UPDATE REGARDING OUT-OF-HOURS CALLS
Funeral directors have traditionally always advertised a ‘24-hour service’ and for more than 37 years we at Fred Stevens have operated the same way. But for many of those years we were younger, and we had the stamina to turn out during the night and still give families our full attention the next day. But funerals are changing dramatically and so are the demands made upon us. We too need our sleep, simply in order to be capable of coping with the ever-increasing complexity of our work.

The concept of the traditional funeral is giving way to the rise of low-cost alternatives like direct cremation on one hand, and by the ever-increasing options for personalisation for full-service funerals on the other. As a small family-run company, these realities all dictate that we re-examine the way we do things going forwards.

However, experience has long proved that there’s rarely any necessity for a deceased person to be urgently removed when the death is natural and expected; and that almost everything can be handled safely and calmly in the morning, rather than trying to maintain the illusion that we operate 24 hours a day. What our clients value far more is the continuity that only a small, family-owned business can offer.

Other funeral directors in our locality operate their 24-hour service from call centres. But with us you will always be speaking to someone who is locally based, and who knows and understands exactly what you’re talking about.

So, going forwards we will still respond to out-of-hours calls 7 days a week, but only up until 11.00pm at night. If you are calling after that time then please leave your name, number and any information you feel we should know, and we will call you back between 8.30 -8.45am the following morning.

We fully accept that this approach will not suit everyone who calls upon us. But it will allow us to continue serving our community in a way that is sustainable, personal and true to the values we have always maintained as a company. The only change we’re making is in how we manage our out of hours availability - not the quality or continuity of our service.