I would have not chosen this as the funeral home to handle my father's cremation and service had I…read morebeen able to have a say in it.
Due to extraneous circumstances around my father's passing, the family member that was in state, was out of the country when he passed and there were delays in the family being notified that were out of state. The hospice he was at called this particular place to pick up my father. I wish I would have been able to intervene sooner.
The level of professionalism just wasn't at any level I would call professional. The representative that we dealt with belonged on a used car lot, and not a reputable one. I really don't want to hear about stripper funerals when I am picking out urns and planning a service.
He kept telling us the wrong amount for what was due after the initial costs of the cremation, etc. A check was written the day of the service for a remaining balance and then almost a month later, we were informed that we owed them the amount we were repeatedly told was already taken care of. I had asked my in town relative when I was in TX what the deal was, so I could handle it out of my father's accounts if needed, they didn't have the answers, so I relied on a proper accounting from the funeral home.
Basically, it had to come out of pocket when a month ago it could have been taken care of in a different way that we no longer had access to. It was all paid, it was just basic misinformation, miscommunication, lameness on their part throughout the whole process.
They found a reverend even though I had request that they did not, who just happened to be the reverend of the used car sales man funeral guy. My father's pastor was out of the country and I figured, better to have none then someone who did not know or care about him. The Stand in reverend they found used the wrong name of my father's mother even after I had asked him to read what I had written about my father seeing as he didn't even know him. That is always great during a memorial service, especially when you are paying this person, oh I mean "tipping" them and they basically refuse to read what you prepared then say the wrong name.
After receiving the Death Certificate, I realize why he used the wrong name of my father's mother, because it was also wrong on the death certificate. It is not the name listed on my father's birth certificate. Another fail.
He also told us the obituary had already been run, we did not even get a copy or link to it. But, it now ends up, they never ran the obit even after charging us for it. So, they are going to run it this Friday, a month after the funeral. Another epic fail on their part.
I called the funeral director, Lee, to talk to him about this, to express my overall dissatisfaction. He came out of the gate funky; like he was put out that I would even try to have a conversation with him about anything I was unhappy with. I was cut off, over talked, disrespected and hung up on. I have a feeling that a lot of more mature "gentlemen" in Texas are old school and do not know how to discuss business with a woman respectfully. I was told that it was his "right" to continue to interrupt me. Great. I was told that what I was telling him was 100% wrong and when I asked if his accounting was 100% right, he said "absolutely". I really hadn't even been able to say a full two sentences at this point.
Then, he started lighting in to me about the length of time that they had to hold my father and issues he evidently had about my sister being out of the country and not having access to reliable communication methods. He actually told me she could have sent a TELEGRAM. OK. Right. Because that is such a preferred method of communication. I am sure they charged us for the time my father was there, generously, and also it was almost impossible for me to get a timely call back when I did get in the mix and start dealing with them.
The location is also in a industrial-ish, not so nice area with nothing around it but hospitals. Not nice at all. The overall appearance of the funeral home is tacky. Plastic columns and plants.
I would not recommend them, at all. It was a clown show at best.