Searson Family Funerals of Portsmouth

Mrs_Huggett

We sadly lost our Dad a couple of weeks ago, and after having been treated with total disregard by the local Co op funeral directors my sister in law moved him to the Searson Family firm of funeral directors. So after a week of being told we wouldn't be able to see him if we travelled from London (and another Brother being told the same in the midlands) If they had to go and attend to another family, we would have to make another appointment, and possibly on a totally different day!!! Surely a company as large as the Co Op could have someone in attendance for families who wish to pay their respects, it's not as if they would have to be there 24/7. We arrived to see dad at the Southsea branch of Searson's and we were overwhelmed by the care, respect and love that they showed him, and for the first time I was happy to leave a family member safe in the knowledge that he was being looked after properly. We had the funeral yesterday, and what a send off we gave him, and for the most part it was down to the care, dedication and thoughtfullness of this wonderful couple, Debi and Andy Searson. Our entire family and all our friends are in awe of them, and there was a lot of us, not enough seats to go round. If anyone would like to PM me I can give them further details.
:A That's Dad that is.

Fishingtime

I work for a subsidiary of the COOP and they would have someone on call 24/7 to deal with matters like yours.

Mrs_Huggett

Trust me, they didn't.

maninthestreet

Never used the services of a funeral director, but it seems a family-run FD would be preferred to some large, commercially orientated FD, even if they are more expensive.

fluffnutter

My vicar friend (who knows about such things, obv!) always really rates the Co-op funeral services. We're just over the water in Gosport so it's a shame that you've had a bad experience in Portsmouth. These things are so important at such a difficult time, aren't they? Perhaps it's down to the individuals who are running that 'branch'. Thankfully you found a more sensitive and helpful funeral director and gave him a good send-off

Mrs_Huggett

Strangely enough my deart niece had the same problem with her father in law's arrangements and that again was the co op, but it was in essex, also the same branch had sent the wrong lady to a funeral, again this was my nieces family, the firm we used in Portsmouth was actually more reasonable than the co op and the service we received from Searson's was second to none.

PZH

I think the Coop Funeral care is more of a franchise and it really depends on the local firm.

The one in Hull who handled my father's funeral were great and very very understanding (In my opinion anyway)

Fishingtime

Mrs Huggett did not say that it was the COOP funeralcare but it may well have been,they are not a franchise and the head office is in manchester.
There are quite a number of Coop's in the country and they are not all owned by the same people.

starlight_xx

I must admit when we used the Coop here, (Johstone) they were absolutely faultless couldnt complain about one thing, we were allowed in to see dad when it suited us, the day before the funeral and despite our total underestimation of the catering requirements they had the exact number catered for that were required. The aftercare was great, they contacted us afterwards, and at Xmas sent us a bauble to put a personal message on and to take in and attach to their tree. They also had a Xmas service for bereaved families.

Definitely sounds like the service varies from place to place

Morglin

The Co-op funeral section doesn't have a very good reputation around here, and I would always use a smaller firm anyway - they are generally much better.

Lin