Neptune Society of Central California

No compassion and very Unprofessional. Everyone in front office speaking Spanish and laughing. This is supposed to be a funeral home in the United States not a fiesta. I came in for information after my mother passed away and I was ignored. Instead the women in front were laughing and speaking loudly in Spanish. Also, it is located in a very sketchy part of town. A very bad experience.

In June 2012 my mother passed. She had made prior arrangements with the Neptune Society and the counselor was wonderful. She was kind, respectful and patient. It made the entire experience much easier.
I wish I could say the same for my latest run in with the Neptune Society. My sister passed unexpectedly a week ago. The counselor and the entire experience has been traumatic. When I arrived to complete the paperwork the counselor seemed annoyed that I had showed up. It was only when I could pay for the service that the counselor attitude changed but even then it was uncomfortable. At one point she made a joke. The next day she called me, I waited while she looked at papers since she couldn’t remember why she had contacted me. Then she said she had the information. The following day she called to tell me she didn’t have all of the information. As if that wasn’t enough she told me that I had left without paying for the services. When I told her I had written a check she said I might had to fax over a copy of the check.
The final blow came when I asked if any items were with my sister when they took her and how could I get those items. The counselor told me that it was my responsibility to ask for that at our first meeting. When I told her that was the last thing that I would have expected and that she should have told me that at the meeting she said they didn’t do that.
My experience this time has been difficult, insensitive, rude, cold. I would never use or recommend them.

Horribly cold people! I lost my Grandma & 12 hours later lost my Dad unexpectedly. Luckily (so I thought) my Grandma had purchased a plan through Neptune Society. Well its been a month & my poor Grandma has not been cremated yet. Neptune was supposed to cover everything but now I find out there is fees that are going to have to come out of my pocket & Im broke. Neptune Society wouldn’t work out a payment plan with me nor do they return any of my emails. I dont even have my Grandma’s death certificate yet. To top everything off the lady who I talk to from Neptune doesnt even say «Goodbye» when ending a phone conversation, she just hangs up.

«Neptune Society» had been a phrase well known in our family. My mother researched The Neptune Society after my father passed away and she said «No one should EVER have to go through what I went through in my husbands passing».
So over the many years after my dad’s death Mother was clear and concise what she wanted in her passing and who would take care of her so none of her children or grandchildren would ever suffer further at the hand of a regular mortuary, when already a broken emotional mess in the loss of a loved one.
Neptune Society of Central California was «10 Stars»… from start to finish. All the years I «thought» Mother was a member, I learned that she was not… HOWEVER Neptune Society of Central CA treated our family as though we «were» their family.
After dealing with the 911 Emergency Team & Police (all needed in a home death) they were great. They did their «jobs»…but I only give them a 3 for compassion.
When Neptune showed up to pick Mother up I was AMAZED even in my unbearable grief! They were kind, gentle in no hurry what so ever. They treated us like we were their only care and concern in the world. I will never forget that night! They shrouded Mother in a white sheet, and on the gurney covered her with a Velvet like covering, and then told me to take my time and let them know when «I» was ready for them to take her! That was the last visual I have of Mother, and I Thank Neptune for giving me that incredible visual gift of my precious 91 year old Mother who was an amazing Woman and feared being zipped up in a body bag and loved ones having to watch that. Neptune gave her compassion & dignity even in passing.
From that day she passed (3 days before Christmas) Neptune took Mother and was in contact with me letting me know she was not a member but took care of her over Christmas anyway with a very small deposit! I went in the day after Christmas and took care of finances and finalizing mother’s desire for years of cremation with Neptune society. Taking care of Mother & how we were doing during the holidays was Neptune’s first thoughts & concerns! Amazing!
Every… EVERY… step of the way there was genuine care, concern, compassion & understanding! Whether it was the administration; grief counselor; ladies in the office or the people who drive and pick up the person who passed: They are so Wonderful and I encourage anyone to check them out to handle the passing of themselves or the passing of a loved one! The experience was BEYOND my imagination that this kind of genuine care is even in our world today! But it is! It’s called the «NEPTUNE SOCIETY OF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA» .
Today I signed myself up to become a member and the Sales Counselor who came to my home was as wonderful, caring & kind as the whole experience last December 2012. Passing away in this life brings enough sadness, sorrow & grief. Thanks Neptune in advance for helping my family at a time most needed when my passing occurs! Best investment I’ve ever made !

This review has been a long time coming –I just wanted to say (as the anniversary of my mom’s passing approaches in December) that I can personally endorse the cremation services that Neptune Society provides.
A year before she died, my mom started talking to me about her wishes about what she wanted done when the time came. Of course, I didn’t really want to talk about it (no one does when it comes to their parents) but figured it was a good idea to make some plans and follow through on ensuring that everything was taken care of. Mom wasn’t much of a planner, so it ended up being a good thing that she was so insistent on taking care of things.
My mom had heard about the Neptune Society’s cremation services from others in the retirement apartment complex that she was living in, and she gave me a brochure. So I called the number and made an appointment to visit, talk with someone, and to fill out forms with her. From what I remember, the entire process, as sad as it was, was quick and comprehensive. There weren’t any problems with clarifying anything –it was very straightforward.
Mom wanted her ashes to be dispersed into the ocean and had asked about that while we were there. The Neptune Society will disperse ashes into the SF Bay as part of the service they offer, but mom definitely didn’t want that. She wanted her ashes to be put into the waters off Capitola, where we would spend summers as a family.
As it was, my brother ended up passing away suddenly from a motorcycle accident. I was still reeling from the loss of him and was having a hard time dealing with it. Three months later, mom died from sadness (aka Broken Heart Syndrome) on Christmas Day. During the time after my brother died, mom was completely unreachable and totally in shock, understandably. There was NO way I would have ever been able to have done this while she was in that state, believe me.
I chose to go to Oakland, where the cremation was taking place (it’s called a witness cremation and I’m still on the fence as to whether or not that was a good idea). That part was entirely up to me –one need not go to Oakland as part of the services –the cremation can take place and then the ashes are sent back to San Jose. However, given that I hadn’t seen my mother since before Christmas day, it was the holidays and an autopsy was performed, her body was held for quite a while before she got to the cremation stage. So I ended up doing it so I could say goodbye. Just so you know, nothing is done to the body to prepare it for viewing. They don’t pretty it up for those who are there –it’s not part of the services. That’s why I say it might not be a good idea for everyone.
Once mom’s ashes were ready, I picked them up in San Jose. They were in a plastic bag with a metal id tag. The bag is put into a lovely dark blue velvet bag with a drawstring. One can buy «nicer» urns and such at Neptune Society, but I didn’t plan on keeping her ashes forever. However, I actually held onto them for two years after she died because I had a really hard time letting go of her.
I finally had the nerve to book a charter boat with my family in Santa Cruz and disperse her ashes into the waters there. It was really, really hard to do, as anyone who has ever lost someone has experienced. But it was the right thing to do and it was really beautiful and it seemed very natural and a huge relief to make her wishes real.
In retrospect, I’m so glad that plans were made well beforehand. It ended up being one of the more easier parts of her passing to deal with (and it really wasn’t easy at all). I can’t imagine having to take care of those details after the fact, so having everything handled so specifically was huge.
For those interested in low-​cost cremation services, Neptune Society is the way to go. It certainly made this very difficult situation so much easier to bear.

I lost another family member and Neptune Society guided me through all the paperwork.
The staff was very helpful and compassionate.
This time, there was no delay in cremation since this family member didn’t die during a surge in the death rate, unlike my mom (see my other review for what happened with my mom’s cremation).
The cremation and sea scattering were accomplished within sixteen days of the death, and they sent me a card stating the time, date and place that the sea scattering was done, along with a photo of the boat.
They have a tiny parking lot and the rest is metered parking. It’s also on a one-​way street.

These guys and gals were totally awesome! Thank you for all our help in our time of need and the loss of our family member.

My family actually used Neptune Society many years ago when my mom passed. They were kind and professional. Nothing went wrong. I would use them again.

My grandmother passed away two weeks ago and had arranged to be cremated through the Neptune Society prior to her death. On the day of her death my family and I all got to stay with her for a bit before she was picked up for cremation. It was so beautiful and heartfelt as we all said our goodbyes. The Neptune Society then arrived in an old, beat-​up MINI VAN, in which I felt was so undeserving and disrespectful of my grandmother. The exit was just as jaw-​dropping after a quick U-​Turn in front of the house and speedy exit. I could not help but to feel offended that such a beautiful and deeply personal moment was so disregarded by the lack of dignity shown by the transport of the deceased.

My mom died May 18^th at 92 years. Twenty years ago she made arrangements w/​the Neptune Society in San Jose because she was living in Santa Cruz. She left clear instructions and after her death the staff at Reutlinger’s skilled nursing facility called the Neptune Society, who sent a man to pick up her body. That afternoon I received a call from Maria, who explained what we needed to do, which was very little. Everything was prepaid except for the death certificates. All we needed to do was to determine how many we needed and to send them completed paperwork, a page at the most, and a check for the death certificate. Maria was genuinely concerned and sympathetic.
Mom had directed that she be cremated and her ashes scattered at sea and this was done last week. We received a certificate from them in the mail stating this had been done. Yesterday I received a call from Maria explaining that we did not yet have death certificates because Contra Costa County charges $ 15 each rather than $ 14 as we had sent. We had ordered 10 certificates for various agencies and people who needed to be notified, so the check was $ 10 too little. They hadn’t called to let anyone know about this, so Maria discovered it when she called to check on the status of the certificates. I am so appreciative of the way she has handled this and even more appreciative of my mother’s thoughtfulness, foresight and organization in making her final arrangements. This seemed a fitting subject for my 900^th review.

Let’s just say that we were very fortunate to collect my father’s remains. What started out as a misunderstanding was followed by a total disregard and lack of communication surrounding how to resolve the situation. Extremely disappointed, and people who are in the business of providing comfort and ease-​of-​transition during very difficult times should be far more organized.

The process is relatively easy. With my father, there was little that we had to do since he had a pre-​paid plan. With my mother, last week, it’s been a different story. She had a pre-​paid plan but they went ahead and charged my credit card the full amount anyway — just one more thing for me to deal with. When the person came in to take my mother’s body, he put on gloves and then, when he left, he left the gloves on the dresser for me to dispose of. My mother had filled out all the paperwork when she bought the plan. the Neptune Society faxed the pages to me for my signature after she died. Then the person in the office kept me on the phone for some time, asking me to spell my grandfather’s middle name, my grandmother’s middle name, etc, because «it didn’t come out well on the fax». D’uh, you have the original paperwork in YOUR office — you’re the one who faxed it to me! These are small things but they shouldn’t happen to the family of the deceased.