And So Begins My New Life

Join me as I embark on a new life and new career in Funeral Services.

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Location: Southeast, United States

I'm a Funeral Services graduate embarking on a new career. I graduated high school in 1981, served honorably in the United States Navy from 1982-1986, been married since 1986, and have one son. I've relocated to a new state and have begun working in my chosen profession of Funeral Services, and I've never been happier.

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Monday, July 25, 2011

Don't Be Shy, Speak Your Mind

One of my frustrations at work is that I spend more time being a janitor than I do a funeral director. I empty trash, clean restrooms, dust the offices. I don't mind doing these things, because it has to be done. But I seem to be the only one doing them, and I'm not making many arrangements. I told the owner I would like to start making more complicated arrangements, so last week I had that opportunity. We had a call, there were prearrangements which called for viewing, visitation, and then a funeral in our chapel. So I sat down with the family, went over everything with them as far as information for the death certificate, then concluded with the funeral itself. I asked them when they wanted everything done. I gave them the choice of visitation one day, funeral the next morning, or to have everything all in one day. They liked that idea, so I started asking about times. During this whole process, they kept saying things like, "whatever's convenient for you," or, "whichever you think is best." In short, they were being very accommodating and/or indecisive. So I finally suggested services the very next day, starting an hour before we close, and ending 3 hours later. They agreed and I posted all the information on our status board. My boss, who would be the one who would have to stay late, sees this and point blank says to me, "I don't want to have to stay late for that." Then he proceeds to lecture me on how to schedule a funeral. I admit, I should have tried to schedule everything for normal working hours, but this is where my inexperience worked against me. Still, the nerve of him to flat out admit he didn't want to work when he was supposed to do just got to me. He in fact did not work that night, but forced one of our other directors, who should not have worked, to stay late.

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