A Radio Ad, a Phone Script, and a Commission Plan

Under the FTC Funeral Rule (16 CFR Part 453) and typical state licensure rules:

1. The ad's legal claim. Misrepresenting that state law requires a particular casket, vault, or outer burial container is a prohibited misrepresentation. There is no such law; the statement is false and material. State deceptive-practices statutes also apply, and each violation can carry a separate civil penalty.
2. The phone script. The firm must give retail prices over the phone for the items a caller asks about and must disclose that a printed price list is available and where. Requiring a written request is a violation.
3. The price list at the door. The General Price List must be offered and given to anyone who asks in person, and the casket price list must be shown before the family begins selecting caskets - not after a refusal.
4. The restricted selection room. Displaying only high-end caskets while hiding the lower-priced list misrepresents the range of prices available. The customer must be able to see the least expensive options or be told about them.
5. The commission plan. Paying 6% on upgrades above the minimum deliberately incentivizes steering and creates a financial conflict of interest with the family's interest in an affordable, appropriate choice.

Principles at stake.

• Veracity: the ad asserts a legal requirement that does not exist. That is a lie, not puffery, and it is aimed at the most vulnerable moment in a family's life.
• Informed consent: hiding the low-end price list and the full range removes the information a family needs to choose.
• Fiduciary duty / non-maleficence: the family relies on the arranger's expertise. Steering to a higher casket to capture 6% exploits that reliance and can cause real financial harm.
• Justice and fairness: the same practice applied to a family of limited means produces disproportionate harm.
• Professional integrity: 'everybody does it' is a social-proof rationalization, not an ethical justification.

Test to apply. Use a three-part screen: (a) Is it true? (b) Would the family still agree if they knew how the arranger is paid and what the cheapest option is? (c) Would I be comfortable if this ad and script were read aloud in a licensing hearing or on the evening news?

Verdict. The ad fails (a) outright. The phone script and hidden casket list fail (b) - disclosure destroys the sales tactic. The commission plan fails (c) - it exists precisely because it works on families rather than informing them. All three are unethical regardless of what competitors do.

Immediate (0-7 days)

• Pull the radio spot; replace it with accurate copy. If the false claim already aired, run a correction of equal frequency and placement, and consult counsel about self-reporting.
• Rewrite the phone script: give prices for what is asked, state the price list is available at the funeral home and can be mailed or emailed, and log the call.
• Move the casket price list to the selection room and require arrangers to present it before selection begins.
• Add at least two caskets under $2,000 to the display.

Structural (7-60 days)

• End the 6% upgrade commission. Replace it with a salary plus a flat arrangement fee, or a bonus tied to customer-satisfaction scores and disclosure compliance - never to merchandise tier.
• Require written disclosure to each family that the arranger has no commission tied to their selections.
• Train and test all arrangers on the Rule; keep signed acknowledgments.
• Institute a manager review of every arrangement conference's price list issuance.

Checkpoints

• 100% of phone shoppers receive prices and a price-list disclosure (audit 10 recorded/spot-checked calls monthly).
• 100% of arrangement files contain a signed acknowledgement of receipt of the price list.
• Zero caskets priced above list floor presented before the list is shown, verified by quarterly secret-shop.
• Complaint and refund rate reviewed monthly; any 'required by law' statement eliminated from all marketing.