Basic HTML Version
Page B8
JANUARY 2015
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on B
ASD Introduces Patent-
Pending App Feature,
MobileFH™ and New
Phone Screening Tools
Physicians Mutual Earns
97 Percent Satisfaction
Rating from Health and
Life Insurance Customers
The Dodge Company
Welcomes Hindes and
Schlottman to Its Team
of Sales Representatives
BILLERICA,MA—
The
Dodge Company
is pleased
to announce the addition
of
Joe Hindes
and
John
Schlottman
to its team of
sales representatives. If their
time spent in Billerica for
orientation and training is
any indication, Hindes and
Schlottman are certain to
offer excellent service to the
funeral practitioners in their
respective territories.
Hindes has taken over the
territory previously served
by
Russ Thomas
who is
now enjoying retirement.
Joe is no stranger to Penn-
sylvania or funeral service,
having grown up in Penn-
sylvania and completing
his funeral service educa-
tion at
Northampton Com-
munity College,
Bethlehem,
PA. Hindes has been a li-
censed funeral director and
embalmer since 1984, most
recently practicing in Lan-
caster, PA. He is married
and is happy to say that his
son Noah is a recent grad of
Columbia University. With-
out reservation it can be said
that Joe is excited about join-
ing the Dodge team.
Schlottman may be famil-
iar to many California fu-
neral service practitioners as
husband to
Debbie Schlott-
man,
Dodge’s representa-
tive to Southern California
and Hawaii. John has as-
sumed the position of sales
representative for the Cen-
tral California Valley terri-
tory. John is a veteran of the
United States Marine Corps
and completed his mortuary
science education at
Cypress
College.
He also has contin-
ued his studies at Orange
Coast College and the Uni-
versity of California. Schlott-
man has been involved with
all facets of funeral service
since graduation. For the last
three years, he has operated a
successful trade service near
Los Angeles. Schlottman is
married with seven children
and seven grandchildren.
When not working, he is
very involved with the Boy
Scouts of America.
Tim Collison,
vice presi-
dent of sales and market-
ing, said, “I am very hap-
py to have Joe and John
join Dodge. Their enthusi-
asm and technical expertise
will provide their customers
with the service and resourc-
es they have come to expect
from Dodge.”
Adaptive Projections
Creates Funeral Touch
Screen Group
Final Touch Screen allows families to enjoy photos and videos
with simple hand motions directly on the screen
GRAND RAPIDS,MI—
Launched several years ago, the
“Time
line w
Chicag
market
with a
The
touch
nal. T
nition
softwa
alize th
Family
nience
“Man
TV ty
roy Bo
for not
all in o
shows,
isted in
tures a
versati
This
guest r
vices, o
A varie
pieces
al infor
MEDIA,PA—
ASD – An-
swering Service for Di-
rectors
recently unveiled a
new version of the compa-
ny’s
NFDA
award-winning
mobile app, ASDMobile 3.
One of the greatest benefits
added to the enhanced app
is the company’s patent-
pending MobileFH™ fea-
ture. This solution was cre-
ated by ASD after multiple
funeral directors explained
the problems caused by
using their personal cell
phones for business.
Funeral directors of-
ten return calls to families
in need and other busi-
ness contacts from their
cell phones. As a result,
they are often contacted
on their cell phones dur-
ing times when others may
be on call or even while
on their vacation. Aside
from being inconvenient,
this problem can result in
a lost business opportunity
if a family calls a personal
number instead of the fu-
neral home number and
does not receive an answer.
MobileFH™ provides a
new solution to this prob-
lem. Funeral directors who
have downloaded ASD
Mobile can enter a phone
number or tap on one with-
in the app and the call will
be connected displaying the
funeral home’s office line
as the outgoing Caller ID.
This is achieved by con-
necting the call through
ASD’s system. “We real-
ly like this feature. For us, it
is useful when we’re on call
on the weekends and we’re
calling someone back and
don’t necessarily want them
to have our cell phone be-
cause then they just use our
cell phone all the time,” says
funeral director,
Meghan
Owens
of
Scanlan Funeral
Home
in Pompton Plains,
NJ. “We like when we call
them back, it shows up like
we’re from calling the fu-
neral home so they never
have our mobile numbers.”
The release of Mobile-
FH™ coincided perfectly
with a new ability to record
patched calls. Now, calls
that are connected via Mo-
bileFH™ are also recorded,
allowing funeral directors
to review their after-hours
calls for any important de-
tails they may have missed.
Owners and Managers will
also appreciate the ability to
evaluate their on-call staff’s
communication and cus-
tomer service skills.
“Previously, on-call funer-
al directors had few choices
when it came to returning
calls. Fortunately, Mobile-
FH™ provides much need-
ed freedom while allow-
ing them to still use their
personal cell phone,” says
ASD vice president,
Kev-
in Czachor.
“By recording
these calls, as well as all calls
that are directly patched to
the funeral home staff, di-
rectors will have a detailed
backup of their conversa-
tions with families.”
Since introducing ASD
Mobile 3 during the 2014
NFDA Convention, Mo-
bileFH™ has been utilized
by more than 1,000 fu-
neral directors. The com-
pany expects these statis-
tics to continue increasing
as more clients discover the
benefits of this powerful
feature.
Family owned and op-
erated since 1972, ASD
blends state-of-the-art tech-
nology with an extensive,
6-month training program
focusing on compassionate
care. The company’s cus-
tom-built communication
systems and sophisticated
mobile tools were designed
solely to meet the needs of
funeral homes. With pat-
ented solutions, ASD’s
smartphone app, ASD Mo-
bile for iPhone or Android,
was recognized as the win-
ner of the 2012 NFDA
Innovation Award after
revolutionizing commu-
nications for thousands of
funeral homes nationwide.
Discover why more than
45 percent of independent
funeral homes using an an-
swering service have chosen
ASD. By offering funeral
directors unmatched pro-
OMAHA,NE—
Physicians Mutual,
a national leader in
individual health, life and retirement insurance products,
has announced the findings from its recent Customer Sat-
isfaction Study, revealing an overall 97 percent satisfaction
rate among customers. Marketing research firmWiese Re-
search Associates conducted the independent study.
The study measured customer satisfaction with individuals
who have purchased a health or life insurance policy from
Physicians Mutual. “We partner with an outside research firm
to ensure we know with certainty what our customers think
of us,” said Physicians Mutual senior vice president
Melissa
Crawford,
“We are thrilled to receive such a high score from
our customers, the people we are so proud to serve.”
The study examined 11 company product and service
attributes including timeliness and accuracy of paying
claims, good customer service, straightforward/honest
and easy to do business with. The 2014 study validates
the 97 percent customer satisfaction rating the compa-
ny also received in studies conducted in 2006 and 2010.
“This achievement is a result of the hardworking and car-
ing employees and agents dedicated to serving our cus-
tomers,” added Crawford.
As a health and life insurer, Physicians Mutual is regular-
ly evaluated by insurance analysts and rating agencies on
its financial strength and stability. Crawford said the com-
pany is rated in the top one percent of all insurance com-
panies and consistently earns some of the highest financial
strength rankings in the industry and the company’s satisfac-
tion scores are among the highest in the insurance industry.
“Financial strength and customer satisfaction are
very important to us,” said Crawford. “We believe our
strength and service are what truly differentiate us from
other companies.”
The Omaha-based company has nearly 1,000 employ-
ees and more than 1,000 agents nationwide.
Physicians Mutual Insurance Company
and Physicians
Life Insurance Company
are members of the Physicians
Mutual family. Physicians Mutual Insurance Company
offers reliable Medicare supplement, dental and supple-
mental health insurance. Physicians Life Insurance Com-
pany provides important life insurance coverage and an-
nuities. They entered the funeral pre-planning market to
help meet the growing needs of funeral home owners and
the families they serve. The companies have more than
$3 billion in assets and consistently maintain some of the