Changing Society & Technology

    I am very busy lately so I don't have time to write a post. Instead I will quickly discuss something which continues to come up every now and then, and while not directly about the funeral industry iy relates to the industry.

   People comment about the changing nature of society, specifically how technology is making us less social.  To me this is a simplistic and incorrect argument; nothing has changed much really.  This is an old issue that has been brought up time and time again, as the web comic xkcd so nicely demonstrates.  You can view the comic in full below.

Interacting with InvoCare

    I would like to announce that InvoCare is willing to support this blog and will seek to support the honours research.  Which is a seriously big advantage for me!  In light of this I thought it appropriate to write about my interaction with InvoCare up to this point.  As it has significantly influenced how I see InvoCare.

    Hopefully this post will help others understand my perception of InvoCare!

Guest Post - What Funerals Mean to Me

    Below is an interesting little description from an undertaker of what funerals mean on a personal level.  Specifically how being un undertaker has influenced their views of the funeral service and of death in general.  It was a fun little read and as such I am sharing it (with permission) on my blog, it's great to get other perspectives like this one.

A Personal Death - Another funeral

Front of the order of service.

    With my grandmothers funeral only a few months after my grandfathers we simply stuck with the same funeral home.  It was familiar and convenient and everyone was happy enough with the job they did last time.  The last funeral was not perfect, but not that bad really and the staff were nice.

    This is my experience and opinions of my grandmothers funeral.  It was an 'interesting' event.

A Personal Death - The music

    In the last series of posts about my grandfathers funeral I came to a few interesting realisations.  The importance of the Order of Service.  How emotionally significant it is and how it is a piece of the funeral in many ways.  The other was the roles we play.  How being an undertaker has changed my view of funerals and how different it is from the perspective of a mourner.

    With my grandmothers funeral this was no different.  I realised a new thing and explored another in more detail.  This time my realisation was the music, how much is put into it and how trivial it actually is.

A Personal Death - Again

    A while ago my grandfather died.  At the time I wrote about my experiences with it, arranging the funeral, the funeral itself and some interesting things I had never noticed or thought of before.  Now, just a few weeks ago my grandmother has also died.  So, now I am finally back in Sydney it's time I wrote about this funeral.

    Having the experience of the other funeral so recently this one was fairly different.  The circumstances behind her death were also different.  Overall it was a pleasant experience, but there are some observations and thoughts about it.

LifeArt; A look at the modern funeral industry

     Funerals are quite a modern affair, much like the fast food, tourism or any other highly organised industry.  For example in this other post I (quickly and lightly) discuss how crematoriums can easily be linked to concepts from the tourism industry.  I find the LifeArt coffins to be another interesting example for the modern funeral and only exist because of how the funeral industry is a modern process  So here I intend to examine what the LifeArt coffin is and what role it plays in this modern process.


   The LifeArt coffin is an interesting and quite frankly strange thing.  It is basically and simply a cardboard coffin.  It is made from the same style of cardboard as pizza boxes and as such I have heard a couple of funeral directors call them "pizza box coffins" with destine.  The only wood or real non-cardboard material used is a few blocks of wood on the inside to reinforce the handles.  One would wonder what market a cardboard coffin would have.  Most people want "the best" for their loved one.  And this idea has been the basis for the coffin industry for many decades.  People pay high price with the idea they are getting high quality.  The result of which is that much of the funeral industry has become dependant on high profit coffins as a means to survive.  So along comes a cardboard version, and it is still more expensive than the cheapest wood coffins.  Thus we would doubt LifeArts place in an old and established market.
   So lets look at the advertising and marketing for this strange new coffin.  On the homepage of the LifeArt website we see the main image is of a child.  A strangely common image in the industry with the focus being on life (always depicted as young by the industry) rather than death.  But it also focuses on two ideas, environment and personalised.  These are fascinating ideas to the industry, as personalisation is very old and very important to funeral homes and families.


   Personalisation is an old idea which has been emphasised in the modern industry.  Firstly I will quickly clarify that by personal I mean two distinct things.  One one hand we have personal, which is warm, relevant and relatable to the mourners.  On the other hand I am also referring to personalised which is basically customising the event to meed the desires of the family and/or deceased.  The two are so intertwined and related in many ways that I will refer to them both at once to simply save time.  Looking at older style funeral home ads I found that a few would talk of "personalising the service" to cater to the family and/or the deceased.  The concept does appear and is important to funeral homes but it is not essential or emphasised over other concepts.  However in the modern funeral industry the idea of a personal or personalised service is almost essential.  Looking at the websites for Simplicity, Guardian and White Ladys, which are all owned by Invocare and Olsens and T.J.Andrews, which are independent we can see how important this concept of 'personal' is.  It appears several times on each website and each emphasise how they are prepared to personalise the service to fit the family or deceased.  Looking at just arranging a burial style funeral we can see exactly how important personalisation is.  Simplicity advertises the ability to personalise stuff on the funeral.  Such as having a set of golf clubs in the hearse with the coffin or that it is willing and able to get a horse drawn hearse, something I have never seen or heard of.  It is such an odd extreme and nobody I had asked ever saw a horse drawn hearse.  Guardian focuses more on how it will "personalise the service to your cultural, spiritual, emotional and personal preferences".  They chose to focus on advertising emotional and cultural personalisation without stating anything specific.  White Ladies even has a whole section on personalising the service.  They focus on 'little touches' and helping "achieve a truly memorable funeral service".  Here the whole company emphasis is strongly on personal service.  Even their motto "a woman's understanding" leads one to believe that they will be willing to listen and personalise the service.  These three websites are all for large national companies owned by InvoCare, which itself is a large international company.  Just looking at the sites at once one can see the similarities.  Their templates are almost exactly the same, the placement of information, links and art styles are all identical.  Knowing how to navigate one site means knowing how to navigate any of them.  Even the style of language and what is said is the same.  They all explain things, such as arranging a funeral, in such a similar manner.  Really, the only difference is the colour of the site.  One is left wondering how personal their services could be, if their websites are the same down to the language style and template used then they must all be so similar.  Thus we turn to the two large independent funeral homes websites to see if 'personal' is just an InvoCare thing or an industry wide concept.  Olsens is a mostly Shire and South Sydney company and has been established for many years.  Clicking on "what type of funeral" one is immediately confronted with talk of how they will personalise the service.  They state how they provide a "distinctly" and "carefully" personal service.  T.J Andrews does not explicitly talk of "personal" or "personalising" funerals.  They do however talk heavily of how chan change and customise funerals depending on cultural and individual needs or desires.  So while not explicit T.J.Andrews does place importance on personal services.  All of these websites spend time they could use advertising other things to emphasises the personal concept.  It really is an important concept to the funeral industry.  This is no different with the LifeArt coffin website.  A main advertising point is how the coffin itself can be personalised.  From having pictures or photos printed onto it in the manufacturing process to painting it, the coffin is very "customisable".  They differentiate themselves from other coffins by emphasising how people can interact with the coffin and make it into the image they desire.  I remember one time where a family painted the LifeArt coffin themselves, and although it did not look the best they were extremely happy with the outcome.  The outcome had little impact on them itself, what they really focused on and had meaning was the act of painting the coffin.

   One is left wondering why exactly this is such an important concept to the industry.  That the funeral homes pay so much attention to it and that LifeArt uses 'personal' as a main basis for its very existence.  Well, my thought is that it is based in the modernising of the industry itself.  Looking at the websites they are all so similar, mainly the InvoCare owned ones (which LifeArt is also owned by).  They are mass production companies no different to McDonalds.  In fact InvoCare companies all use the same facilities (of which there are only four main ones across Sydney) and often the same staff.  Staff will work a Simplicity funeral one hour then a Guardian one the next, all from the same location.  They even have magnetic company plates for the hearse so the same hearse can work different funerals in the same day from different companies.  I have heard of people working at the main InvoCare locations stating how cold these places are.  That they are heartless and "efficient production facilities".  This is the process of modernisation and democracy.  Everything is done on mass, efficiently, transparently and equally.  Think of apartments, the modern answer to housing, they are about providing accommodation to the masses (particularly in Eastern Europe) and this is where the whole idea for them comes from.  Apartments house many people at once in the exact same conditions and to the same standards.  This is democracy and modernity in action and is the same with the funeral industry.  Everything is the same amongst the various funeral homes, independent or otherwise, with little difference.  This leads to a need or desire to individualise, by carving out nieces (which I will talk of another time) and by talking about how personal their service is.  But basically because these companies are so similar, even going so far as to share staff and facilities, they need to separate themselves from each other.  When people find out about how the bodies are all treated the same and on mass they (even those within the industry who do this job) are against it.  People do not like the idea of the dead being treated on mass like other products.  We like to think that the dead are treated as individual people, not processed products.  Yet the truth of the matter is that this is how the modern funeral home handels bodies.  However the funeral homes do not want people to see or think of them as cold companies who just process the dead.  And to do this they highlight and perpetuate the idea that they are a 'personal' place and service who care for the dead rather than deal with the dead.  As a completely new product LifeArt is a great example of this.  They are literally mass produced by machines, no talk of "hand made" or individual manufacturing.  Instead they have a lot of focus on how they can be customised to suit the needs of families or the deceased.  There are three main sections devoted to personal coffins, "how to create a DIY (decorate it yourself)", "create a custom design" and "create personalised design" all of which are featured and accessible on the homepage or from anywhere else on the website.  The 'DIY' section talks of how families are able to decorate the coffin in different ways even featuring a testimonial from a funeral director.  He talks of how a family used "mum's gift" (the coffin) to come together as a family.  They took great joy in decorating it and shared stories about the departed mother while doing so.  LifeArt is depicted here as a way to help deal with the loss of a loved one and bring people together by personalising the coffin.  In the 'create a custom design' section they advertise how they turn peoples "ideas into a completely unique design" that are only limited by imagination.  The final part I looked at 'create a personalised design' even emphasises the concept of personal in the very title.  LifeArt held an exhibition a few months ago (which was publicised in the InvoCare magazine) where they got local artists to decorate their coffins.  This was to display the various things that can be done with the coffin and how people can interact with it rather than just look at it.  However in this section they talk more about text that can be printed onto the coffin (such as names, dates, saying, messages and so on), quite strange when the other two sections are wholly focused on images and visual of the coffin.   Either way all three sections talk of how the LifeArt coffin can be very personal, either through images or text.  A concept which was not important a few years ago gets the majority of the products website.  These are coffins which could not have existed even a few years ago.  For one the technology was no around to make them possible let alone viable and the attitudes towards modern funeral homes did not exist.
 

The visual variety of the coffins

   The main aim of LifeArt is about how it can be made personal, yet this is actually quite debatable.  They are literally mass-printed on machines from a set template.  Every coffin has to be the same shape and even size with no physical deviations between each other.  Even the handels and thumbscrews are the same for every coffin.  Indeed the whole thing is a result of a mass production system with the focus on efficiency.  One must wonder how personal they can be if they are all physically the same and have no options for difference.  The 'standard' wood coffins have options for different handels, different thumbscrews and people have a choice of many different types for each price bracket.  With variations in colour or type of wood, style of the lid and other physical details of the coffin.  Basically the only variation for the LifeArt coffins is what can be printed on the outside while the other coffins have a variety of physical differences.  And yet the LifeArt can be more personal than the other coffins solely through visual variations.  They offer printing oh specific photos, pictures or words and have the option to be decorated by the family.  None of these options are really available for the other coffins, although they have more physical variations and can be custom made from scratch they are not as personal.


   The other main aspect LifeArt advertise is that they are environmentally friendly.  Talk of 'green' burials or funeral processes has existed for some time.  I remember an article (which I cannot find) talking of how a biologist had developed a completely zero carbon footprint burial method.  It was 100% environmentally green.  Basically (and un-poetically) the process was to be buried in a bio degradable potato sack under a tree.  LifeArt is the next, publicly palatable step in this process.  The website states how LifeArt coffins take less fuel to burn in crematoriums, cutting emissions by 60%.  They are made from 97% recycled fibers (from both reused paper and sugarcane) and they require less energy and pollutant to make.  Indeed being green is important to LifeArt, and yet 'green' as a predominant environmental concept is only quite recent and modern.  Many products, such as cars, advertise themselves as 'green' and with a low negative impact on the biological and social environment.  Something no coffin before has done, or even tried to do.  And yet LifeArt has carved out quite a nice market in doing so.
   LifeArt are a product made possible by modern technology and processes as well as the very attitudes to these modern processes.  Through an ever modernising and democratising the industry a need has arisen to counter the impersonal and mass production of this process.  LifeArt is a great example of this with a majority of the website, advertising and even aim of the product devoted to how the coffins can be personalised.  The second focus of LifeArt is on how 'green' it is, another modern concept.  However both of these concepts are somewhat debatable.  Overall the funeral industry is modernising and the result of which is a desire to differentiate and individualise as they all become more and more similar.

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    On an unrelated note LifeArt coffins were featured in this article on "Worlds Wackiest Coffins" over at Oddee.  It is interesting how the website talked of them as "going out in style" when really their 'style' is only superficial.

Dignity, Discretion & Personalisation

   It is interesting how important ‘dignity’, ‘discretion’ and ‘personalisation’ are in this industry.  Looking at the ‘Statewide Mortuary Transfers’ website one can see that dignity and discretion is extremely important.  These terms are mentioned several times when talking about staff, facilities and the vehicles.  When talking about the vehicles it even states that they all use “one person stretchers on wheels, similar to those used in modern ambulances.  This ensures a high level of dignity”.  It is interesting how important it is that the equipment be modern and dignifying.  And that they use similar equipment to ambulances.  Most people in this industry would know Statewide is an impressive company.  They are always professional and immaculate, sometimes more so than some funeral directors themselves.  So it is strange that they feel the need to state it on their website.

   Again, looking at the InvoCare website the idea of dignity and discretion is highlighted.  In their corporate profile they talk about “building trusting relationships”, maintaining a high quality and standards and “personalising the service to reflect the life of the individual”.  This sort of wording can be seen in any funeral home website or advertising.  Dignity is just so important with this job.  Yet it is un-assumed.  The way they all emphasise dignity gives them impression that the general public assumes there is no dignity in the industry.  After being asked certain questions and the way others talk about what we do I have realised that most people think there is little to no dignity in death.  And they worry about this with regards to their loved ones.

   While it is true, death and dignity do not go hand in hand they do have a relationship with each other.  The way people are treated after they die would not be called ‘dignified’ if they were alive.  Certain things, such as putting a nappy on them, or dressing them the way we do would be wrong if they were alive.  They, however are not alive and these actions are quite reasonable if not for the best once the person is dead.  Lets look at the nappy.  If a person were alive putting a plastic nappy on them would be insulting in most cases.  It would be uncomfortable and degrading.  Once they are dead this becomes a nice way of preventing ‘spills’ or smells which would be unseemly.  On the funeral or during a viewing the last thing people would want are strong unpleasant smells from their loved one.  So dignity never goes but changes after death.  Even so many in the industry highlight and emphasise how they maintain dignity and many on the outside wonder if it exists at all.

   The other thing they emphasise is personalisation, either through ‘personal service’ or ‘personalising the service’.  A good example of this is the W.N.Bull slogan “leaders in personal service”.  This slogan can be found below the logo on just about everything to do with the company.  You would be hard pressed to find the W.N.Bull logo without it making the company image strongly tied to the slogan.  There are two intertwined reasons why funeral homes place so much importance on personal service.  Firstly they do not want to be seen as a “cold” or “uncaring” place that treats the deceased as an object rather than a person.  Obviously this would create a bad image, which would damage business and drag down the reputation of an otherwise good funeral company.  And reputation is vital in this business amongst the companies.  One can see all this with the rumours of InvoCare being an American corporation.  When InvoCare buys a new funeral home fresh rumours begin to circulate about its American ties.  As a result that funeral home almost always loses business initially.  I saw this myself with W.N.Bull, once InvoCare bought the business work dropped off as rumours rose about the foreign ownership of InvoCare and now of W.N.Bull.

   Gossip is ripe in this industry with true and false rumours being spread about each other.  As such negative stories spread around wildly and damage the companies image.  The other reason that they promote personal service is more obvious and immediate.  People do not want their loved one objectified.  They want them to be treated appropriately.  Many just go with the cheapest or easiest as they do not see the difference in price being worth it.  And it is true, most funeral companies will do a good job.  Or at least the vast majority of mourners will not notice the difference.  After all, many people do not know the coffin should always be turned clockwise.  However many people do care about personal service, and this is a main area that W.N.Bull makes its money.  Driving families over the year the topic of why they chose Bulls has come up surprisingly often.  The vast majority of reasons can be broken down into two main, loosely related reasons.  The first is that previous members of the family (such as grandparents) went through Bulls and it has basically become a family ‘tradition’.  The other reason is, as one mourner once said, they “wanted a more personal service than the big companies” could provide.  They paid a lot more (sometimes up to double) than the larger funeral companies charge primarily for the personal service.  People do not want their loved one to be just another job amongst many, to be in a mass production style system like their groceries or other products.  And that is why many people use Bulls.  They do not have a ‘mass production’ system like many larger companies (such as Guardian or White Ladys).  At Bulls they do one funeral a day per crew as opposed to the six or seven per day per crew with the larger companies.  And this does allow for better focus, learning the name of the deceased and their family, something that is basically impossible for the crews doing more than one per day.  The down side of this is that Bulls have to charge more per funeral, which is understandable.  And as I stated previously most people are willing to pay as much as double to know they are getting that personal service.  That their loved one is being cared for and treated as a persona rather than just another job.  In the end personal service is very important to many mourners and funeral homes.

   Personalising the service itself is not as common but is tied heavily into personal service, and it does come up occasionally.  The best, and most interesting place to find this is on the InvoCare website in the section where they talk about the company.  It basically states that attitudes towards funerals are changing over time.  It is becoming more acceptable to talk about them and “they are now looked upon as a chance to ‘celebrate a life’ through personalising the service to reflect the life of the individual and generally making the service itself special”.  Here they emphasise personalised service over personal service.  I find it a strange and interesting concept to raise, as if there is an assumption that funerals are from a cookie cutter mould with little variation.  What is more interesting is that this is often true in my experience so far.  Especially with traditional Catholic funerals (which is the vast majority of W.N.Bulls work) it could be anyone who has died.  The priests rarely if ever refer to the deceased and focus on the bible and religious ceremony instead.  Sometimes the only way you would know it was a funeral would be because of the coffin and some specific rituals performed only at funerals.  Even at non religious funerals the service follows a fundamental pattern and rarely differs.  It is just strange that something one would think so personal and so individual usually follows a predefined and predictable pattern.

So one is left wondering why personal service is so important to both the consumers/mourners and with funeral companies. Rarely any funeral services are personalised and even those that are follow certain patterns and times. And we should also wonder why dignity and discretion are so important to promote. The act of promoting them so heavily leaves an assumption that those outside the funeral industry see it as inhumane and cold. After all, funeral companies would not spend so much time and money emphasising these ideas if they were un-needed. Even though these three ideas are considered important (by both the funeral industry and the public) we should really question their importance.

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