Crist Mortuary Apologizes for Dropping Casket

Responding to a lawsuit’s allegations that Crist Mortuary employees dropped the casket of a 20-year-old Boulder High School graduate on the day of his funeral, letting his body roll onto the pavement, the mortuary’s general manager apologized. “We made a mistake,” said Michael Greenwood, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with [...]

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Have Your Ashes Pressed Into a Vinyl Record?

Music lovers can now be immortalized when they die by having their ashes baked into vinyl records to leave behind for loved ones. A UK company called And Vinyly is offering people the chance to press their ashes in a vinyl recording of their own voice, their favorite tunes or their last will and testament. [...]

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Businesses: Keep Nasty Complaints off the Web by Offering Great Customer Service

By Marc LeVine, Director of Social Media, RiaEnjolie, Inc. You and your family began your funeral home business with the best intentions in mind. There isn’t a funeral home director with an ounce of integrity, who launches his or her new business deliberately intending to disappoint their customers. Nor, can any sane business person – [...]

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10 Bizarre Last Statements of Death Row Inmates

Before being put to death, criminals are given the opportunity to say a few parting words. Some use this opportunity to apologize for their wrongdoings; some try to let their families know they love them; and others use it as a chance to proclaim their innocence. Then, you have the death row inmates who use [...]

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Online Obituary Sites, Speadsheet Keeps You in The Know

There have been a number of new obituary sites popping up all over the internet and for end-users as well as funeral homes it is almost impossible to keep up with all the options. Most obituary sites are on this helpful spreadsheet published by www.onlineobituaryreviews.com. Service Corporation International has its’ own memorial website, Making Everlasting [...]

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Fear of the Online: Online Bank Accounts, ATMs and Social Media

I have noted, on the part of many Funeral Directors, some hesitance in fully embracing Social Media as the valuable business tool it is proving to be.  As the baby boomer generation prepares for their final stage of life they bring to the death planning process the same sense of gusto and excitement with which [...]

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Social Media In Funeral Service, Is it Just a Fad?

 I had the great opportunity to give a presentation in June to the Independent Funeral Directors of Florida. The convention was very well attended and the response to my presentation was great. I talked to them about social media in funeral service and how the numbers show that social media is not a fad, [...]

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Funeral Industry Facebook Tip – Video

I was searching through a few funeral home “fan pages” or “like” pages (which ever you prefer) on Facebook and I noticed something that you should never ever do on your funeral home’s Facebook page. Please do not post a full obituary as a status update. Only post the persons name and link to the [...]

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Social Media Coaching with CDSocial, Funeral Industry Driven

Our goal is to educate funeral directors on using social media in promoting their businesses. That’s why we’re focusing on coaching. Our coaches give you real, actionable information, tools, and strategies to fit with the way you work –but most important of all, they give you their time. To facilitate, support, encourage, ensure competency, and [...]

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Facebook Among Web’s Worst in Customer Satisfaction [SURVEY]

The 2010 American Customer Survey Index conducted by ForeSee Results gave Facebook 64 out of 100 points in a customer satisfaction survey; that’s lower than any other business in its category. However, it’s not at the bottom of the social media heap; MySpace received one point less. ForeSee Results CEO Larry Freed says that “privacy [...]

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