Undercover Undertaker

[poliphilo]

An expose of Co-operative Funeralcare? I've just had dealings with them. OK, shock me.

Right, Did you know that the Co-op keeps bodies on racks in refrigerated warehouses known as "hubs"? These hubs serve a wide area and are located on industrial estates.  If a body is required for viewing it has to be driven to the local chapel of rest in a van. 

Interesting, but I'm not surprised.

Sometimes mistakes occur. The wrong body is sent to a funeral.  Bodies are delivered late for viewing and staff lie about it. In one case that we filmed the coffin wouldn't fit in the van and had to be transported without its lid.

Yeah, life's like that. On your own evidence Co-op staff are embarrassed by these mishaps and offer generous compensation when things go really wrong. 

Funeral directors are also salesmen. They're under pressure from the high-ups to make as much money as they can.

I could wish things were otherwise, but that's capitalism for you. Now make my flesh crawl

Erm, that's it.

So undertaking puts up a front. I knew that already. Does anyone really suppose that it continues to be all flowers and Bach and Trappist hush behind the scenes? Mainly, I should think, people don't suppose anything. Out of sight, out of mind- and thank goodness for that. 

Comments

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I imagine they'd be really squicked out by the back room at a crematorium. "Did you know that the bodies are put into big cardboard boxes?" Well, yeah. And I saw the grinder where they take care of any bits that weren't reduced to dust, too.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've never been behind the scenes at a crem, but I've been told about the procedures.

I'm squeamish, but I'm also a realist. Bodies are just waste matter that needs to be gotten rid of. I'm glad it's someone else's job, not mine.

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

The only thing I would not be happy about is getting the wrong body buried. That would be pretty poor. The rest of it...? Whatever.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The undertakers turned up at the crem with the wrong body. They realised their mistake immediately and there was something like a 20 minute delay while they rushed off and retrieved the right one. They waived charges for the funeral and paid compensation on top. Was this really so terrible?

The grieving relatives claim to have been traumatised. I'm afraid I'd have laughed.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

These days people do seem to be traumatised by things that aren't really all that important in the greater scheme of things. As long as a slip up isn't due to procedures that are inherently sloppy and the staff appear to be genuinely doing their best to provide a good service, then I tend to cut people quite a lot of slack. I know only too well that I never get things 100% right 100% of the time, so why should I expect perfection from other people?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I agree. Life is a chapter of accidents. People mostly do their best, but they're only human. Sometimes (often) accidents are blessings in disguise.

The best thing about Eric's funeral was Ailz's phone going off at a particularly solemn moment. It's the one thing I remember from three quarters of an hour's worth of tedious pomposity.