Burns Funeral Home & Crematory

We used Burns for the pet crematory when we put our sweet dog to sleep. I hadn’t made arrangements in advance since we originally intended to have her cremated at the veterinarian’s office. We changed our minds about this when we saw a truck pull up to the veterinarian’s office which would likely transport multiple animals to the intended cremation service provider.
I called Burns before office hours and my call was promptly returned within minutes. Mr. Burns was patient with me while I cried and tried to relay information. He had someone meet me before office hours as we arrived with my dog. Everyone was kind and compassionate. I was called only hours later advising me the ashes were ready for me to pick up. When it appeared I was going to miss the staff on Christmas Eve to pick up the ashes, arrangements were made so I could still pick her up that evening.

My family was seeking information from different funeral homes/​crematories and Burns was among those called.
The person who spoke with my family member was condescending and abrupt. They were to provide more information, so they were given a number to call back. They called on a totally different number, still reaching a family member, and although they were told the family had not made a decision as to which facility we would use, they overstepped their authority and retrieved our loved one’s remains without our consent.
The facility we did retain had to wade through rabbit trails of information in order to find out what had happened to our loved one and obtain the remains in time for preparation for the service date the family had requested.
To add insult to injury, our loved one’s personal effects were not turned over to the facility of our choice at the time they retrieved the remains from Burns. A family member was contacted by the chosen facility that the effects were received 3 days after the service.
Who gives these people the right to make such assumptions as to go get remains they have not been authorized to transport or receive?
Oh, and one more thing: we were informed repeatedly during our preliminary calls seeking information that we could pay by cash, check, Visa, Mastercard or American Express. Our loved one had been dead less than 24 hours and we were still in shock, not to mention only making inquiry. Are they that worried about a buck?

My sister-​in-​law chose Burns because her father suggested it when my brother passed away suddenly.
Burns offers a picture of the deceased as a gift but asked my sister-​in-​law to choose the picture. She asked that a picture of her family be used: my brother, sister-​in-​law, and niece were in it. After several phone calls confirming this, they still did not grant my sister-in-law’s request. There was a faint picture of him alone at the front of the funeral. The family picture was near the casket.
My brother used to wear glasses but had the surgery to correct his eyesight done two years ago. The funeral home called to ask about the glasses. My sister-​in-​law told them she did not want the glasses due to this and, in fact, did not have the glasses anymore. The owner and director, James Burns, told his staff to confirm. My sister-​in-​law told them again that she did not want the glasses nor did she have the glasses. Then they called a third time. This time my husband had to tell them again that the widow did not want the glasses, and the staff was upsetting her with all the intrusive calls.
On the day of the funeral, one of the staff asked my sister-​in-​law if she’d like to say good-​bye to my brother in private after the services. She said she did and asked that I stay. The staff member told me they would give us a call once my brother’s ashes were ready for pick-​up. Then he joined other staff members at the back of the room and proceeded to joke around with them in noisy voices while my sister-​in-​law tried to say good-​bye.
The next day, my husband came back for the flowers. He asked what was the next step in retrieving my brother’s ashes. A staff member told him they would call us when my brother was ready to be picked up.
Four days after my brother’s service, my sister-​in-​law called the office to ask if she could have a couple more boxes of thank you notes the funeral home gave her after the funeral. They told her to come on in. They also told her there was a box of cookies someone purchased for the family delivered there. When we got to the funeral home, no one greeted us. We waited in the waiting room for a few minutes before a staff person asked if we needed help. When we told him what we were there for, he told us to go to the office. Once in the office and asked for the thank you cards, one of the female staff members snapped, «You’ll have to pay for those. They are $ 15 a box.» My sister-​in-​law was surprised as no one told her she’d have to bring money to pay for these. Then my sister-​in-​law asked about the cookies that were accidentally delivered to the funeral home. The same woman again snapped, «There was no mistake! They chose to deliver them here.»
A week after my brother’s service, James Burns sent us a letter thanking my sister-​in-​law for her business and to call if she needed anything. We were a bit surprised by the letter since we had not received my brother’s ashes. Three days later, I called to ask if my brother’s ashes were ready for pick up as I was leaving and didn’t want my sister-​in-​law to have to pick up her husband by herself. The office informed me that he was ready and had been. No one ever called us.
When I picked up my brother and complained all of this to Mr. Burns, he told me that the woman in the office was new. And that they don’t call the family to pick up the ashes; they wait until the family calls to come pick them up.
I am APPALLED at the customer service my sister-​in-​law received!!! The staff is dealing with grieving families, and this is how they treat them!!! They don’t listen to the families’ wishes; they don’t take notes; they don’t communication among the staff. They don’t greet their customers. They don’t show any empathy or compassion. They’re greedy. They’re not consistent and have no follow through. They’re rude.
I hope future customers take the time to read this. I don’t want any family member feeling the pain this funeral home staff caused my sister-​in-​law.

The organization and customer Service is outstanding.

They did nice work on my father Tim Snyder. And they worked with my brother so that is a feat!