Rethinking functionality and emotions in the service consumption process: the case of funeral services

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the service literature by investigating post-consumption evaluation in the context of unwanted services. In particular, it intends to delineate the main characteristics of funeral services. Design/methodology/approach Given the lack of substantive literature on funeral services, a qualitative exploratory design was used from in-depth interviews with ten managers of funeral services companies in Quebec (Canada). Findings The study shows that compared to other traditional services, funeral services are characterized by their strong emotiveness, non-recurrence, irreversibility, uncommonness, high level of symbolism and personalization and emotion control of the service provider. The study also argues that funeral services quality is strongly dependent on funeral houses’ integrated logistics, proximity and integrity. Practical implications Because of consumers’ lack of competency, funeral companies need to guide and educate consumers about the criteria they should use to evaluate the service quality. Because funeral consumers are strongly emotion-driven at the purchase time, funeral services providers should find the right balance of emotions to express. Thus, more staff training is needed. Originality/value Because funeral services are emotionally challenging and deal with grief and distressed clients, the present study contributes in shedding light on service quality assessment in the funeral industry. Although they have some characteristics of traditional services (intangibility, perishability and variability), funeral services are also different in many ways.

The Motivation Behind Mortuary Beauticians in the Funeral Business

“…The burial industry in the UK currently has a value of around one billion Euro and is expected to increase by 3.3% in the coming years. The same performance is also seen in US cemetery industries, estimated to have a value of $20 billion each year while the funeral industry in Quebec is estimated to have a value of $348 million and is expected to double by 2050 because the burial industry there can capture demand and an aging population (Korai & Souiden, 2016). These data indicate that the funeral business is a profitable business and has good prospects in the future.…”

“…Pilon's study (2012) showed that after cars and homes, funeral rites were the third highest ICOI-2018 monetary investment of households in the West. In North America, for example, the average funeral costs range from $8,000 to $10,000 according to Forbes Magazine (2014 as cited by Korai & Souiden, 2016). The high cost of funerals can be understood because the cemetery's posture itself is quite complex.…”

“…and managing (interviewing the family for funeral style, how to appreciate the deceased, administration of documents, etc.) and the funeral or burial (Korai & Souiden, 2016).…”

‘Last hospitality’ as an overlooked dimension in contemporary hospitality theory and practice

“…Due to its ubiquitous, mysterious and disturbing nature, human death represents a wellestablished research object not only in medicine and psychology, but also in anthropology and sociology (Korai and Souiden 2017). Similarities and differences in how modern societies interpret and ritualise death have been recorded and research on dying as a sociological phenomenon has been undertaken not only through the lens of individual nations, but also through comparative, cross-country analysis (Walter 2012).…”

“…Although there are many differences, funeral care reflects the main attributes of traditional hospitality services, namely intangibility, perishability and variability (Korai and Souiden 2017). The provision of funeral services is emotionally challenging, as it deals with distressed and grieving customers, and thus requires refined emotion management skills and dignified manners (Bailey 2010;Hyland and Morse 1995;Tims 2014).…”