Why do the BEST in the business choose Graystone®?
We’ll let them tell you.
Invaluable insight
Graystone Associates is our trusted business advisor. Annually we appreciate their excellent continuing education opportunities for our entire work family, insightful surveys so that we can exceed families expectations and support for our ownership team as we strive to lead a growing business.
This past year, they provided us with invaluable insight and advice as we transitioned ownership from the fifth to six generation.
We are thankful for Graystone and highly recommend them to other independent progressive funeral homes who are looking to improve all aspects of their business.
Lindsey and Chris Jonkhoff, co-owners Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services
Drastic improvements with quality of service
We have been with Graystone since 2005 and have seen drastic improvements with the quality of service we provide to the families we serve.
Their in-person team training and development is top notch and always improving with the times.
However, out of all of their services, to me, the most valuable, is the one-on-one check ins provided to me throughout the year.
Helen Loring Dear, Porter Loring Mortuaries
Best-in-class service
Graystone and French have been valued partners since 2005. Then, like now, we chose to make the leap to Graystone because of the quality of training programs, consistency of process in caring for the families we serve, and their vast knowledge and understanding of our profession.
Over the years, Graystone has helped us care for families with best-in-class service.
Because we care about our families – we use Graystone.
Tom Antrum, French Funerals & Cremation
We rely on their industry expertise
Graystone Associates was recommended to us by an existing client during a convention years ago. We were looking for a professional training method to standardize the performance of our staff and perfect our service experience across the board and were intrigued by this recommendation.
In researching Graystone Associates, we found that in addition to their professional staff development program, they also offered business strategy advice and personalized business analysis. We could not pass up the opportunity to advance our funeral home and decided to sign up with Graystone Associates. Our partnership has been a tremendous success ever since.
Graystone Associates has assisted in the growth of our funeral business for the past 18 years. In addition to their professional staff development training, business strategy sessions and financial analytics, Graystone Associates has helped us formulate the creation of our value brand funeral home, strategize our change in business practices based on the rise in cremation rate, develop an extensive pre-need roster, and navigate the ever-changing scope of the pandemic.
Through team training sessions, personalized visits, and frequent phone calls, the Graystone Associate team has made themselves available to advise us on the growth of our business every step of the way.
We rely on their industry expertise and look forward to their assistance in taking our funeral home business to new levels of success.
Kimberly M. Saul-Bowne, CFSP Saul Funeral Homes, Inc.
I’ve yet to find anything they don’t know how to handle
We opened our first funeral home in 2006. We began working with Graystone in 2012. At that time we were a two location, approximately 260 annual call firm. As new and inexperienced owners, we had taken our business as far as we could on our own. Although it was successful, we always felt like we were winging it and that’s because we were winging it.
Our business plan was simple…work hard and treat families right. Those are definitely important, but there’s so much more to operating a successful business. We didn’t know exactly what we needed but we knew we needed help.
Brandon attended a workshop that Darrell Simpson presented at an NFDA Convention and felt as though Graystone could be the answer to our prayers and the remedy for our many sleepless nights.
I can’t explain the many ways this company has helped ours. It’s truly immeasurable. From helping us create work schedules, benefits packages, bonus plan structures, an employee handbook, to dealing with HR issues, to providing the very best training, and gathering data from what I believe is the most comprehensive survey in the entire industry, to mention just a few.
We have called on them with so many various issues throughout the years. I’ve yet to find anything they don’t know how to handle. They are the calm in my storm and help me keep my emotions in check and make rationale, level-headed decisions.
And since Graystone works with the very best firms, we are often able to collaborate with one another and learn from others’ experiences, both good and bad. This has been especially important during the past couple of years, dealing with the uncertainty and turbulent times that came along with the pandemic.
We continue to stay with Graystone for the peace of mind it brings. We don’t have to wonder if we’re doing the right things, if the families we serve are satisfied, or if we’re reaching our financial targets. We know when we are on track and when start go off the rails. It’s great knowing that someone is watching out for us and watching over us. That type of investment is priceless.
Martha McKneely Thompson, Vice-President/Funeral Director, Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home
Consistency with growth
As our company has expanded, Graystone helped train our new staff to deliver a consistent service level to each and every client.
Bob Fournier, Gilman & Valade Family of Funeral Services
One of the best business decisions our family has made in 128 years
We are a six-generation family firm established in 1894 and one of top two oldest continual licensees in our state, living in the shadow of SCI’s largest single combo property.
A few years ago, desperate to increase market share, we reached out to the other oldest firm in the state, by way of friendship and similar historical journeys, yet they were having far greater success in their community with market share.
Their strongest recommendation was our first introduction to Graystone. Heeding their recommendation has become one of the best business decisions our family has made in 128 years.
We have been fortunate to have lasted 128 years as a sixth-generation family firm, largely due to having never lost our focus of our family founders of caring, personalized family service.
However, partnering with Graystone has, I believe, taken our firm beyond the focus and expectations of previous generations, to a place where Excellence in customer service not only has increased our market share and profitability, but has become so infectious within our team’s culture, that we regularly field calls from staff members of competing firms seeking employment.
I received a call from the manager of one of our direct competitors the other day simply asking “What is it about your firm? I have been looking for part time help for over a year and some people I have interviewed won’t return my calls, but are now working for you. What is your secret?” Although I did not share with him what I truly believe to be Our Secret, I will share here.
The support, encouragement and especially training that Graystone Associates provides our firm has created within our walls a culture of Excellence that is infectious. Not only has our market share increased, as well as our profitability, but our team has almost daily discussions about how things can be done better. Not only has this become evident to the families we are fortunate enough to serve, but to our competitors and the industry as a whole within our community.
I sincerely attribute this to our partnership with Graystone. It is an honor and privilege to trust our families name and reputation to the Graystone family and philosophy.
Philip R. White, Owner, Fifth Generation, FDR 1360