Pros
Great opportunities for students and interns who are new in the field to get tons of experience - Some of the best people in the world work here - Clothing stipend - Get to work with families and support them during hard times (which is an incredible honor) - Beautiful cemeteries - Lots of different service and merchandise options for families, tons of customization and personalized items that really make things feel special Clean and well designed/furnished locations Company provided cell phone and laptops We had an employee hired to answer phones at night, so we did not have to work all through the night after a long shift (so much appreciation for her) Service directors and removal staff made it so much easier to handle first calls and multiple services when things were busy (appreciate them SO SO MUCH) Benefits HR took things mostly serious when there were issues
Cons
While I truly appreciate the opportunity i was given here and have great respect for the majority of the people in management and leadership, there was a lot that was overlooked and shouldn’t have been. I unfortunately had a bit of an overbearing manager at Redwood. She would often call me in for meetings so that she could vent about some elicit things that I didn’t really feel comfortable talking about. It didn’t really feel like I could escape from those conversations when they did occur out of fear for my own employment. I also felt like I was completely on my own a lot when I first started. I was told I’d have a lot of supervision when I first started doing arrangements but found that I was quickly sent on my own. I also found out I was making less than my coworkers because I already had my interning license, and they started at the same rate as me, but got raises because they got their licenses after they were employed. It sucked because I felt like I put everything into taking care of my families and it was always overlooked. I also felt like no one had my back if I were to be out sick for a long term or on vacation. I always came back to complaints from families because no one was double checking the instructions I left or followed up with families like I requested. I also felt like I had to do a ton of work after hours because I’d have multiple arrangements in one day, but then I’d get yelled at by my manager because I went overtime. If I didn’t do the overtime work, how would my families get the service they paid over $10k for ?? If I just left after an arrangement without doing my follow up, things would fall apart. I also felt like the service directors and part time staff were seen as lesser than the rest of us, when they were the ones doing the hardest part of the job. They deserved a lot more respect than the way my colleagues spoke about. Charging $40 for a plastic box that’s worth maybe $5 at most sat wrong with me. A lot of our families were low income and it felt like they were just seen as walking wallets. Things were way too expensive and I felt immense guilt for how much we were charging them.