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TALKING BUSINESS


ADAPTING TO THE NEEDS OF ITS CUSTOMERS


Michael Liddle, joint managing director at Neville Funeral Service, outlines the changing face of the industry and the importance of customer service.


In 1875, after their joinery apprenticeship and traditional journeyman period with a Bedfordshire builder, two brothers Thomas and Edward Neville started working for themselves as T & E Neville and from the outset were involved in building, joinery and undertaking. Since then, the fifth generation independent family


business has changed considerably, splitting into two separate arms – one for building and the other for undertaking, which has expanded significantly, establishing itself as a trustworthy and popular funeral service choice. Neville Funeral Service now employs around 100


staff across eight branches and has a turnover of £8m a year. The Woburn Sands branch, one of the eight branches in its portfolio, opened in 2015 with two dedicated members of staff and a further branch was opened in Stopsley in 2016, also with dedicated members of staff. Industry trends have been plentiful over the past


143 years. Joint managing director, Michael Liddle, said: “The business has changed; people are more aware of death now than they used to be because of the media. Celebrity funerals shown on television make people aware of the many different ways you can carry out a funeral. “People also aren’t as religious nowadays and might just


want a small family service or a celebration service in the village hall rather than a church funeral. Green funerals have become an option too in the past few years.” The company offers both traditional and modern


funeral services and can provide both black or white hearses and a selection of limousines for funeral cars. They have in-house florists and memorial masons and can provide orders of service and funeral plans. They also arrange repatriation, which ensures people’s last wishes are carried out for them to be laid to rest in their home countries. Michael, 60, said: “Part of the role of a funeral


director is to understand all the options people want in order to be able to achieve the funeral they are trying to create. “We have to be flexible. Every funeral is individual


and different and everyone’s needs are different. We are all different in death as in life.” Some customers like Neville’s to arrange as much as


possible for them and others may want to arrange the majority of the funeral themselves and Neville’s might only be asked to supply a hearse. Some people just require something very simple and want to see as little of the undertaker as possible. Michael added: “We are an independent family company and we feel we can adapt ourselves to the


18 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018


Michael Liddle, right, with Neville’s Woburn Sands staff, left


needs of the families we look after at an important time in their lives.” Neville Funeral Service is listed in the Good Funeral


Guide and is part of the National Association of Funeral Directors. Michael has a Fellowship with The British Institute of Embalmers and is also one of their treasurers. He is an examiner for the National Association of Funeral Directors and another member of his staff is also a tutor for the same organisation. “We try to support our trade associations


‘EVERYONE’S NEEDS ARE DIFFERENT. WE ARE ALL


the best we can through the staff which enables us to provide a good level of service to our families,” said Michael, who has worked at Neville’s for 29 years. “What we do is essentially customer service. Larger


DIFFERENT IN DEATH AS IN LIFE’


companies can be more aggressive in their marketing and in their prices. But people tend to not want the cheapest price, they want the best service.” The customer experience is of utmost importance to


Neville’s. They have a continuous customer-centric training programme for staff and regularly upgrade their funeral and ancillary vehicles. Their Service Chapel at Luton can hold up to 60


people for small family services and all of the other branches also have chapels of rest. “As demographics change, this affects the market,”


said Michael. “People are more conscious of prices now and are using the internet to shop around. The advent of low cost funerals has changed things and sometimes people don’t even have a service. “Customers are more demanding as they are more


aware of all the options they have but I think the way we train our staff gives us a competitive edge. Our staff are happy to be here and that reflects well when our clients come in. We feel we give an extra level of service.”


Michael Liddle, joint managing director at Neville Funeral Service


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