Gately Funeral Service

Please don’t go to this funeral home. My dad, James F O’Connell, died a few weeks ago and my aunt decided on Gately as the agency to handle burial. My dad was a melrose guy so I figured it would be ok.
So I sat down with John Gately, the owner, on a Sunday, one day after death. He seemed professional enough. Said most of the right things. Had this crooked smile going… I knew he was a slick salesman. But it’s the business right? Definitely gave me a weird feeling though.
He added up the charges. 4,700 and change for a cremation and simple burial with military honors. I’m kinda naïve about the whole thing but it seemed kinda hefty for what they actually had to do. But here I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I asked them about a death certificate and they said they would have it by Wednesday… Maybe Thursday. This is 5 days after death. I hand over the check immediately. BAD IDEA.
I called them on Thursday when there wasn’t a death certificate (my mom, Mary P. O’Connell, died a month earlier and her death certificate came to me 5 days after death) and they told me they weren’t sure they had it. I said, well can you check? Then he (John gatelys son) said it was out of their control… automated system… blah blah blah. But then I said, well can you check? He said, «well, we probably don’t…I’m out of the office…» And then I said, well, when you get back can you check??” They said that they’d check and call me back. They did not call me back. Dads funeral was in a few days so I let it go.
So the service is on the following Saturday at Wyoming cemetery. They have this guy Leo there as a Gately representative. The guy, whenever he talked to me, got uncomfortably close to me. Right up in my grill. Unsure what that was about… but he must have been trained to do that during funerals to show that he was empathic to what I was going through. I almost told him to give me some space… but I didn’t want to be rude. Other then a military honor guard stuttering at my fathers funeral (on b b behalf of a g g grateful nation…) it went ok. I asked him about the death certificate and he told me it would get there on Monday, if I wanted i could come by and pick it up. I told him I was working, couldn’t take anymore time off… could he immediately send it out via mail. He said he would call me on MONDAY to let me know it had been mailed.
Monday goes by… Tuesday goes by… Wednesday…Thursday…now it’s Friday. No call. No death certificate. I call up Gately on Friday at 4:40. Where’s the death certificate? Oh it’s at city hall… some kind of problem. Why wasn’t I called like someone said I would be called? Um… not really sure sir, they say. I say, listen… I was told on Monday death Cert would be ready and a phone call made… now it’s Friday… The guy, Fred, interrupts me and starts saying something about the computerized system… blah blah blah. I tell him, listen don’t interrupt me… someone said they’d call… they never called. I want to get some answers, some accountability. He then says that he’ll take down my number and get someone who has answers.
So I get a phone call 20 minutes later… it’s John Gately. He’s upset, starts YELLING at me to treat his employees better. I tell him, do not bully me… I am a customer who just lost his father… I am looking for some accountability here. Someone told me death certificate would be ready and they never called. He then starts screaming at me to be more respectful to his employees. I get into it with him and say, «I already paid you your money so I know you think it’s now ok to treat your customers this way… especially one who just lost his dad AND his mom within a month. But you WILL NOT bully ME.» He then starts yelling some more trying to interrupt me and I mention my moms death certificate and how it got to me and my brothers in 5 days. He then changes his tune and starts to play nice. «I delivered them myself to the post office sir, you’ll get them by Monday.» A full ¹⁵⁄₁₆ days after death. He kept saying «we’ve been in the business for 126 years for a reason». Like it’s ok to rest on your laurels. Well, mr. Gately, you’ll be lucky to last to year 127 of you keep treating your bereaved customers like you did me.