Selling alcohol at funeral parlours

[capricorn]

A funeral parlour in Québec has obtained a liquor license and will be selling beer and wine to the bereaved. No hard liquor at this time until demand has been evaluated. The funeral director says consumers want a package deal and this responds in part to that demand. Sorry, the linked article is in French but google translation would do the trick. I expect English media will carry this soon.

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/04/02/de-lalcool-dans-un-centre-funeraire-de-quebec

In my experience, our once go-to funeral parlour was located mere steps from a hotel. Needless to say mourners would travel back and forth between establishments and I cannot recall any major drawbacks. Personally, I see nothing wrong with booze on site at a funeral parlour.

Do you perceive negatives and do you think this could catch on in more funeral parlours?

[Omni]

Why the hell not? Where I grew up (small town Ontario) after a funeral service friends of the bereaved family were usually invited back to the family home where light snacks and booze were set out. Quite often you might hear stories of events in the life of the dearly departed you hadn't heard before. Might as well make it an all in deal at the funeral home and save all the clean up work for the family who has already had a trying day. As long as nobody throws up near the coffin I think it's all good.

[capricorn]

Offering alcohol in funeral parlours may be more prevalent than commonly known.

Quote

Atlantic Funeral Homes’ Main Street location was granted a liquor license in April, and has plans to start serving booze at visitations in July.

“Everyone always talks about the old Irish wakes,” general manager Mark Hooftman said on Monday.

“When you’re celebrating a life, the celebration could be many things to different people, and for some people it could mean alcohol.”

Hooftman says the company was getting requests from many of its customers for alcohol at visitations. That meant applying for a special occasion license every time someone wanted to toast a dead relative with, for example, a bottle of the dearly departed’s favourite whiskey.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/halifax/2015/06/15/dartmouth-funeral-home-to-soon-starting-selling-alcohol-during-visitations.html

[capricorn]

10 minutes ago, Omni said:

Why the hell not?

A common view I'm sure Omni. As one commentator said, funeral parlours are looking to make up for lost revenue due to the increasing popularity of cremation versus traditional funerals. This should help.

[blackbird]

Funeral businesses have made it onto the CBC's Marketplace and were examined for the way they charge ten or twelve thousands.  I have no objection to alcohol being served in a memorial service.  The only thing I would say is the Funeral companies will be looking at it as another money-making scheme.  Whoever is paying the bill will be expected to fork out a lot of money for drinks, much like a wedding reception.  There is big money to be made in the wedding business and funeral business.   If you are going to be financing a funeral be very careful what you sign up for when you sit down with the memorial service representative to decide what you want.  They are finely tuned high pressure salespeople and experts at getting people to buy very expensive funerals.

Edited April 4, 2017 by blackbird

[overthere]

22 hours ago, capricorn said:

A funeral parlour in Québec has obtained a liquor license and will be selling beer and wine to the bereaved. No hard liquor at this time until demand has been evaluated. The funeral director says consumers want a package deal and this responds in part to that demand. Sorry, the linked article is in French but google translation would do the trick. I expect English media will carry this soon.

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/04/02/de-lalcool-dans-un-centre-funeraire-de-quebec

In my experience, our once go-to funeral parlour was located mere steps from a hotel. Needless to say mourners would travel back and forth between establishments and I cannot recall any major drawbacks. Personally, I see nothing wrong with booze on site at a funeral parlour.

Do you perceive negatives and do you think this could catch on in more funeral parlours?

Yes, I can see a nagative.  My freind is a funeral director, and I once asked her if the people she meets daily are generally at their worst or best.  She said that as a group they are usually  are evenly split between stunned emotionally, and at their very worst.  Alcohol on site  wouldn't help either group.  It would help the funeral home make money, but it would be offset by fights, broken things and security costs.

[Boges]

Funeral Services are such a scam, might as well ad an option for an Open Bar. 

[SpankyMcFarland]

Where might one need a stiff drink more? No problem with that at all.

[OftenWrong]

"Stopping in for a cold one" takes on a whole new meaning.

[Goddess]

14 minutes ago, OftenWrong said:

"Stopping in for a cold one" takes on a whole new meaning.

  

I share the same morbid sense of humour as you.  Not everyone finds it funny.

[DogOnPorch]

16 minutes ago, OftenWrong said:

"Stopping in for a cold one" takes on a whole new meaning.

 

Rim shot.

[eyeball]

On 4/3/2017 at 0:43 PM, capricorn said:

Do you perceive negatives and do you think this could catch on in more funeral parlours?

I'm fine with it myself but it makes you wonder how sparking up a doobie would go over.

4 hours ago, OftenWrong said:

"Stopping in for a cold one" takes on a whole new meaning.

So would blazing at the crematorium.

[Omni]

On 6/23/2017 at 9:14 AM, SpankyMcFarland said:

Where might one need a stiff drink more? No problem with that at all.

I'm of Scottish descent, so I recall paying respects to the dearly departed and then retreating for a sip or two of single malt. Stories were told about the love of the knowing, and the pain of the leaving. What are your fav whiskeys