There are more than 20,000 funeral homes situated throughout the U.S. at the moment. They all cater to the families of the 2.7 million Americans who die every year.
But you shouldn’t pick just any old funeral home to provide you with funeral services the next time you lose a loved one. Instead, you should do your homework and track down a good funeral home in your area that will set you up with the best services in the business.
Check out 8 tips that will make it easy for you to find a good funeral home in your city or town.
1. Seek Recommendations from Others
Do you know someone who just went through the funeral-planning process?
If so, the first thing you should do is reach out to them to see if they might be able to recommend a good funeral home.
They might give you a glowing review of the funeral home they used and help arrange a meeting with the funeral director there. Or they might tell you not to use the same funeral home as they did and caution you against it.
Regardless, it’s good to get as much information about funeral homes as you can from those around you. They’ll be able to provide you with honest reviews based on their own experiences.
2. Check Out Online Reviews
If you don’t happen to know anyone who planned a funeral recently, another good way to find a good funeral home is by utilizing online reviews.
As long as a funeral home has been in business for more than a few years, they should have reviews available on Google, Facebook, and other sites. Use any reviews you can find to your advantage.
It’s a good idea to skim through both positive and negative reviews for funeral homes to get a good overview of them. The reviews should answer a lot of questions you might have about specific funeral homes.
3. Browse Websites for Funeral Homes
In addition to reading online reviews for funeral homes, you should also visit the websites for funeral homes in your city or town.
Take a look at the home pages of these sites to see what different funeral homes have to say about themselves. Check out their “About Us” pages as well to learn more about their history.
Glance through the blog that they have on their website, too. It’ll give you a sense of what kind of funeral home they are and what services they provide to families.
4. See the Services Funeral Homes Offer
Speaking of services, you’re obviously going to want to pay very close attention to the services provided at different funeral homes.
A good funeral home should be able to offer you both traditional burial services and cremation services. But there are some funeral homes that only offer one or the other.
If your family member practiced a certain religion, you should also make sure a funeral home can offer the services you’ll need to send them off in accordance with their beliefs.
5. Speak with Funeral Directors
Once you begin working with one specific funeral home, you’re going to spend a lot of time sitting with their funeral director. The funeral director will help you plan out each and every aspect of your family member’s funeral and give you peace of mind.
It’s important to develop a good rapport with a funeral director before you start working closely. Call around to the funeral homes in your area and ask to speak with the funeral director at each of them.
Ask them questions like:
- “How long have you been a funeral director?”
- “What makes you a good funeral director?”
- “Why should I trust you to plan out my family member’s funeral?”
- “Will you make yourself available to my family and me at any time of the day or night?”
- And more
Finding the right funeral director is absolutely essential. Don’t agree to work with a funeral home before you know who you’ll be dealing with.
6. Take a Tour of Funeral Homes
If you’ve seen one funeral home, you’ve seen them all, right?
Wrong! Not all funeral homes look exactly alike. While a lot of them have the same decorative touches inside, they’re all a little bit unique and offer something different on the interior.
Don’t just take our word for it, though. Get out there and take tours of funeral homes to see which ones you like best.
The funeral home you pick should be large enough to accommodate your loved one’s friends and family members. It should also have the right kinds of decorative touches in it based on your family’s preferences.
7. Consider Funeral Costs
Far too often, families choose funeral homes based on the cost of funeral services above all else. You should try not to make this mistake by considering more than just the cost of your loved one’s services.
But you will want to think about the cost of funeral services eventually. Try to get a list of funeral expenses from each funeral home you’re considering so that you can price shop before picking the option that offers fair prices and great services.
8. Look at Memorial Options
Are you going to honor your loved one with a headstone? A kerbset? A war memorial?
There are lots of memorials to choose from. Ideally, you want a funeral home that can provide you with a large selection and help you pick out the right one for your family member.
A Good Funeral Home Isn’t Hard to Find
Planning out a funeral for a loved one can be an extremely stressful process if you don’t find a good funeral home to help you do it. It can take a toll on you and your surviving family members and prevent you from grieving in peace.
Use the tips found here to further your funeral home search and pick out the right option. It’ll take a weight off your shoulders and allow you to give your loved one the sendoff they deserve.
Did your loved one happen to die as a result of a medical procedure gone wrong or another mishap? Check out our blog for advice on finding a wrongful death attorney.