What funeral homes you hide

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Pierre-Olivier Zappa

Thursday, 19 October 2017 08:10

UPDATE
Thursday, 19 October 2017 08:15

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A former employee denounces the funeral homes that pay their salespeople on commission and offer bonuses to top performers. A situation that can lead to abuse, report of the experts on the show “J. E.”.

A former salesman at Urgel Bourgie denounces the sales quotas imposed on the employees of the sector funeral.

“I had to sell it for$ 33,000 for services to customers per month. I missed the target three times,” says Olivier, Hector, formerly assigned to the prearranged funeral. He claims that he was fired because of the system of remuneration based on the volume of sales.

Sellers also get bonuses when they manage to convince a customer to opt for packages including optional services such as a buffet, flowers, and bookmarks. “We have a pressure to sell certain types of packages to customers, those that pay the most to the business”, he laments.

These formulas would be more profitable to funeral homes and the detailed price of the services is not revealed in the quotations submitted to clients. “If the customers knew the price of the services for which they pay, they are really not happy,” said Mr. Hector.

Practices ‘unacceptable’

Quotas and bonuses only increase the vulnerability of clients and the survivors, ” said Carolina Soulard, senior consumer ACEF Rive-Sud. She was surprised at the little details provided by the majority of the companies in their quote.

“It has been established in this industry-there are ways to do that are unacceptable,” she says. If they don’t want to give you the price, there is already a problem.”

A discomfort in the funeral industry

When questioned about the system of sale at a commission, the president of Urgel Bourgie has denied that such a system is in place.

“They are without doubt of the goals themselves,” said Yvan Rodrigue. However, in an internal document of the company obtained by “J. E.”, the sellers receive a clear directive on their sales target monthly of$ 33,000 and the penalties that may be imposed.

Companies Yves Légaré, Alfred Dallaire Memoria refused to comment on their compensation system.

A number of leaders recognize that the submissions provided to customers lacking details. Some say they are even in favour of a model of a single quote, as adopted in France, that would force the salons to itemize their prices.

“It must be the same standard for everyone so that there is not a hunt for quotes with an escalation of prices”, says Patrick Chavegros, vice-president of Magnus Poirier.

How to avoid pitfalls in shopping for funeral services? All the details to the issue J. E. aired on TVA, on Thursday evening at 19: 30.