The Importance of Clean, Well-Maintained Funeral Vehicles

THE IMPORTANCE OF CLEAN, WELL-MAINTAINED FUNERAL VEHICLES

A family walks out of a place of worship behind a casket, exhausted and looking for comfort. The first object that catches their eye is the funeral vehicle parked outside.

If that vehicle is covered in mud, has a dent, or smells like rotten food, it can be a problem. The family may not consciously question the vehicle maintenance at that moment, but their subconscious registers that they didn’t even care enough to clean the car.

A funeral service involves a series of transitions of the deceased’s body. Moving the deceased from the place of worship or the funeral service center to the cemetery is the most visible transition of all. This is why keeping the vehicle clean and properly functioning is very important.

When a funeral vehicle rolls down the street, it forms a procession that calls for public attention. It tells the community, and more importantly, the grieving family that the person inside is being transported with honor, not moved like cargo.

Maintenance failures will ruin unrepeatable moments like this. You should not be put in a situation where you have to pull over to the side of the road during a funeral procession because something blew up or the engine failed.

A breakdown will be bad for a funeral home’s reputation and traumatizing for the family. Rigorous engine checks, fluid changes, and tire inspections should be done routinely.

Families notice the small things especially since that day will be a very solemn one. Dust on the dashboard, smudges on the rear viewing glass, or worn out door seals will stand out to them in a negative way. This is because it reflects how you handle everything else behind closed doors.

Families trust a funeral home with things they will never see. They don’t see the preparation room, they don’t see the paperwork filings, and they don’t see the storage facilities. They judge what they can’t see by what they can see.