09.06.09
Why CemOps Happened, The Story
Why CemOps Happened (The story)
December 5, 2007 on 7:02 pm In Sound Off
There have been enough emails to CemOps, some supportive-some critical, that makes telling this story worthwhile. I apologize if this goes into a lengthy read, but stay with me, please.
To begin with, I must say, that EVERY cemetery I have been involved with has had issues from the past. Some severe, some not so severe. But issues, nonetheless, that needed to be addressed. Small issues tend to become larger issues left unattended.
It all started when with a large corporation, when I was offered the opportunity to take over a couple of cemeteries. My boss at that time, informed me this was a recent purchase and the location had some “challenges” to overcome. That particular location underwent a full remediation that took 18 months to complete. The good news is, that company was proactive in discovering and correcting those issues. Many would argue that was self serving on their parts, to prevent lawsuits. Regardless, they chose to do the right thing and fix the problems. That was quite a learning experience. The changes in management structure is the only reason I am no longer there. A “restructuring” occured. I survived that one, but doubted I would survive many more.
Like many, I made my way through the corporations while climbing the ladder. The next company I worked for, knew of my experience. When I found numerous issues with their cemetery, they chose to ignore them. On two pages, I informed them of the issues, the corrections suggested and the implications should they choose not to be proactive. To date, no action has been taken on those issues. I am proud to say I am no longer with that company. I was not willing to jeapordize my reputation by staying. Someday, those issues will come to light and it will be their’s to deal with. Yes, I documented everything and protected my interests. Everyone else involved just takes a wait and see approach, including the state involved. Like most states, they don’t have the resources available to investigate.
Many managers “log” their daily activities to cover themselves in the event they are fired. Many managers are afraid to call up any issues they find. Certain corporations in this industry don’t appear to want to know what they have, choosing to ignore the problems for now. Clearly “for now”, is the operative error here. These issues will not stay hidden forever. And, the longer they stay hidden, the more liability for the company if a lawsuit occurs. A good attorney worth their salt, will uncover if these issues were known prior to. A jury will award based on action or the lack thereof. With the emotion involved in our industry, burying your head in the sand is not a good idea. If you know of problems and don’t come forward, you now shoulder ALL the responsibility. If you do come forward and are instructed to ignore them, that would be a good time to start documenting things to protect yourself. But doing nothing is a prescription for personal disaster.
After the number of locations managed, the number of issues corrected, the number of fellow managers that came with their issues for assistance. It occured to me this is what I wanted for my legacy, and that I could make this my lifes’ work. And get paid for it all at the same time. Imagine doing what you love and being paid for it, too. Managing a cemetery pays fairly well, don’t get me wrong. But the expertise it takes to uncover issues, communicate those issues to the appropriate people, and face the families and correct them is no easy chore. Many managers are not capable or willing to put themselves in this position.
Now, since the early 2000’s, operations managers have become an endangered species. The industry has become, once again, all about sales. Granted, no operation can exist without sales. But instead of keeping operations intact while the sales push is on, operations management has been cut back. Almost all the issues I have dealt with over the years have been related to the sales pushes. You look today at all the advertisements for this industry, and all you see is sales opportunities.
If there is nobody to educate the sales force about the implications of sales without sound operations, then in about 10 years you will see once again, a push for operations managers. This will be to correct the issues presented from the sales push without operations knowledge or best practices. AND, the lack of proper management within the locations.
It may sound like I am picking on sales. Please, that is not the case. I am picking on the lack of commitment by companies and owners to insure the overall integrity of their locations by concentrating on one or the other. BOTH areas need equal attention, all the time.
In the first mentioned circumstance, the former owners of the cemetery were considered pillars of the community. Many of the mistakes were caused by ignorance regarding cemetery law or cemetery operations in general. But, hiring decisions were made in management and sales that bordered off ignorance and fell into the legal categories. An owner surely wouldn’t go for years not knowing what is happening in their businesses…….. But this particular owner sold the location to a corporation, signed a non-compete, and then served on the board of a competing city cemetery. Was that ignorance? You be the judge. But we chose to identify, confirm, confess, and correct. Not only did we protect the community and the families we served, we also protected our company by doing the right thing. The families appreciated our commitment and concern. Hundreds involved. Not one lawsuit. Not one visit from the media.
There are many more examples, however, this post would become far too lengthy if I were to continue.
You have a choice when taking on a cemetery with issues, which they all have.
You can be proactive and step up to the plate and address the issues, clearly positioning yourself as the one that didn’t create the problems, but the one that will deal with and correct those issues.
You can ignore the issues and “hope they stay hidden”, which equates to a bad decision. As the cemeteries gardens fill to capacity, the issues cannot stay hidden. At some point, they must be dealt with. Will it be now? Will it be later?
Certainly CemOps cannot make that choice for you. But CemOps is here to help you through the process, should you decide to do the right thing. Here to train your management team. Here to be hands on, if you choose. Here, nonetheless. It’s up to you to call.
So that, is the story of CemOps. Driven by a passion of cemetery operations excellence. A passion of knowing how powerful doing the right thing is. How not doing the right can come back to haunt. Daily, I receive email notifications of issues all over the world. The past practices are now coming back to be dealt with. CemOps will be here to meet or assist you in meeting those challenges. All you have to do is pick up the phone, or visit the website and fill out the appropriate form/s.
Regardless of your personal experience, CemOps can help. Nobody knows everything about cemeteries. Everyone needs assistance from time to time. Hence, CemOps.
