Recently we received an order for a Traditional shaped Seagrass
coffin. The Seagrass coffin is one of our most popular products, and
personally, I think it is one of the most attractive coffins we offer.
As is usually the case, the coffin was being dispatched to a
funeral directors and so we rang to arrange the delivery. We could just dispatch the order, but we always like to double check the address, and to
discuss when is the best time for them for delivery. It's a courtesy thing as much as
anything, and we have built excellent relationships with companies all over the
country.
However this funeral director who answered the phone seemed particularly blunt. I explained who Caring Coffins are, and that
we had an order to be delivered. It was then he started questioning what we do
as a company:
'So you supply the
public, but that means we're not making as much money'
I explained that we sell green coffins, and therefore
we our customers a greater range than traditional funeral directors. We are often cheaper than funeral directors, but we price our coffins at a level that we think is
fair and not exploitative and profiteering. Apparently this particular funeral
director thought that this was unfair of us.
'Why do you think you
can do this, this isn't how the industry works'
I explained that we are only offering an alternative. If we
were too expensive people wouldn't use us.
However since we launched, we have
grown and grown. To me that says we are offering an alternative that people
want. The day funeral directors start
charging fair prices is the day people will stop using Caring Coffins. And
honestly, we wouldn't mind too much. We started our company to change how
Britain pays for death, and we would have achieved this. Until then, we will
still be here, as an option for people to use.
This particular funeral director promised:
'You won't here the
last of this, we won't stand for this'.
And that's fine. We are here to change things.
Alex Wilcox is Founder of Caring Coffins
www.caringcoffins.com
