Ask your Funeral Director
Will my loved one stay at one funeral home until the day of the funeral or will they be transported around Norfolk to suit their storage requirements? The public are generally not aware that larger firms do not always have refrigeration facilities at every branch! They keep deceased people at a central ‘hub’ and just transport people to branches when families request a viewing or for the day of the funeral. It is despicable practice to keep this hidden from families.
Do you have full refrigeration facilities or do you just use air-conditioning units? People who have died need to be kept at a steady cold temperature that is properly monitored. Air-conditioning units are a poor, cheap substitute for proper refrigeration.
Do you have sufficient space so that all deceased people are resting in a dignified manner? Good funeral directors will provide sufficiently large back of house facilities so that each person is kept at a respectable distance from every other. Stacking of coffins one on top of another is appalling practice and shows a lack of dignity and respect.
Do you have your own funeral vehicles or do you hire them from elsewhere? If a funeral home does not have its own vehicles, they will be working their funeral diary around other funeral directors that they want to hire vehicles from. This restricts the dates and times they will offer you and will sometimes delay the funeral. Funerals in this area should be able to take place within two weeks. If you are being told otherwise, you might want to give the crematorium a call to see what dates and times are really free!
Do you have to check with other branches before booking a funeral to see if vehicles/staff are free or do you give your families a full choice of when the funeral takes place? The same as the question above, don’t use a funeral home that prioritises its own needs above yours.
Will you show me your full facilities if I want to see them including back of house? All back of house facilities should be clean and tidy at all times. Funeral homes should be willing to show you them without an appointment and without warning.