This post won’t help those of you who run a one-person funeral home, but the rest of you can benefit from finalizing your Christmas on-call list right now.

I’ve heard a lot of stories about Christmas responsibilities, but my favorite is how one corporate cluster of funeral homes (15 locations) puts one funeral director on call for all of Christmas day.  And they used to delegate it by whoever didn’t have kids!

As a childless person, I think it’s pretty rude to assume that I’d want to take on so much responsibility just so Fred and Martha can spend all day with their families.  And putting one person in charge of so many funeral homes can cause some serious issues.

Imagine, for a moment, that your loved one dies on Christmas morning.  Added to the regular stress and grief of a death is the knowledge that a presumably joyous day is now one of sorrow.  Then, imagine that you can’t get through to someone at the funeral home or are forced to wait for a return call because only one person is available to handle all the issues that are generated by so many locations.

I think it’s pretty clear that this plan is a recipe for bad customer service.

In fact, I think I’d make sure that every one of my directors is taking any urgent calls about their own firm.  This might mean more work for the answering service, but it also ensures that anyone who takes the time to make a phone call to the funeral home on Christmas Day is accommodated.

Let’s face it:  there are relatively few sickos or bored people who will call on Christmas Day.  Even folks who don’t celebrate the holiday will still realize that it’s a special day and that your staff won’t be around.  So it’s safe to say that most of the calls received on Christmas Day are going to be important.

If you do delegate some responsibility to other staff members to answer calls and dispatch removal crews, make sure that you stagger the hours of responsibility.  Your employees will do a better job of serving your clients if they know they only have to cover the phones until noon or that you’re going to take the calls all morning so they can spend uninterrupted time with their kids and family.

If you don’t want the hassle of starting your own charity, you can contribute by either financially supporting charities of your employees’ choice or giving paid time off for your employees to volunteer at the charity of their choice.

By granting paid time off for these tasks, you’ll not only build good will at the charities your employees support, but you’ll be dispatching loyal ambassadors of your funeral home into the outside world.

Remember, you can be the greatest funeral director in the world who provides the finest funerals in town, but no one will come to you unless they hear that fact from trusted voices.

More than one funeral home has suffered because the employees don’t feel appreciated and won’t tell the community about the fine work going on inside the doors.

Are you so busy worred about keeping your “trade secrets” away from your competition that you don’t notice when the important parts of your business (your customers) have left you?  Kinda like this guy, who forgot to lock up some important parts of his bicycle.

Let’s think critically for a minute:  what damage can your competitor do if he knows how many funerals you did last year?  Will your monthly cremation-to-burial ratios really help him “clean your clock?”  (In most states, this information is public record anyway, through your monthly embalming reports.)

Interestingly, the only folks who seemed to benefit from the secrecy were the funeral directors who bounced between the two companies (SCI & Stewart) and kept picking up bigger raises.

Turns out the problems that each faced had little to do with the competition and more to do with the culture within the company.

I’d be willing to bet that your biggest hurdles are self-created, instead of coming from an outside competitor.

How do you act when families aren’t watching you?

Do you treat their loved one, the casket they purchased, their personal effects, even your employees with respect and care?

Even though you might think your public actions will fool your community, eventually, someone will find out the truth.

So treat everyone and everything with respect.  That way you won’t end up on hidden camera!

Why Your Employees Don’t Give Excellent Customer Service

Running a business can be hard enough without issues that come up among your staff.  No matter what type of business you own, how many employees work for you, or where employees are on the totem pole, it seems like there is always something getting in the way of providing excellent customer service.  Here are a few reasons why:

Your staff is disgruntled.  Policies that are not followed by everyone, including senior staff, management and owners, or are inconsistently managed.

You ignore some employees.  Every employee deserves to be treated with respect.  If you don’t see them on a regular basis because of how work areas and paths are laid out, make a special effort to visit the areas they work in.

You micromanage.  Trust them.  Give your employees the freedom to work on their projects and tasks without second guessing or looking over their shoulder.  Provide boundaries with clear instructions on what to do if they hit a wall.

You criticize or correct them in front of others.  Always have these conversations behind closed doors.

You don’t play by the rules.  Yes, you are the boss, but employees take your lead and rarely ever see a difference in each of you breaking the rules.  They don’t care that you are the owner and/or manager and on call 24/7.  They still see you doing something wrong.  To them, if you work there, you as an employee are governed by the same rules.

They don’t know the rules.  Whatever you do, don’t assume that everyone knows what the rules and policies are.  Be very clear by putting them in writing and requiring a signature to acknowledge receipt and understanding.  When situations come up that require verbal or written follow up, each person must be treated the same with the same consequences.

Happy employees give excellent customer service.  Unhappy ones don’t care.

Robin Richter is a Human Resources Expert and an avid motorcycle enthusiast.  As a Creative Memories Consultant, she helps preserve memories through scrapbooking.  Visit her Creative Memories website to see how this “Queen of the Scrappers” can help you.

Snapped by Todd Everett at a hotel in Michigan, the photograph above is from the website This Is Broken.  Click the image to see the full picture and to read the ironic parking space sign.

Unfortunately, many employees view an “Employee of the Month” program this way.  They view standard forms of recognition as an obligation of the employer.

Which makes any conventional rewards program you offer part of the benefits package and not an actual reward.

That’s precisely why I recommend that you reward your employee in more creative ways.  Paying attention to your employee’s desires should give you a hint about what kinds of rewards will excite him or her.

MorgueFile photo courtesy of Meg Donahue 

Often, the type of thing that will encourage your employee to work harder and can reinforce a good work ethic is an experience instead of a monetary reward.  And being an effective funeral home manager means creating community connections and building favor with local movers and shakers.

“So what?” you ask. 

I think it’s time you started using your connections and calling in favors to create the kinds of experiences that can reward the loyalty of a trusted employee.

Let’s say one of your employees loves NASCAR.  You just happen to know the son of the owner of the big NASCAR racetrack in your state. 

Could you buy tickets for your employee as a reward?  Of course.  But then again, he could buy them for himself.

But if you got him VIP tickets, arranged for a pit pass and got him into a meet and greet with his favorite driver, you’d create an excited employee who knows you appreciate him.

One word of caution:  make sure you let your employee know how many favors you had to call in to create the experience.

No, you can’t exaggerate.  And you should be tactful.  But that private meeting you arranged between your secretary and her favorite author just before a local book signing wasn’t easy to get, so make sure she knows it, in a nice way.

Your employees expect to receive a paycheck.  They expect you to pay for some type of benefits.  They might even expect you to buy their lunch when they work a particularly large funeral service.

But special favors get called in for people who are really appreciated.  Make your employees feel appreciated.

In return, they’ll make your clients feel the same way.

Yesterday, I wrote about the problems I was having with DirecTV.  Here’s a recap of the events that began in December:

 Unable to get DirecWay internet service working properly, I canceled their service and switched to a Comcast internet/cable bundle.

I sent a letter to DirecTV with my bill, asking them to cancel me.

A new bill arrived in January.  I returned it with another letter.

I received a call from their “Retention Specialist,” who asked me to reconsider, as I had always been a good customer.  I asked him to let me consider their offer, but that I still wanted to cancel the service, as I already had Comcast installed and running.

In February, DirecTV sent another bill for service I was no longer using.

I emailed them a request to cancel my account and refund the account back to the date I had requested the first cancellation.

They referred my account to a collections agency.

Yesterday (May 23) I called DirecTV and was cut off by their phone system.  The second time, I got through to Lindsay.  She listened to my complaint but told me that the letter I sent was not enough to get the account canceled as:

“We have different departments here.  Those people don’t process cancellations.  Their job is to take payments.  Company policy is that HAVE to call or email us to cancel.”

Turns out written correspondence is no longer considered valid communication.

Then she told me I had no other recourse but to write a letter to DirecTV at an address she rattled off for me.  When I asked her to speak with someone else (since she kept saying “Thanks for calling.  Have a nice day” over and over again) she said there was no one else.

Really?  When I asked for the number for the corporate office, she couldn’t give me one.  Turns out you can’t actually talk to the people who make the policies.

She did promise to transfer me to the dispute department and I sat on hold.  Then she hung up on me.

When I called back, I got Leticia.  I asked her to transfer me to the dispute department.  She said there was no such department and I had to send a letter.  When I told her that Lindsay had promised to transfer me, she repeated that there wasn’t a number to which I could be transferred.

When I asked her what to do next, she responded:

“There is anything else you can do.  Just write a letter.  There are no other people you can talk to.”

Gives you a lot of confidence in their customer service, doesn’t it.

Sorry to bore you with all that, but I think it’s important to lay out the story before I go into how they finally fixed it.

Turns out a few thousand other people have had these problems with DirecTV.  Luckily, one woman, Cathy, has decided to share the information she was able to dig up.

Using a few email addresses that Cathy unearthed, I sent the following message to the new VP of Customer Relations (or some title) at DirecTV:

I am a customer of DirecTV who was contacted by Allied Interstate, your collection agency, about a debt that your company claims that I owe.

First, I tried to correct the issues by talking with one of your customer service agents.  It took three attempts to get through to a live person, because your system kept hanging up on me (tempermental robot voice and all).  When I finally reached Lindsay she listened carefully and then told me there was nothing I could do but write a letter to your company disputing the charges.  We reviewed your company’s records of my correspondence (I wrote, emailed and called three times in an effort to cancel my service!) and she acknowledged that your company had received each of my attempts.

While attempting to transfer me to someone else who could help me, she hung up on me.  That was the third time I was disconnected by your phone system.

So I called the collection agency.  I spoke with a kind woman who was able to assist me with my complaint.  Interestingly, when I began to explain my issue, she laughed and apologized by saying:

“I’m laughing because I know what DirecTV does to its customers.” 

Wow!  Your own collection agency even acknowledges that DirecTV does wrong by its customers.

By the way, I found your email address by doing a simple websearch for “DirecTV complaint.”  It returned a notice by Cathy who had a similar customer service experience.  Other searches have brought even more distressing evidence of the problems at your company.

I’d like to give your company a chance to fix these issues.  Of course, you are welcome to ignore my email.  Unfortunately for DirecTV, I’m the kind of consumer who shares his opinions with family and friends (my experiences with Skype have been good and my time on a Royal Carribbean cruise was bad).  I also write a blog for funeral professionals that deals with customer service and marketing issues.

Interestingly, I wrote about my third attempt to cancel my service back in February:  http://finalembrace.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/dont-turn-your-evangelists-into-enemies/

I’m preparing my next entry about your service.  You can be sure I will quote that collection agency employee who knows how you treat your customers. 

You can call me at any time, if you think this issue can be corrected.  I have already begun the dispute process with your collection agency and have sent a letter to your Greenwood Village address.  My next emails are going to the attorney general of the state of Florida (where I used to have your service) and to each of my elected officials.

Congratulations on alienating another formerly-loyal customer!

Guess that worked because I got a return email and phone call with four hours.

Cynde, an overly-chipper woman from the “Office of the President of DirecTV” who kept telling me how much DirecTV valued me, fixed the account and credited me $42, which they’ll send in a check.

I sent them this email in response to the quick work of their executive staff:

Cynde called me just a few minutes ago.  She was polite (overly so - it was almost annoyingly so) which made the contrast from my earlier experiences (dating back to January and before) that much more extreme.

I hope that the complaints I’ve seen online about your company (I stopped reading after the first fifty or so, but there were simply pages of them on several consumer-complaint websites) become less frequent as you work to correct the customer service issues you’re currently facing.

And while Cynde was nice to me and tried to reassure me that your company cared about my experiences, the folks who deal with customers on a regular basis have not yet gotten that memo.  Undoubtably, Cynde works in either nicer conditions or with better pay and benefits, and gets greater attention from her bosses, including positive reinforcement for work done well.  The two other CSR that I spoke with today sounded like they had heard my complaints many times before and had only the company line to offer in response.

In short, Cynde’s efforts are too late.  The damage has already been done.  I spent several months telling my friends about how hard it was to quit your service.  I’ve spent the last few days telling them all that you reported me to a collection agency.  And while I’m glad you fixed your mistake, you will have to change a lot in the future before I consider paying you good money again.

Thanks for your time and for trying to fix the situation.  I wish you the best of luck trying to right your ship.  Of course, with the limited choices and irrational need for mind-numbing television entertainment of today’s consumer, maybe you can hold course and sail on just your advertising and as much money as you can rake in from battered consumers.

While I’m sure that Cynde, with her job at corporate headquarters and a salary that I can only imagine is better than a Representative in the callcenter, wants to ensure that I have a good opinion of DirecTV, I’m sure the two girls I reached first really don’t care about me. 

They’re struggling with a heavy workload (lots of calls) and belligerent callers all day.  Callers made belligerent by the policies handed down from the “Office of the President of DirecTV.”

How do your frontline, lowest-paid employees deal with your clients?  Better than DirecTV’s, I hope.

5/15/07
Ordering a Veteran’s Marker

5/14/07
When is a Funeral Home Broken?

5/11/07
Opening Doors Can Really Open Doors

5/10/07
Spreading the Joy

A friend of mine is responsible for interviewing all job applicants for his employer. 

I asked him about the difficulty he faces when trying to choose someone.

While his company administers a written test, requires several practical exercises and completes background checks, he also revealed that most applicants lose it all during the interview.

He shared the most common mistakes that he sees:

Misunderstanding the Questions:  This usually causes someone to say something bizarre that isn’t related to the topic at hand.  It also signals that the person is not a good listener.

Overstating Weaknesses:  Most interviewers want to know your strengths and weaknesses.  It’s a cheap way to get you to reveal what you lack.  Strengths should cover a wide area.  Phrases like “I’m good at working with a group.”  Weaknesses should be specific, like “occasionally I get so busy that I forget to cleanup my workspace before I leave for the day.”  While that may be a TERRIBLE example, you want the interviewer to get an answer that they can live with.  Don’t be like the young man who was applying for an entry-level, heavily-managed position who claimed that his biggest weakness was “not dealing well with people telling me what to do.”

Dressing Inappropriately:  Shorts and t-shirts are out.  So are flip-flops and droopy jeans with no belt.  My suggestion?  Wear the very best thing in your closet. 

Revealing Your True Intentions:  Your interviewer has to replace people all the time.  He/she is always hoping that whomever they hire will stick around for a long time, so they don’t have to rehire that position anytime soon.  No matter what you do, don’t tell the interviewer that you’re “just looking for a stepping stone until the job I really want is available elsewhere.”

Not Asking for the Job:  You might be surprised by the number of people who go through the entire interview process and forget to ask for the job.  If you want it, tell them so.  You might think it’s obvious by the work you did to apply, but your interviewer needs to see that you’re more eager than the fifty other saps she’s got looking for the job.  Ask for the job.

Annoying the HR People:  Most companies have a specific timetable and procedure for hiring.  It is customary to ask questions about this process when you first apply.  Do NOT call fifty times after the interview to keep asking if you got the job.  If they haven’t already made a decision, you’ll encourage the HR person to use your rudeness against you.

Saying Inappropriate Things:  This one is almost too easy.  Don’t be like the prospective firefighter who, when asked about his passion for the work, said “I’d rather fight fire than have sex.” 

In a post I’ve stolen almost completely from his site, Confessions of an Executive Restaurant Recruiter, Carl Chapman reveals:

Top 10 Ways to Blow Getting the Job

Inappropriate dress - showing up for the interview in attire that is not proper for your industry and position.

Not showing desire - not showing the interviewer(s) at every point that you are ready, willing, and able to make a job change and that you want to work for them.

Not exhibiting a “can do” attitude - when asked to provide additional info, take additional tests, go to a different location, or do anything out of the ordinary; hesitating and making it out to be a hardship on you.

Talking badly about your former/current employer - mentioning information with a negative attitude or tone in your voice or really talking derogatorily about your employers.

Discussing your personal life - talking about things in your personal life to such a degree that it could cause negative feelings or outcome with the prospective employer.

Asking for too much money - when negotiating, going beyond the reasonable limits that have been pre-discussed with your recruiter, the hiring authority, or stated in the job ad.

Inflexibility with regard to location - unwillingness to consider relocation or working in a particular location that may require a longer commute than you would enjoy, for some period of time.

History of job hopping - moving from one company to another (more often than not, at the same level) so frequently that you look unstable.

Lack of knowledge - not knowing about your business and profession, and not knowing about the company where you are interviewing.

Poor language skills - inability to communicate effectively, inability to articulate ideas using proper English, using curse words or slang during the interview.

If you’re looking for a job, I’d suggest this is a good starting point.  If you’re hiring others, this is a good list of things to watch out for.

I’d add a few of my own, specifically for the funeral industry:

Ways to NOT Get a Funeral Job

Try to Save the World - No one likes a know-it-all.  Yes, you might be a good addition to the firm, but the funeral home existed before you applied for the job and it’ll keep functioning after they show you the door.

Pursue a Funeral Career on a Whim - I’m not hiring anyone who decided last week or last month to be a funeral director.  Be able to show me that you’ve made the necessary decisions and understand the special requirements (legal and otherwise) to be a funeral professional.  As a plus, this shows your prospective employer that you can formulate a plan and execute it.

Get All Your Funeral Knowledge from TV - Sure, CSI and Six Feet Under are great shows, but they aren’t realistic.  Make sure you know the real industry before you try talking about it with a seasoned pro like me.  Otherwise, you’re going to look stupid and you’ve wasted my time and yours.

Tell Me When You Can Work - This industry is very busy, with some homes open 24/7 and busy times when you’ll go for 24 or 48 hours straight.  While I’d like to accommodate your desire to be off every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, while also giving you every third Monday off to visit your kid’s school, I really need an employee who will go above and beyond at a moment’s notice.  If I haven’t decided that you are the right fit for my firm before you share that you can’t work on Mayan holidays, I’ll decide pretty quickly after that revelation.