So Far, So Good

Things have been going fairly well at work. The boss and I have not had any major issues so far, thank God. There was only one incident, a minor one. In February the owner took delivery on a brand new hearse, a 2012 Cadillac worth $78,000. It was decided this hearse would only be used locally. When my boss took over, he took our second best hearse over to the other location. So one day last week we had a service at the National Cemetery. Naturally, we used the brand new hearse. Halfway up the road, my boss calls asking why we didn't come get the other hearse. I calmly replied that it never occurred to me, and that I'm sorry I didn't think of that, and I would know better next time.

Today we discussed some other changes he's contemplating. One idea I do like is putting a digital photo frame or small computer monitor at the sign-in stand and putting the deceased's photo and service information on a looping slideshow. I think that would actually work very well and look a little bit more modern.

Rearranging

The new owner immediately started implementing some changes. We emptied all of the caskets out of our selection room. This will be turned into a hospitality room, with tables, coffee, tea, etc for families that would like to rent the space. Our secondary visitation room is now our selection room. My arms and back were sore after that operation. We moved 18 caskets around. That's a lot of moving. At least half wound up in the new selection room, with the rest being put back into storage. We had two calls yesterday, both of them burials, so we pulled the selected caskets and then broke two more out of storage to put in their place. I told my boss it was just like old times. He had a habit of picking me to help move caskets around, even when other employees were sitting on their asses doing nothing, and I was being productive and actually working. Oh well. So far we have not had any conflicts, and I'm very careful of things I say around him.

Monday It Begins

Well, actually today was the first day with my old boss as the new owner, but tomorrow will be the actual beginning. I worked a funeral Saturday with my old/new boss, and I must say I'm not as apprehensive as I was when I first heard the news. He was talking about call schedules and personnel duties and such, and I came away thinking this might work after all. I'll let you know.