First Quarter Final Exam (COMPLETE) Flashcards
What do funeral service professionals do?
- Funeral directors
- Embalmers
- Wake attendant
- Drivers/removal staff (Some states require FDs to do a removal)
- Receptionist
- Managers
- Owner (independent or corporation)
- Crematory Operator
- Cemeterian (sales reps, groundskeepers)
- Preneed Sales Agents
Specific Duties of a funeral director
● Transfer/transportation from place of death (Removal)
● Arrangement conference
○ Build rapport, PROVIDE DIRECTION (guidance & support)
■ Funeral directors are community educators
○ Present transparent pricing information
○ Gathering vital statistics information
○ Present merchandise and services
○ Record goods & services selected by clients
○ Coordination of events at venues/cemetery, contacting vendors
○ Communicate disclosures (FTC)
○ Prepare, compose obituaries & death notices
○ Notify SSA
Specific Duties of an Embalmer
● Preparation of remains
○ Washing
○ Dressing
○ Embalming*
■ *optional, not required by law
○ Restoration/reconstruction
○ Casketing
○ Cosmetizing
Types of Disposition
- Body Donation
- Cremation
- Entombment
- Burial (In-ground, sea, inurnment)
- Water Cremation
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
○ Formed in 1914
○ Five (5) commissioners
○ Created to protect the consumer, maintain free and fair competition among businesses.
○ Prevent unfair business practices
FTC Funeral Rule
○ Created in April 30, 1984
○ Revised in 1994
○ Anyone who sells goods & services must comply!
○ Give fair & accurate pricing
○ Provide disclosures
○ 16 itemized services
■ THEY CANNOT BE FREE!
○ 4 minimal
○ Give GPL when having a face-to-face conversation about pricing BEFORE TALKING ABOUT PRICING OCCURS
○ 1 violation = $43,280
Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)
an antitrust law with the goal of adding further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime; the Clayton Act seeks to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipiency. Price-fixing, unfair business practices.
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (1975)
allows Funeral Homes (sellers of merchandise) to disclaim warranties
if the seller does it by using specific language that is presented to consumers in a clear and conspicuous manner; federal statute governs warranties on consumer products. The law does not require any product to have a warranty (it may be sold “as is”), but if it does have a warranty, the warranty must comply with this law.
Wheeler–Lea Act (1938)
is a United States federal law that amended Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to proscribe “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” as well as “unfair methods of competition.”
Robinson-Patman Act (1936)
regulates against price discrimination; federal law that prohibits anticompetitive practices by producers, specifically price discrimination.
- Remember Robert Pattinson (Batman)
Price Discrimination
A selling strategy that charges customers different prices for the same product or service based on what the seller thinks they can get the customer to agree to
Russo Act (1980)
Illinois Congressman Marty Russo created the Russo Amendment that passed the house, which would have exempted funeral service from the scope of the FTC. He complained the FTC was giving the funeral industry a bad name; that they never gave funeral service a chance. He tried to kill the FTC Funeral Rule again in 1983 (no dice!)
Truth in Lending Act (1968)
in response to unfair credit and billing practices; federal law designed to promote the informed use of consumer credit, by requiring disclosures about its terms and cost to standardize the manner in which costs associated with borrowing are calculated and disclosed.
FTC Cooling-Off Rule
a rule that allows you to cancel a contract within three (3) days after signing it, for a full refund.
- allows a “free-fall” for buy’s remorse
Buyer’s Remorse
the sense of regret after having made a purchase
Golden Rule
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Ethics
- right & wrong, moral compass, ways to conduct your life
Legal
illegal acts are punishable by law
Difference between Ethics and Legality
Ethical acts often go above and beyond what is legal
The Sequence of Funeral Service Events
■ Death occurs!
■ First call (initial notification of death)
■ Removal (transfer from place of death)
■ Arrangement conference
■ Preparation of Remains
■ Services
People who you would get a first call from
● Hospice
● Nurses, healthcare professionals
● Family
● Friends (often price shoppers)
● Authorities (Fire, police, first responders)
● Medical examiner investigators, coroners
Preparation of Remains
● Washing, dressing, cosmetizing
● Minimal prep (setting the features + washing) Not embalmed
○ Private ID viewing
● Embalming
● Restoration (jaundice, decomposition)
● Reconstruction of traumatized or autopsied remains
Types of Funeral Services
● Viewings (wakes)
● Visitation (public or private)
● Memorial Service (no casket) or Funeral Service (casket)
- Funerals
Types of Services at the Cemetery/Grave
○ Graveside committal service
○ Inurnment service
○ Chapel service
○ Entombment
○ Witness cremation ceremony
Paperwork the average funeral director files/uses
○ Authorizations (Embalming, cremation, removal)
○ Case Reports
○ Burial Transit Permits (after DCs)
○ Ship-in/ship-out paperwork with apostille/embassy
○ SSA721
○ VA Applications w/DD214
What is important to do before seeing or speaking about prices, services, OBC’s, or caskets?
Give out the GPL, OBCPL, and CPL before seeing or discussing
What is the General Price List (GPL)?
Printed or typewritten list of goods and services offered for sale by a funeral provider with retail prices
What are alternative price lists & who can have an alternative price list?
Special pricelists are allowed for specific groups
- Children and Infants
- Government Agencies
- Law Enforcement/Public Safety
- Religious Groups and Memorial Societies
Not mandatory, not required on GPL but can be added, or be a separate price list
Basic Servies Fee
■ Use of staff and facility
■ Non-declinable
- required part of GPL
Funeral Package
a combined group of goods/services, typically at a discounted price
Statement of Funeral Goods and Services
Summary of selections (Bill, agreement, contract, receipt)
- BEFORE they leave, must be given to the family to keep
- Includes the bill
- Disclosures (FTC)
- Cash advance items = money to 3rd parties
■ Money in, money out
If you are requesting military honors for a Veteran, what paperwork will you need the family to provide to you?
DD214
When completing a death certificate, you call the doctor’s office to talk to the physician who was in charge of the deceased. The nurse picks up the phone and offers to sign the death certificate in the doctor’s place. What should you do?
Kindly refuse, and make sure the doctor is the one who certifies the death certificate.
What should be verified by the family prior to the day of the burial?
The identification and approval of the grave that will be opened.
When an error is discovered in an obituary and the family calls about the error, what is the next step?
Call the newspaper and make the edit; if it needs to run another day with the revisions, that will be at the funeral home’s cost.
Which of the following is an item that guests will take with them at the visitation or service as a memento in memory of the decedent?
Memorial program
Which of the following would be listed under the funeral services section?
Hearse/funeral coach
What happens to the GPL once the arrangement conference ends?
The family takes it home
Which of the following is not listed on the Statement?
The social security number of the decedent
Who signs a cremation authorization form?
The family and the funeral director
The family has asked you to dress the deceased even though they will be cremated. What should you do?
Wash and dress the decedent prior to cremation based on the family’s wishes.
What is the most common method that a funeral home is notified of a death?
Phone call
What is an appropriate response to the caller for you to respond to removal from a decedent’s home during a first call?
We will arrive in approximately one hour and will call you with an ETA when we are about 5 minutes away
In most states, it is necessary to receive express permission to embalm in accordance with the FTC Funeral Rule:
Both verbally and in writing
Who needs to comply with the Funeral Rule?
Licensed Funeral Director
Apprentice, when discussing pricing
Preneed sales, but only if pricing is discussed
When is the appropriate to provide the GPL to a family?
At the beginning of the conference prior to any discussion of services
What is an advantage of using a bed sheet for a transfer?
Helps keep your equipment clean
No need to tug on the decedent, causing the potential for skin slip
Allows for a strong grip
When does an autopsy typically occur?
Before the funeral home takes possession of the body
Why is it important to answer the phone in a professional manner for each phone call?
We never know when the next first call will occur so we must ensure we have the proper demeanor for each family.
Why is it important to answer the phone in a professional manner for each phone call?
We never know when the next first call will occur so we must ensure we have the proper demeanor for each family.
What would be a traditional sequence of funeral service events?
First Call
Removal
Arrangement conference
Visitation
Funeral
Final disposition
What is the difference between a burial and interment?
Same thing
What is the most important thing you should do when returning back from a house removal?
ID the decedent with an anklet/bracelet
What is a difference between an embalmer and a funeral director?
The embalmer is primarily responsible for embalming while the funeral director spends more time with the family and running the business
Who is responsible for filing (not registering) the death certificate?
Funeral Director
When is the appropriate time to provide the Casket Price List?
Before discussing caskets and costs
When are you allowed to make a removal from a residence?
When the Medical Examiner/coroner has given release
Which of the following services would NOT have the Basic Services Fee separated out?
Immediate Burial
Direct Cremation
Forwarding Remains to Another Funeral Home
Receiving Remains from Another Funeral Home
How does a first call from a hospice nurse or medical examiner differ than a call from family member?
Professionalism still present but more freedom to speak openly for additional information.
What is advised to do to the bed sheets, blankets, and pillows after a removal has been made from a bed?
Ask permission to take the bottom fitted sheet first, remake the bed after the decedent has been moved onto the cot
Who would be a possible person to make a first call to the funeral home?
Friend
Family Member
Police/Fire Department on site
Medical or healthcare professional on site
If the family will not be present at the time of the removal, what topics should you discuss with them?
Prepare them for items to bring with them to the arrangement conference.
It is our responsibility to always treat human remains with reverence, respect, and dignity and to exhibit care and concern for the remains.
True
The cornerstones of professionalism are:
honesty and integrity
The FTC Funeral Rule went into effect on April 30,
1984
Websites that sell urns are exempt from the FTC Rule because…
They do not sell funeral services
A violation of the FTC Funeral Rule can result in fines up to ____________ per violation.
$43,280
The FTC was originally formed in…
1914
The role of the FTC is to…
Stop business practices that are either anticompetitive, deceptive, or unfair to consumers.
Which of the following organizations would have to comply with the FTC Rule?
A cremation society
You cannot require consumers to buy unwanted or unneeded goods and services to get the items that they do want.
True
Your General Price List…
Must include a disclosure telling consumers that a Casket Price List is available.
Only needs a casket price range if a separate Casket Price List exists.
You must comply with the FTC Funeral Rule if you…
Sell funeral goods and services
The FTC Funeral Rule requires you to list the following minimal services
Direct Cremation
Immediate Burial
Receiving Remains
Forwarding Remains
The General Price List must contain the following identifying information
The caption “General Price List”
The funeral home telephone number
The funeral home name
The effective date of the price list
The funeral home address
You must use the identical wording given in the FTC Funeral Rule; you cannot edit or paraphrase.
True
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
agency of federal government created in 1914 to promote free and fair competition by prevention of trade restraints, price fixing, false advertising and other unfair methods of competition
What are the GPL 6 mandatory disclosures?
- Consumers’ right to select the goods and services desired
- Embalming
- Alternative container for direct cremations
- Basic service fee
- Casket Price List
- Outer Burial Container Price List
What are the GPL-required itemized prices? (1st 8)
- Forwarding of remains to another funeral home
- Receiving remains from another funeral home
- Direct Cremation
- Immediate Burial
- Basic services of funeral director & staff, and overhead
- Transfer of remains to funeral home
- Embalming
- Other preparation of the body
What are the GPL-required itemized prices? (2nd 8)
- Use of facilities and staff for viewing/visitation
- Use of facilities and staff for funeral ceremony
- Use of facilities and staff for memorial service
- Use of equipment and staff for graveside service
- Hearse
- Limousine
- Either individual casket prices or the range of casket prices
- Either individual outer burial container prices or the range of outer burial container prices that appear on the outer burial container
Information Needed on First Call
- Name of deceased
- Location of deceased
- Release Information/Release Number
- Doctor Information
- Next of Kin on Record
- Next of Kin Phone Number
- Permission to Embalm
