Subpar treatment throughout the week leading to the burial. Stars only because the end (did not!) justify the means.
My cousin's body had to be flown in. This catapulted the family into making a rush choice of Brown (Well, there are only two...). By the time I arrived, arrangements to get the body had been made. Calming angst, my cousin even came in a day earlier. This is where the deplorable starts.
His mother wants to see him and asks when she can. The funeral director gives a (dis)comforting speech on how he needs to hire more people, this is a busy weekend, so he can't prepare the body until the last minute. Please, spare us the detail of why you can't do your job. A few words to insist that the body could not be prepared until the viewong would have been better than basically telling us, "I don't have time for you."
Next, instead of revealing that my cousin was broad-shouldered and would need a plus-sized casket, then offering the lowest-priced option...he breaks out with a yard stick, doesn't tell us what is going on, leads us to the casket room, and starts measuring, while describing his breadth. Really?! This is heart-wrenching!
I was going to keep my tongue--until all persons who accompanied us had the same shock, discussed at the viewing.
Gheez! The #1 job is to COMFORT the family, not further stress us out. read more