"I can't have a do-over" of my brother's burial. These are the exact words I voiced to Amy Shepard, Director & Owner of Family First Funeral Care & Cremation (Fowler) of Dothan, AL on Tuesday, 15 July, three days following a scheduled graveside burial which did not happen. Her only response was "I'm sorry". She never once addressed or took responsibility. Amy's flat affect & lack of compassion was evident from the very beginning of a meeting I demanded following a blotched funeral which was planned weeks in advance through emails & phone calls. On Friday, 11 July, Amy assured me that "her grave digging team" would have everything taken care of prior to our scheduled Saturday 11:00am graveside service. One can only imagine my shock & horror upon arriving at Memphis Baptist Church cemetery to find no grave dug, and no tent or chairs set up. There was only one frantic male employee, a black hearse with tent & poles lying on ground. Thankfully, Memphis Church allowed us early entrance to use their life center for service. I never heard from Amy until I called to set up a meeting. When questioned if she knew what happen, her response was, "No, I'm waiting for you to tell me". What a surprise that she wasn't interested in learning what went wrong even though it was her company hearse and employee at the cemetery trying to install a tent and dig a grave with no other help. It was only after I threatened to take her company to court, did she relinquish a small monetary refund. No explanation was ever given as to why her end of contract was not fulfilled at the designated time. Must add that this pre-paid, pre-planned crematio/burial was contracted in 2020. This ordeal, the stress, pain and anger was experienced on a day which should have been solely focused on the loss of my loved one. I will close by saying if any family is considering using Family First Funeral Care of Dothan, please reconsider.
PS: I sent a review/testimonial to their website page which to date has not shown up. I'm sure it's due to only choosing to publish positive reviews. read more