Some years ago a study was conducted. A group of people were divided into “tappers” and “listeners”. The tappers were asked to pick a popular tune and tap it out and the listeners were asked to identify it. The study found that the “tappers” predicted that the listeners got it right at least 50% of the time. Actually the listeners only guessed the tune 3 times during the whole study. The researchers concluded that the reason for the disconnect was that the tappers could “hear” the tune in their head and therefore misled themselves in thinking they had fully communicated with the listeners…when, in reality, they hadn’t.

So what does this have to do with funeral service?

I think the biggest lesson for me is that, as an expert, we know what we know so well that we convince ourselves that others who don’t know what we know will fill in any blanks.

The reality is that they don’t know what you know. They don’t know the options, why’s or wherfore’s of any of it. This explains to me why so many families are so grateful and so easily trust those funeral directors who will take the chance of making sure they understand the options as well as the potential consequences of any decisions they make.

Ultimately, I have always believed we have a moral obligation to explain all the options to ALL the people ALL the time. Those that do so consistently report greater family confidence, greater job satisfaction, and, of course, better revenue. But the best part is the significant improvement in relationships with their customers.

The Lesson:

Stand up for what you believe and tell it like it is.