Article published April 01, 2009
Recession prompts cost-cutting in local funeral industry
After John Dowling opened his funeral home in Sylvania Township he rented a billboard that compares his price for a traditional funeral service to those of two of his leading competitors.
(
THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
)
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By GARY T. PAKULSKI
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
As John Dowling made plans for his first funeral home, he knew he wanted to be in a fast-growing industry sector that caters to price-sensitive shoppers.
Three months after Dowling Funeral Home opened in Sylvania Township off King Road near Central Avenue, an electronic billboard at Sylvania Avenue and Talmadge Road compares his prices - $1,995 for a traditional service - to two leading competitors.
"A lot of people have gone to cremation just because of the cost," said Mr. Dowling, 49. "I'm trying to get the price low enough so people want to go back to a traditional funeral."
The business has been slow to take off. But reports from across the country suggest that Mr. Dowling may have hit on the right idea at the right time.
As the nation's 17-month-old recession continues to take a toll on employment and savings, more families are giving up full-price funerals for less costly alternatives.
"There are many people who think that funeral service is recession-proof, but that is not the case," said Emilee High, spokesman for the National Funeral Directors Association."We're hearing from our members that they are feeling the impact of the economy just as any other business." Customers are opting for less expensive caskets, abbreviated visiting hours, and fewer flowers."
"People have been frugal for quite some time," observed Jordan Urbanski, owner of Urbanski Funeral Homes on Lagrange Street.
"They're doing whatever they can to economize," added his brother Bill, of Bedford Funeral Chapel in Temperance.
Families are buying less expensive urns for cremated remains and sometimes, to save on burial and interment charges, keeping them at home.
At many funeral luncheons, cold-cut sandwiches have replaced full meals. Some families are dropping sit-down restaurants in favor of church basements and all-you-can-eat buffets.
Once the funeral is completed, more customers are having trouble paying.
In some situations, people counting on employer-provided life insurance to cover funeral expenses were laid off shortly before their deaths.
More than one family has told the funeral director: "We'll pay the bill as soon as the house is sold." It can be a long wait, given the stagnant housing market.
Mr. Urbanski has also experienced a surge in the number of families qualifying for state assistance with burial charges.
"There are a lot of difficulties that people are having," he said. "You have to be creative and make things work for people."
The cost of a midpriced funeral nationally in 2006 was $6,195, not including a vault, according to the Funeral Directors Association. That was up 11 percent from the organization's prior survey in 2004.
In the Toledo area, however, prices are dropping because many funeral homes want to attract price-sensitive shoppers, Mr. Urbanski said. "It's going to be survival of the fittest," he added. "Some funeral homes are doing well. Others are under a lot of stress, just like all the businesses in the country."
Cost-cutting is also affecting related businesses such as limousine services, according to industry executives.
Contact Gary Pakulski at:
gpakulski@theblade.com
or 419-724-6082.
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