Consistency with consumers is essential to providing quality service to everyone, as well as for managing bottom line. But maintaining consistent standards is only possible with review.

  For example, whether employees are consistently communicating to consumers in the arrangement office is critical to providing the same standard of care to all who request your service, along with ensuring quality of service is bottom line: If services or merchandise are not presented to all consumers, the inconsistency will reflect in bottom line. Further, dissatisfaction may ensue if a consumer later realizes he was not offered something he actually would have liked to purchase.

  Underlying this example is whether employees even know what they are supposed to cover with the consumer. Management cannot simply assume employees are covering everything and maintaining desired standards. One way to ensure this standard is met is having management or another arranger sit in during arrangements, both at-need and pre-need.

  After the arrangements, the supervisor should make notes of what was covered and what was missed. Once all of the arrangers have been through this process a few times, a well-defined list of skipped components should emerge, as well as what has been done well. The items can be made in to a checklist used for new employee training, as well as review for current employees. This also documents expectations for future use.

  Some areas, in particular, demand consistence with consumers to maintain standards of quality:

  All firms must have an accounts receivable policy employees understand. If arrangers are not following a policy and not explaining accounts receivable at the arrangement conference, they are not doing their job properly. Arrangers should have a clear understanding of how the account will be paid.

  Incremental sale items, including Memory Glass, fingerprint jewelry, up-graded service folders, flowers, catering, and balloon and dove releases, are important now and will be even more critical in the future. Many consumers identify great value in these items, even when they have selected minimum services.

  Many death care professionals have discounted services to survive in today’s business environment where more and more consumers have less money available due to living longer, stock market crashes, bad investments and not saving enough for retirement. Many children don’t want to use their money for their parents. Discounts have become necessary for some, but firms should have a minimum amount that must be charged for burial and cremation services, and arrangers must follow that policy.

  Each of these areas should be standardized within a firm. It may take time to document policies in the form of written procedures or checklists. Other issues involved in developing policies are the financial strength of the firm, market conditions and the owner’s belief in the death care profession. The other consideration is to treat all consumers the same by giving everyone every option, every time.