05.12.10
Posted in cemetery consultant, cemetery consulting, cemetery law, cemetery litigation, cemetery management, cemetery news at 7:37 pm by Administrator
After having conversations with a couple of other cemetery and crematory consultants regarding the slowing of utilization of operations, governance, and compliance expertise; a concerning trend is developing that will have negative consequences in the future if it continues. The death care industry typically goes through cycles. Cycle one is the unfettered sales path. This is when sales are ramped up to fever pitch, with little or no accountability toward governance and compliance. Cycle two has been the operations mode, when the consolidators bring more managers (governance and compliance) back into the fold to correct the mistakes made during the sales ramp up cycle.
The successful sales cycle brings as much revenue into the businesses as possible in the shortest amount of time allowable. The successful operations cycle corrects the mistakes made during the sales cycle, and is deemed a success if the result of this second cycle completes with no new litigation or legislation. It generally appears as a constant circular path.
This cyclic path we find the industry on now, is changing. By typical standards, the operations cycle should have begun about a year ago however, the sales cycle continues to grow and the operations cycle is slowing ever further. Restructuring is occuring and operations managers are being downsized or eliminated in favor of sales management and/or General Manager/Sales Manager positions. The difference is there are only a handful of experienced individuals in the industry who are truly capable of wearing both hats, and with emphasis on the sales aspect are given precious little time or resources to insure operational integrity.
Presently there are hundreds of positions advertised for sales people, sales managers, sales executives, and the like. You will find presently not one operations management position posted on any of the job boards, trade boards, or corporate websites. This is a concerning, if not disturbing, trend for the experts in operations.
It would be believed that operations consultants would become busier with this trend, saving the corporations a lot of money by utilizing talent that is not their responsibility. They would not be required to pay for benefits, fica match, or any of the other items necessary for an employee while experiencing a higher level of operational integrity. But this is not the case, and is curious to us all.
It is clearly understood the ramifications of sales. Sales bring in money, and operations cost money with no immediate direct additional benefit to the bottom line. Operations insures the money accrued during sales ramps are spent properly and budgeted for the future, while insuring carefully thought out policies and procedures are honored to eliminate liabilities. I personally know of two such consultants that are about to leave the industry entirely, due to lack of work. These two individuals have worked diligently over the course of their careers to make the death care profession a better place for employees and better experience for the consumers. It will be a loss if they move on, and we lose their passionate approach to an industry they love.
CemOps won’t be far behind, if the present trend continues. Without sustainable business, a business cannot sustain. We believe the industry should keep close tabs on both sides of this equation, and never let their guard down. There is a marriage of the two that should take place, but no marriage can take place or survive with just one partner getting all the attention. Here’s hoping for a brighter future for the ops minded professionals out there. You can’t restructure your business model completely away from compliance, without risking the business. At the end of the day, a lack of rules will cause utter chaos.
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03.07.10
Posted in cemetery consulting, cemetery law, cemetery management at 4:45 pm by Administrator
Over the weekend, Mississippi has news coming out about cemetery merchandise and service funds being misapropriated. These news items, as stated many times before, can do nothing but harm the death care industry consumer faith and give ammunition to those special groups that would like to see the death care industry fail.
Never covered in any of these news accounts or blogs, is the simple poor method of performing audits at the company or state level, and the lack of tools/training invested in these groups. The auditors are simply accoutants hired to look over documentation requested, usually a percentage of contracts and burial records from the previous year, then those findings are put against accounting records from a home office or accounting firm. This is hardly the type audit necessary to discover anything beyond “surface” issues.
The set up for a cemetery or funeral home or crematory inspection or audit is where the problem begins. Days or weeks in advance the location is notified of a pending audit. With that notification, there are items marked to have ready for the auditor. The auditor comes in, looks over those items pulled for inspection and if nothing seems out of order that is the end of the audit. Too many times, in the few states that actually perform inspections of crematories, the inspector doesn’t want to pry. If a crematory is presently in use, the inspector schedules another day to come back. This is a bad mistake.
In the cemetery or funeral audit, the inspector has precious little time to commit to one location. These state agencies are historically understaffed and under funded, and have many more locations to cover than people to cover them. The agency they work for has to watch their budgets very closely, as they come from the general fund of the state. These agencies can be trained properly to become self supporting, which would also afford them better training and tools; but this is a tough sell when old ways are hard to break. Or the states need to consider privatizing the audit/inspection capacities. Privatization would cost them less, and gain them much better control over issues present. Privatization would also raise accountabilities and reduce the desire or ability to misapropriate funds or manage poorly.
Here’s wishing for a time when everyone cares to do things right every time on both sides of this issue. Here’s wishing for a time when both sides will open their minds to better methods and accountabilities. http://www.cemops.com
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02.05.10
Posted in cemetery consulting, cemetery law at 4:09 pm by Administrator
Today, I read an article from my google alerts, regarding the fact that employee theft and fraud is a definite problem in the cemetery and funeral industry. This article was written by a law firm, with a fraud department that has litigated cases of this nature.
We at CemOps have discussed this very concern with industry ownership, and to date we find little interest in pursuing the issue. The crime described by this post, is a crime not of greed mostly but of need. In the most recent 13 cases I have been involved with each of those events of theft by employee eminated from cemetery sales people who are payed commission only. Of those commission only folks, most do not make it 6 months in the profession. There are many reasons for their failure, some their fault and some the fault of those who hired them, but the clear accelerant for theft by employees is usually need. Folks called Family Service Counselors (commission only sales people), must sell in order to receive a paycheck. After weeks or months of no money, they can be trapped in the desparate cycle of needing to pay rent, utilities, etc. Put a person in a desparate situation and what can you expect?
Don’t misunderstand, we have no pity for them and when we catch them we prosecute to the fullest. The industry as a whole has the ability to stop this, and some of the companies have, by paying hourly wages AND bonuses or commissions. Take away the desparation and you take away the temptation.
Then you have office personnel who are the last ones to handle monies. What controls do you have in place to insure every dime of that money makes it into your bank account? We can teach you those controls and put them in place. We can also teach you what to look for that will tell you if your people are stealing from you. This type theft is generally very sneaky, and done by people you trust on a daily basis. People you would swear would never do that to you. They are the most dangerous of them all. They hide behind your wall of trust, while they steal from you. If this is happening to your operation you owe it to yourself to find out. If it is not, you can look at the investigation as confirmation you have the best people you could possibly have.
Reality? In the past 13 locations I have managed there has been at least one instance of theft by employee. One of those employees weren’t even stealing from the company we worked for. They stole from another funeral home, but end result we had to make the family whole to maintain our reputation. This particular employee used documents from another funeral home to sell a family, as a representative of our establishment. In this instance, the owner did the right thing. They put their reputation ahead of their bank account and took care of the family. But what if this hadn’t been discovered? What if nothing came up until the family suffered a death 20 years from now?
That is exactly what a rogue employee is counting on. They are counting on the fact they will be long gone before anything ever comes of it. If you want to know if you are a victim of this crime, call us. Not only will your business reputation be protected, but you will not have to worry about your bottom line being affected by such crime.
You will also have the comfort of knowing you don’t have those people in your midst anymore, in front of your families. Peace of mind in this arena is key.
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01.01.10
Posted in cemetery awareness, cemetery law, cemetery litigation, cemetery management, cemetery news at 11:12 am by Administrator
Another Avoidable Lawsuit
February 15, 2009 on 12:53 am In Sound Off No Comments
Reported in November, in California. $420,000.00 in awards is upheld by the California Court of Appeals, from a lawsuit again dealing with the proper way to deal with a family when a cemetery resold two graves. The cemetery staff involved, kept the resale secret from the original purchasers. In 1986, this family purchased two grave spaces, when records were kept manually. When the cemetery converted to a computerized system in 2000, the error was discovered. Error #1. Instead of notifying the purchasers of the mistake, the cemetery staff chose to not resolve the situation because additional spaces were not available at the time. When plaintiff’s husband passed away in 2005, the cemetery provided two spaces elsewhere with the assurance that a nearby roadway would not be extended. Some time later the road was extended, which becomes error #2.
The courts determined the liability existed, when it has ratified “an intent to adopt or approve oppresive, fraudulent, or malicious behavior by an employee in performance of their duties.” The employer was found to be guilty of this, and the actions of the employee were found to be the liability of the employer, due to employers knowledge of this event.
The base issue here is simple. Telling the truth at the time of discovery would have precluded this size of judgement, if not completely eliminating the lawsuit altogether. Telling lies, or lying by ommission, is exactly what caused this lawsuit and subsequent award.
When will those in this profession learn, that covering up this type item will only come back to haunt? When will this industry start using the expertise of companies like CemOps to train their employees on the proper handling of such situations? Clearly, many employers in this profession don’t take this seriously until they have lost a lawsuit, but training still doesn’t take place on any consistent basis.
Was this employee involved terminated? Were the rest of the employees at this location trained on the proper methods of dealing with such and other issues, to preclude further occurence? Or, were the employees simply expected to learn from this mistake with no follow–up?
Clearly there is a value to outside involvement in investigative, auditory, or training assistance to strengthen weak areas in our operations environments. This one is definitely unnecesssary. So are so many that we read about every day in the media. Once again, CemOps and other companies like it are out there to help. The lawsuits can slow or stop, with the proper training and policies/procedures in place. Or——–just keep going to court and paying the costs in high jury awards and the negative publicity that comes with it, which also has a negative impact in the communities affected.
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09.30.09
Posted in cemetery law, cemetery management, cemetery news, cemetery publications, cemetery white paper at 11:46 pm by Administrator
http://www.bereavedconsumersprotectionact.com/?page_id=86
For 4 years now, CemOps has been warning if media and court accounts didn’t slow down, this industry would be called into question.
For 4 years now, CemOps has been offering precompliance assistance with new federal legislation to prepare cemetery companies for what was inevitable.
For 4 years now, cemetery companies have continued to ignore this help, and have continued with the ideal that Senator Dodd failed with his former bill, and no other bill would make it to the floor.
Now it has happened. Precompliance will now become more important than ever. Continuing to ignore this will be risky and ignorant on any cemetery owners part. Read the act as it is written from the above link for yourself. Lately, there continues to be issues hitting the news all over the country giving such a bill the necessary bolstering necessary to make it to the floor for consideration.
Make no mistake about it, this bill has legs and will most likely be passed in some form. It is time to heed the warnings and move toward precompliance. CemOps is here and still capable of helping you get ready for what is coming.
Go to http://www.cemops.com/
Fill out the necessary contact form and let’s get things under control for those companies wishing to get a jump on being ready. We have stated on a number of occassions that this was coming, that the federal government has shown more interest in what we have to offer than the industry has. It is here. It is now. The bill as you read in the above link states that the federal government is going to act, and that states will possibly be preempted in their laws to get this under control.
Companies that choose to continue to ignore this are playing with fire. All the policies and procedures in the world without audit, investigation and enforcement are at risk. We are here to help, and we are capable of making you stronger, better, and more aware of what is truly happening in your locations.
Once again, set up google alerts for cemetery news, cemeteries in trouble, funeral news, funeral homes in financial trouble, etc. etc. You will see the amount of risk that is out there. You will see what the government sees. You will realize this isn’t isolated incidents that mean little. You will see that we have real time problems that need real time solutions.
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09.25.09
Posted in cemetery awareness, cemetery law at 12:47 am by Administrator
Bobby Rush, Democrat from Illinois, is posing federal legislation to further regulate cemeteries in the United States. This, from the most recent cases in Illinois including Burr Oak Cemetery. Illinois has been trampled with the Burr Oak case, the IFDA case, and other closely related instances of violations of law and all that our profession stands for.
CemOps has been warning for years now this would happen, and with an industry determined to continue giving negative media and court accounts to feed on, it is happening.
This is an industry that needs to get engaged immediately in self regulation that will satisfy these most recent calls for federal regulation, or expect further regulation that will only set back an industry that continues to ignore all the signs of being included in new federal law.
The arrogance of the cemetery profession, thinking they will continue to escape the long arm of federal legislation, is about to come face to face with reality. We have communicated on numerous occassions with varying officers of corporations, regional and private operators, and not for profits, who have thought they would be left unencumbered as not very important to federal interests.
It is apparent now this is no longer the case. There are so many fresh cases involved now, and mounting cases, that the head of steam toward further regulation cannot be ignored any further.
Reference our website: http://www.cemops.com
You will see this has been warned against for some time now. We are here to help and continue to be the best resource a cemetery owner could have, whether private; religious; public; or municipal. Years of experience and tribulation have taught us best practices and needed policy and procedure no matter the size of your company.
Google news alerts come across the internet many times daily with issues in our industry. If we are seeing them, others are too. Congressman Rush, among others, have seen enough. They are now acting and the time for correction of present policy is now. We are here to help. We cannot help if you do not contact us. We have offices in the Southeast United States, in the Midwest, and in the Western Region.
Our message is clear. We hope you are finally hearing it.
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09.06.09
Posted in cemetery awareness, cemetery law, cemetery litigation, cemetery news at 6:05 pm by Administrator
Another Avoidable Lawsuit
February 15, 2009 on 12:53 am In Sound Off No Comments
Reported in November, in California. $420,000.00 in awards is upheld by the California Court of Appeals, from a lawsuit again dealing with the proper way to deal with a family when a cemetery resold two graves. The cemetery staff involved, kept the resale secret from the original purchasers. In 1986, this family purchased two grave spaces, when records were kept manually. When the cemetery converted to a computerized system in 2000, the error was discovered. Error #1. Instead of notifying the purchasers of the mistake, the cemetery staff chose to not resolve the situation because additional spaces were not available at the time. When plaintiff’s husband passed away in 2005, the cemetery provided two spaces elsewhere with the assurance that a nearby roadway would not be extended. Some time later the road was extended, which becomes error #2.
The courts determined the liability existed, when it has ratified “an intent to adopt or approve oppresive, fraudulent, or malicious behavior by an employee in performance of their duties.” The employer was found to be guilty of this, and the actions of the employee were found to be the liability of the employer, due to employers knowledge of this event.
The base issue here is simple. Telling the truth at the time of discovery would have precluded this size of judgement, if not completely eliminating the lawsuit altogether. Telling lies, or lying by ommission, is exactly what caused this lawsuit and subsequent award.
When will those in this profession learn, that covering up this type item will only come back to haunt? When will this industry start using the expertise of companies like CemOps to train their employees on the proper handling of such situations? Clearly, many employers in this profession don’t take this seriously until they have lost a lawsuit, but training still doesn’t take place on any consistent basis.
Was this employee involved terminated? Were the rest of the employees at this location trained on the proper methods of dealing with such and other issues, to preclude further occurence? Or, were the employees simply expected to learn from this mistake with no follow–up?
Clearly there is a value to outside involvement in investigative, auditory, or training assistance to strengthen weak areas in our operations environments. This one is definitely unnecesssary. So are so many that we read about every day in the media. Once again, CemOps and other companies like it are out there to help. The lawsuits can slow or stop, with the proper training and policies/procedures in place. Or——–just keep going to court and paying the costs in high jury awards and the negative publicity that comes with it, which also has a negative impact in the communities affected.
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01.18.09
Posted in cemetery awareness, cemetery consultant, cemetery consulting, cemetery law, cemetery litigation, cemetery management, cemetery news, cemetery publications, cemetery white paper at 7:25 am by Administrator
CemOps White Paper
3445 Marino Dr. SE
Rio Rancho, NM. 87124
(505) 918-8002
http://www.cemops.com/broberts@cemops.com
Cemetery Challenges and Solutions Through Consultative Resources
Bob Roberts – Principal
Introduction
Cemetery businesses and operations are possibly among the most complex environments in business today. The laws, the operating principles, necessary policies and procedures, accounting requirements, and day to day operations become increasingly involved and vary from state to state. Keeping up with the changing laws can be a task in itself, and the wise cemetery owner is constantly abreast of the changing requirements.
Many news accounts and lawsuits in the United States over the past two decades have proven that many avoidable poor business decisions could have been made; some by lack of knowledge, some by failing to insure personnel are following prescribed policies and procedures, and yes-some from obvious disregard for the laws and best operating practices.
The purpose of this paper is identifying groups and the challenges present in such a complex business environment, offering the need for comprehensive solutions and where to go for the assistance necessary to insure the integrity of the cemeteries involved and the futures of the businesses for those who have invested a great deal of time and resources to own such cemetery properties.
Ownership & Challenges
The varying ownership groups whether private, municipal, religious or corporate all have unique challenges in operating their day to day businesses. Each of these differing classifications has completely different operating requirements, laws, and purposes of operation. Municipal and religious cemeteries may or may not be regulated by governmental law, except the endowment care funds. Private and corporate cemeteries are considered “for profit” for the most part, and are guided where laws are present based on accounting principles and operating expectations by the locales they are in.
Ownership of a cemetery is an expensive proposition, regardless of the category assigned. All cemeteries require a great deal of maintenance, and the associated labor and equipment can be overwhelming for the operating entity if they are not prepared or knowledgeable. This has proven to be the downfall of many businesses, and has been the main reason cemetery abandonment has become an increasing problem. Best practices for cemetery operations, are not well known by a good many owners. The mistakes made that have caused these practices to be adopted are held by those companies who have developed excellent day to day cemetery operations policies and procedures.
Expectations from the client families these cemetery groups serve can further challenge even the best in the business. Every different religious group, ethnic group, nationality, or special interest group has a different idea of what they need and expect from their cemetery owners. To be a successful cemetery, you must find that balance to accompany all the differing families who will use your cemetery and buy your services and merchandise.
Solutions
Finding solutions to improve your cemetery operations and protect your investment is not difficult. Realizing the benefit of involving an outside consultant or expert is difficult for many to come to terms with. With an open mind, you can save numerous unnecessary additional expenditures, avoid negative press, gain the confidence of those you serve, and lessen your exposure to liabilities that could end up in court with huge legal expenses.
The cost of hiring an onsite audit or inspection with CemOps is a fraction the cost of drawn out legal expenses defending against accusations, founded or not. There isn’t a cemetery in the country that cannot use better operating methods or updated information on the numerous challenges that are met daily.
Most cemeteries do a poor job of insuring OSHA standards are met. Many don’t even know where to find the necessary standards on the OSHA site. There is no header for cemetery, and it requires research to find those applicable requirements. This being the case, seldom do you find a cemetery in full compliance.
Many cemetery owners and managers are not aware of the laws in their states. This is a hazardous situation, and can lead to expensive fines and liabilities. In 2007 and 2008, CemOps has saved 283 negative news articles from around the country. All these circumstances that led to the negative press were avoidable. Now you get to calculate the revenue damage that isn’t handed down by a jury or a government agency. The bad will spread from negative press is as costly as any court judgment, in loss of customer confidence and loyalty.
Not calling CemOps for updates, audit and inspection support, and best practices makes no sense. Ignoring the possibility of better and more consistent methods is like playing Russian roulette with your bank account and future as a cemetery owner.
Large corporations have suffered countless losses due to law suits and consumer loss, even with all the policies and procedures they have in place. The policies and procedures mean nothing if there is nothing in place to insure those items are not only in place, but being followed every day in every location. CemOps also has saved negative press relative to this claim, and again all avoidable. Having worked for the corporations, we can assure you these policies and procedures are not being followed on a consistent basis. It takes an outsider to discover these misses, as sounding the alarm by the location manager or regional manager isn’t going to and doesn’t happen, for obvious reasons. That, coupled with the typical “scheduled” visit allows the location the opportunity to insure items will be missed or glossed over. This happens, and anyone within the large corporations that doesn’t realize or wish to admit it, are part of the problem-not the solution.
CemOps has the solutions you need. It doesn’t cost anything for you to make the call. It costs less than you think to take advantage of the expertise to save your reputation and success in business.
At the end of this white paper you will find some reference information and links to issues relative to costly mistakes made in the industry. Don’t make the mistake of perpetuating the mistakes by not calling for the assistant available.
Your information is always confidential. CemOps is here for you, and the information gleaned from any audit or inspection is yours to keep and use. It will not be shared with anyone else.
Following Solutions
Beyond the visit you schedule with CemOps will be follow up communications and information to insure the value of the visit continues to be used. Documentation will be furnished to show the visit took place and that you cared enough to check your location for weaknesses and strengths.
For those that have found themselves on the unfortunate side of the courts, consider the value of having documentation showing your desire and commitment to insure compliance and education. Those owners that show that level of commitment find themselves defending themselves less and more time strengthening their business models.
http://stores.lulu.com/cemops2007 (My books on the death care industry & grieving)
The thirteen links shared here run the course of some of the things that you can find yourself under the microscope for. These are news article that do no good for the profession, but happen every day. I receive up to 30 news releases each day like the ones shared here. Currently for the years 2007 and 2008, this is just a tiny sample of those articles out there.
All avoidable and could have been dealt with in a positive manner without the expensive legal consequences. Not calling us makes no sense, and only increases what we know is your existing exposure to liability!
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