When Ira Levinson, co-owner and vice president of Pikesville?s Sol Levinson & Brothers Inc., didn?t sell out to corporate funeral chains, he wasn?t alone.
“The chains came in like gangbusters, trying to get whoever they could. They had deep pockets and tried to wine and dine everybody,” said Bill Davis, vice president of Henry W. Jenkins and Son in Monkton. “But the folks here truly didn?t believe in selling out.”
Earl Canapp said that?s when the chains? tactics became more aggressive.
“We all in the beginning felt a little threatened,” said Canapp, executive vice president of Ruck Funeral Homes (three Baltimore locations, 1,200 calls a year). “The chains said they would come in and take over the market. If you didn?t sell out, they would put you out of business.”
Representatives of the chains maintain that their ownership doesn?t distill the personal values or services offered, and many times independent funeral directors continue in employment with the corporate homes.
“We offer exceptional value and higher standards to the growing number of families needed funeral, cremation and cemetery services,” said Mike Webb, Service Corp. Inc.?s executive vice president and chief operating officer, in a written statement. “[We also try] to provide consistent quality and satisfaction to the families we are privileged to serve.”
While the chain representative won?t comment on specific markets, many local funeral directors note Baltimore?s rich funeral traditions, which include high-end caskets, flowers and an array of others services, make them attractive acquisition targets.
Those traditions are why funerals in Baltimore and other traditional cities generally cost more than the $5,500 average cost cited by the National Funeral Directors? Association. These high-cost funerals are why many funeral homes in Baltimore can survive on low numbers of customers, even considering the 35 percent cremation rate in the U.S.
“In Baltimore, Boston and Pittsburgh, those rituals and ceremonies are set,” said industry consultant Todd VanBeck. “In that cultural milieu, funerals are not an economic event. People want what they want. They aren?t looking to save money.”
Little wonder the chains were anxious to infiltrate the Baltimore market.
But then the bottom fell out for the national chains when SCI of Houston became involved in “funeralgate” for a host of unethical practices, including recycling graves. The Loewen Group, of Covington, Ky., hit financial disaster when it tried to grow too aggressively.
Wall Street lost confidence and the corporate funeral chains fought to salvage what they could.
