End Stage Productions | Education

End Stage Productions

Phone: +61 422 318 149

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Businesses
• Education
• Arts and entertainment
• Health & wellness website

24.01.2022 As a Funeral Director of 21 years I am saddened to see due to the recent media reports and so called investigations into the industry that people are taking to ...social media to bag and ridicule a profession that less than 1% of the population would even want to choose as a career due to a small few rouge operators. It is sad to see that these people are reacting to at times very misleading information and stories by the media. Funeral Homes have listened to what people want and do offer cheaper options such as direct cremations and direct burials and we are all willing to do natural burials where local councils allow. A Funeral Director is there to provide the service that the family wants, a Funeral Director is a facilitator of the families wishes, a Funeral Director has the ability through connections and trust built up over many years to get things arranged is a very short time frame. Yes, every industry has those that will try and take advantage of you and unfortunately the funeral industry is not immune to these people. The Funeral Directors have been asking the government for over 30 years to regulate the funeral industry and the government has failed both the public and the Funeral Directors. I have done it all from looking after babies and young children, to young adults to the elderly. I have been out all night at car accidents, murders and suicides in all weather conditions. I have missed my own children's award presentations and birthday parties due to putting a grieving family’s needs before my own family’s needs. I have dealt with some very loving and appreciative families as well as split and broken families, I have had to be the mediator, held families back from fighting, been abused for trying to lay their loved one to rest with dignity, consoled a mother and father at the loss of their child. To now get knocked down and told by a minority that we are rip offs that pray on grief is just not fair at all. It does not matter to me if you buy the cheapest coffin or the most expensive as it does not change my wage, so why would I force you to buy what you cannot afford, this only means that I then need to chase you for payment later when you cannot pay. Why would I want to put myself or anyone in that position? Do yourself a favour and Google the Funeral Industry Award 2010 and see how much we get paid, I bet you will get shocked at just how low this is. Also understand that a very large portion of our work happens after hours while you are at home with your families or tucked up in a warm bed, death does not happen between the hours of 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. The funeral homes service fees cover the day to day costs of running the business 24/7 365 days a week. The newer the buildings, the nicer the fleet the more staff etc the greater the cost to run the funeral home as with any business. Did you know that around 50% of the cost of a funeral is made up of third-party costs? Doctors certificates, Cemetery or cremations costs, Press notices, Flowers, Births Deaths and Marriages, the dreaded GST, Clergy, Church, the list goes on. The government by not regulating the industry has now allowed what is now known as Brief Case operators to come into the market and do cheap funerals and make a fortune out of families for doing very little. These cowboys offer very cheap cremations, have flashy web sites that make them look like a fully functional funeral home when they operate from a mobile phone from their home office. They do no body preparation, your loved one is there for not dressed and shown absolutely no dignity at all, they are transferred around in substandard vans that do not meet health regulations. These operators use what are known as super Mortuaries where your loved one is just a case number and not a person, they never see your loved one, some expect you to do all the paperwork and apply for the Death Certificate yourself. I can only ask that you use a Funeral Director that is a member of an industry Association like the AFDA, NFDA and NSWFDA as these associations do self-regulate their members and have strict code of ethics. I have now worked for and managed funeral homes for two family owned businesses and two larger companies. Both businesses models have their pro’s and con’s and unfortunately the family owned business are slowly dying out. This is because many Funeral Directors do not want to see their children take on the business due to what they will see and deal with daily, the other problem is that there are not many that are willing to take over a family business or buy a business that you need to be attached to 24/7 and again deal with what we do and see daily. So, in many ways without these larger companies being willing to buy small Funeral Homes the small-town Funeral Homes would close down. Also, one thing to remember is that these companies still employ locals, locals that live and spend in your local community, they support your local business, these people are a part of your community and they care for your community that is also their community. In my time as a Funeral Director I have worked alongside of the most caring and giving people you will ever meet, I am proud to have worked with these people and many are very good friends. These people go above and beyond to do as you ask everyday to help and care for your loved one and your family. All I ask is that before you talk Funeral Directors down please take the time to actually do your homework. Make the time to meet with one and talk to them about your concerns, there are way to many tall stories and myths about death and funerals and 95% of them are just that, tall stories and myths made up by those that have never sat down and asked what it is that we do. I am always open to discussions on funerals and I am even happy to show you through the Funeral Home so you can see what we do and what we provide and offer. At least at the end of the day I can go home and say I have helped someone today, I am proud of what I do and I know that only a very small number of people are truly able to do what I do. So before you go off on your keyboard having ago at the Funerals Directors, just take the time to think about what it is that they just saw today, the teenager that they just picked up to care for that suicided today due to being bullied at school, the person that they pulled from a car wreck in that fatal last night at 3am, the murder that was in the news this morning. Think about what you have to say and if you really know what you are talking about. Then if you still want to take a shot at us just before you do, ask yourself would I honestly be able to do that job? Could I put another persons family before my own? Just remember, one day you just may need us.

11.01.2022 Castlemaine peeps; get yourselves to this! Very excited to be appearing here. :-)

08.01.2022 https://www.sbs.com.au//15998648/how-to-die-a-better-death I highly recommend this programme. It's everything I want to say. :-) Only available for about a week longer on SBS. Cathc it while you can.