The GFG Blog

2018Oct

We haven’t approved you, Dignity Funerals

Fran Hall
Oct 12
12 comments
We want to make it very clear to anyone who might be unaware – the Good Funeral Guide CIC had nothing to do with the recent announcement of Dignity PLC’s sidekick, Simplicity Cremations as ‘The Best Direct Cremation Provider 2018’ with a ‘Good Funeral Award’. Having been co-organiser since they
Categories:  Dignity, funeral, funeral trends

The environmental cost of a funeral

Fran Hall
Oct 09
5 comments
Yesterday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published their Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5’C As policy makers and news editors across the world digested the implications of the findings and the stark warning that doing nothing is not an option if we want our children and grandchildren to
Categories:  Environment, Funerals

Are you a funeral celebrant?

Fran Hall
Oct 02
4 comments
The GFG is delighted to have been invited to join representatives of various organisations on a working group to look at the role of funeral celebrants.  We’ve called this working group the Funeral Celebrancy Council and last week the FCC spoke to hundreds of celebrants at the second National Celebrant
Categories:  celebrants, ceremony, funeral, funeral customs, funeral trends, research

2018Sep

Funeral trade association calls for regulation

Fran Hall
Sep 26
11 comments
The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors has today issued a press release stating its position on the subject of regulation. SAIF members received an e-mail yesterday advising them that ‘after careful consideration we have decided that regulation across England and Wales is a good thing and welcome
Categories:  Regulation of the funeral industry, Rights of the bereaved, SAIF, The future of funerals

Beyond’s response to the responses to the CMA

Fran Hall
Sep 11
No Comments
The chaps over at Beyond have detailed their thoughts about some of the responses to the recent Competition and Markets Authority Funerals Market Study. Specifically, the responses from the National Association of Funeral Directors and Dignity PLC. NB Beyond say in their introduction that they have a ‘few critiques’ concerning
Categories:  Dignity, Funeral markets study, National Association of Funeral Directors

2018Aug

Thoughts about Dignity PLC from a reader

Fran Hall
Aug 27
13 comments
Over the weekend, one of our many readers posted a comment on a previous blog post about Dignity PLC’s report on what they tell us people ‘assume, want and expect from funeral directors. We thought this comment deserved elevating to a post in its own right. So here it is.
Categories:  Dignity

And here (belatedly) are the details from that Dignity report

Fran Hall
Aug 13
1 comment
Yesterday we wrote about the media coverage of Dignity’s findings in their research ‘Time to Talk About Quality and Standards’ and our thoughts about this. Before writing, we spent some time looking for the full report online, unsuccessfully. Last night, Dignity kindly sent us a link to the full report
Categories:  Dignity

Dignity PLC tell us it’s time to talk about quality and standards…

Fran Hall
Aug 12
7 comments
Well, well, well. The people in the Dignity press department are having a busy summer. Two national newspapers have published findings from the recent report commissioned by the funeral giant that operates under ‘over 500 distinct local brands with varying levels of local brand equity’ (source Dignity Investor Presentation June
Categories:  Dignity

Marketing people, please read!

Fran Hall
Aug 02
2 comments
Our good friends at Life. Death. Whatever. have written a brilliant piece today about the current shock / horror media coverage of the advertising campaign for a funeral price comparison website that was rejected by Transport for London because of the potentially offensive nature of the adverts. Read it here.
Categories:  Attitudes to death, Death education

2018Jul

Honour restored at Honor Oak Crematorium

Fran Hall
Jul 31
1 comment
  Guest post by Louise Winter Back in April last year, we exposed the condition of the conveniences at Honor Oak Crematorium in South East London – peeling paint, a toilet held together by chewing gum and floors covered in used tissue paper.   Earlier this year, I was delighted to be
Categories:  crematoria