Our order process just got FASTER

At Trigard Memorials, our customers always come first. We care about you and the families that you serve. For some families, the journey to healthy healing doesn't begin until their memorial is placed at their loved one's grave. So, the last thing they want to do is wait.

In an effort towards continuous improvement, we have updated the way we do a few things around here, which will only benefit you and the families you serve.

You’ll get faster design proofs. Once you place an order, it will now go straight to our design team to begin creating your unique memorial. You won’t receive a bid or a final price until after the memorial design has been approved. By eliminating the bid process, the families you serve get to see their memorial design quicker and your order is processed faster.

Your order is being tracked better. If at any time you are curious of when you will receive your memorial order, all you need to do is email orders@trigard.com or call 800.798.4900 to find out where it is in our production process. With our new and improved order tracking system, our Customer Service team can tell you exactly where it's in our manufacturing plant and when it's expected to ship.

We appreciate your feedback. If you have questions or concerns about the new changes, please contact us at 800.798.4900.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

What kind of company culture are you creating?

Stuart McDaniels,
Materials Manager

Have you seen the recent advertisement for the United States Postal Service? It is a humorous commercial about a guy working in an office, stuffing envelopes to be mailed. A postal worker comes in to make a pickup and mentions to the guy that the company he works for could save money by utilizing a particular service that the post office offers. Just as the office worker's boss comes into the room, he replies, “That’s cool and all, but it ain’t my money. I seriously do not care.” The postal worker tries to bail the office worker out by saying, “So you don’t care what anyone says because you want to save this company money?” The office worker replies, “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” and tries to high five his boss who looks annoyed and just keeps walking past him.

We can laugh at a silly commercial on television, but the question remains, is that attitude prevalent in our workplace? Of course, it’s possible anywhere, but is that truly what is happening in our companies?  A lot of that depends on how we, as leaders, work to shape our company culture.

Every company has a culture. You may have never given it much thought, or maybe don’t believe it, but it’s true. Your company’s culture is constantly being shaped, either subtly or overtly, positively or negatively, depending on many varying factors and inputs. What are you doing to shape your culture? Maybe there are things you are or aren’t doing that are impacting your company’s culture that you are not even aware of, both good and bad. It happens all the time.

How often do you talk about costs within your organization with your workforce? Never? Occasionally? As a leader are you working on creating a cost conscious culture? Are you leading by example? Creating or changing a culture in a positive way takes work, persistence and determination. It’s much more than a catch phrase or a motto posted on the break room bulletin board. I believe that if you put effort into molding your culture into one of cost consciousness it will pay off in more ways than you can imagine.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

Create a lasting impression

Jeff Miller,
Vice President of
Business Development

Most of the time, the first thing families think of when losing a loved one is the funeral, then maybe the casket and then the grave. But, the piece that creates the most lasting impression is the memorial.

All aspects of remembering a family's loved one are important and contribute to the journey to healthy healing. This includes the visitation, the funeral and the graveside ceremony. They are all extremely important in celebrating a life well lived. They begin the healing process and allow friends and family to say goodbye. However, when a family chooses to memorialize their loved one with a uniquely designed piece of bronze or finely etched granite headstone, they will keep their loved ones memory alive for generations. For example, 20 years from now when our great-great-grandchildren ask about their heritage, their parents can bring them to the cemetery and show them our memorials. By creating a permanent memorial, we are creating a special place for future generations to gather, share and create memories for years to come.

The permanent memorial is usually the last component a family receives after losing a loved one. Let’s all do our part in helping families understand the importance of memorializing and creating a legacy for future generations.



This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

Baby, it's cold outside

Brodie Krause,
IT Manager

It was a bit late to show, but winter has finally reared its head here in East Central Illinois. Each morning brings a heavy coating of frost, the wind has a bite to it, and soon enough, we’ll have plenty of snow to deal with. When I go out during this time of year to battle the cold, there’s only one thing that makes it bearable, having multiple layers of protection. The wind has less of an impact when it has to go through a variety of warm layers of clothing.

The same is true for your data systems. It seems you can’t go a week without hearing about another security breach or hack attack in the news. We’ve all read about them, and unfortunately, the odds are we’ve all been impacted by them at some point. The best thing we can do to prevent these attacks from having a major impact is to protect our systems with multiple layers of protection. Gone are the days when having antivirus software alone is sufficient.

For 2016, I strongly urge you to do a top-to-bottom review of the security of your data systems:

• Computers and servers should have a combination of antivirus, antimalware and firewall software.  
• Networks should have locked down firewalls and routers.  
• Email systems should have spam protection and you should have some method of monitoring for spoofed emails.

Nothing can stop the winter wind from howling, just like nothing can stop gifted but misguided coders from attacking data systems. The only thing you can control is how big of an impact these attacks have on you. So cover up and have a great year.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.