispatches… Read more »
Sorry Simon I can’t disagree with you more about regulation of funeral service. First of all there is not a chance that the government would put a large part of the market out of business with draconian regulations, and secondly regulation would not cure the problems.
The U.S. is highly regulated and they have far more scandals than we do which are usually a lot worse in nature than ours. The other outcome of regulation is that the consumer would ultimately pay for it making funerals more expensive.
I think you may of scored a own goal with that letter Charles.
It was terribly condescending and possibly not the best way to try and communicate.
No doubt a letter appreciated by the CCFC though.
Not that this excellent blog needs any defending, but the hostility in a couple of the above comments rather vindicates Charles’ policy of stimulating debate and provoking discussion, to see what comes out. Anyone who thinks Charles is “crowing” about all this is not, I reckon, thinking very clearly. And this blog has never limited its concerns to large organisations, merely to bad practice wherever it is found. It’s also, in case you hadn’t noticed, about more than funeral directors and their doings. And at least this “minority group” is actually concerned about the British way of death, and exploring… Read more »
Hello Omega – I can see how you could arrive at that opinion. And you, Ken. Your response reminds me of the early days of women’s lib. You’d hold a door open and let a woman go first and she’d hiss ‘Don’t patronise me!’ It is meant sincerely, though, and not to humiliate. There’s already been enough of that. If there is to be consolidation in the industry, a well-run co-op is, in my view, our best hope. It’s been observed that other big businesses have escaped criticism. Well, one thing at a time. In many ways they are blameless… Read more »
Simon
part of what you initially said was:
“…..No organisation subjected to the unbalanced, misleading and quite frankly laughable ( well it would be if it were not so serious) programme would behave in the way you describe…”
sorry to say, that from my experience of the non-funeral business as well, sadly they would and do do so
yours
andrew
Whether or not the letter will appeal to George Tinning I think he’d have a lot to gain by opening a dialogue with Charles et al. George publicly promised a thorough investigation and if he’s sincere there’s no doubt the GFG could be a useful source of information and engagement. And being seen to take outside advice could be good pr.
But the first stage in solving a problem is admitting you’ve got one. Not sure co-op are up for that as yet.
Andrew: “a massive overhaul of the f’care business to eradicate everything bad which has been highlighted in this blog during the past couple of years. This may be a pipe dream however…………”. I know nothing compared with most here, but a couple of years after World in Action slammed SCI/Dignity for similar practices to those shown this week I was talking to an independent FD and made a disparaging comment about them. To my surprise her response was that they had really cleaned up their act following the program – still expensive, but otherwise no better or worse than the… Read more »
I have no reason to disbelieve Mr XX’s friend who tells him it’s business as usual (sell sell sell)for Funeralcare employees. However, I’ve just asked someone who works for Funeralcare what she thought of the Channel 4 programme and she told me she has never been told to sell, sell, sell, nor has she ever been told to ‘hide the basic funeral’ or avoid showing the basic coffin etc. Does it depend on who the area manager is? I hope there is a thorough investigation for the sake of all employees, not least the poor man shown working at the… Read more »
Searching YouTube to watch the programme again, I came across this video of independent funeral director recommended by this blog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HLYu6K99aA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Now that is shocking !
Anyone wanting to hear the context for this video please see the above posts on “fallout 1 and 2”. In a slightly sinister tactical turn, Simon has put this video up on many posts. Andy Coulson anyone?
and on a side issue but neverteless related
it would be good to hear from anyone with details (and backgrounds) of those senior/board members of the NAFD and their links to their own businesses
are any of them employed by funeralcare and/or their subsidary Companies and if so (particularly if they are ‘at or near the top of the tree’) should they not contemplate resignation in view of recent developments? In that way, there can be no question of any conflict of interest arising
andrew
…..following my above post and courtesy again of ‘mr google’
is Mr Steve Pearce mentioned as being very senior at NAFD one and the same person as being ‘Chief Operating Officer for End of Life Services’ (sic) at Southern Co-op?
see Steve on here:-
http://thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/Resources/AnnualReview/TSC_Annual_Review_2011.pdf
and scroll down until the ‘End of Life’ page is reached
maybe I’m wrong, perhaps there are two Steve Pearce’s involved in the industry at senior management level but maybe…….
andrew
Hello Charles There is another issue which I feel it is appropriate for Mr Tinning to comment on C4’s programme ‘exposed’ funeralcare’s selling policies, particularly coffins/caskets – they are also (it seems) big in the floral market too, after all, that does indeed make good business sense So there is a fair amount of ‘internal pressure’ on the ‘front line/funeral arranging staff’, which was pretty clear from the programme Would Mr Tinning care to let us have details of the type of remuneration received by those ‘front line staff’ and their local/area Managers? Are, for instance they always paid a… Read more »
Andrew
Yes, all Co-op staff get bonuses on what they sell, so is it any wonder that they sell, sell, sell to clients.
and also…………
I understand that (some) Dignity branches have in the past presented a ‘similar picture’ of the coffins available to clients, (such as was demonstrated in the said documentary) when they meet the client and take instructions………….
Yes, let’s start halfway through ‘the book’ shall we and not at the beginning/ the cheapest, appeared to be the party line (at that time)
andrew
There’s a particularly dire example of Funeralcare customer service over at My Last Song – http://blog.mylastsong.com/2012/06/29/co-operative-funeralcare-cant-spell-funeral/
yes indeed, let’s not spend toooo much time on replying, after all any contact from a punter could always result in new business…………ahem
andrew
and under the heading of:
‘DISTURBING PRACTICES BY LOCAL UNDERTAKER’
here’s another heart warming story re f’care:-
http://local.stv.tv/rutherglen/place/1088223-the-co-operative-funeralcare/
and oh my goodness, there is also this site out there in webland;-
http://bereavedbeware.co.uk/
and highlighted in ‘red’ is this addition:-
“UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW EITHER DIGNITY CARING FUNERAL SERVICES OR
THE CO-OPERATIVE FUNERALCARE TO CONDUCT THE FUNERAL OF ANY OF YOUR LOVED ONES”
gosh it does seem that there is a problem out there in funeral land
andrew