Grieving family get service excellence when they need it most
Arranging a funeral while grieving a loved one is hard for everybody. Sisters Erica and Nina Colovic experienced the process three times within an eight-month period.
“For us,” Nina recalls, “it felt like such a whirlwind.”
They relied heavily on Families First Funeral Homes when their mother, Mary-Jane (Janey), died in August 2015. Their paternal grandmother, Darinka, passed in April 2016. The following month, the sisters were back at the funeral home, saying their final goodbyes to their father, Ned.
“I found that Families First went above and beyond, understanding our situation,” Nina says. “We didn’t even think twice about going to Families First.”
The sisters were impressed by the team’s efforts to make each life celebration distinctive.
Mourners immediately knew they were at the service of Janey, a well-respected school teacher and cancer fighter, when they saw her dragon boat outside the funeral home. “We also had her paddle with her name on it,” says Nina.
Inside, photos taken throughout Janey’s lifetime and frog figurines that students had given her were on view. “My mom loved to sew so we had her quilts on display, as well,” Nina says.
To honour their grandmother’s heritage, the sisters made certain a Serbian priest said prayers, a Serbian choir sang and a large wooden cross bearing Darinka’s name stood beside the open casket.
After the conclusion of Ned’ s traditional funeral, guests were served catered hors d’oeuvres and his favourite beer and wine. “My dad always said, ‘When I go, I don’t want people to be crying and mourning. I want them to be partying,’” says Nina.
She and her sister were up lifted to hear stories as people celebratedthe life of their friendly father. “I don’t know what we would have done without FamiliesFirst ,” Nina says .“They just knew what we needed when we needed it.”
In the days following each funeral, the team offered after care. The sisters appreciated “their patience, help and guidance” with death certificates and other paperwork. “They were so organized.”
Whether people a rep re planning their own funerals or making the arrangements for a deceased loved one, the team at independently owned and operated Families First strives to make people feel comfortable and confident.
“We seek first to understand what is most important to the family,” says Brian Parent, president of Families First, with locations in South Windsor, East Windsor, LaSalle and Amherstburg.
Asking a bereaved person to ‘tell us about your parent’ naturally leads to a conversation that reveals much about the loved one. “We then make recommendations primarily around personalization of the funeral,” says Parent.
Upon learning that a dad enjoyed riding his snowmobile, Families First picked up the machine and displayed it at the funeral home.
“For the service for a mom who loved going to the movie theatre, we decorated the room with movie reels and served fresh popcorn,” Parent says.
Recognizing “it’s a very difficult time for the grieving family,” Parent says, “they need to know that every time they raise a concern, have a question or want to make a change, that is totally okay in our organization. We give them all the choices so they can honour their loved one in special ways.”
Since the funeral home was founded, it has never had salespeople working on commission. “There is no aggressive sales pitch or upselling,” Parent assures of his team’s presentation of various options with all costs clearly shown.
“Our team members feel most rewarded when families are sending notes of appreciation and are very pleased by the way we took care of them in their time of need.”
He explains, “Our focus is on creating customers who are raving fans, not just satisfied customers. Fine and good are not enough for our organization.” By listening to people requiring funeral services, understanding what is being said and acting upon it, Families First becomes the funeral home that local families return to when another loved one dies.
“Most of the funeral homes in this area have existed for 100 years or more. We’ve only existed for 21 years. The reality is we have grown into one of the largest family-owned and operated funeral homes in southwestern Ontario,” Parent says.
“We would not have not grown this large without families talking about us to their friends. Personal recommendations from the families we have served to their friends has been the single biggest factor that has helped us to grow.”
Families First is proud to call itself the only funeral home in Windsor without commissioned sales staff or a dedicated pre-planner. “You can be confident when requesting services from Families First that our focus is on our service, and not the merchandise being purchased.”