…with a newly bereaved family. Remember that he isn’t just dealing with grief but selling a funeral package and getting necessary information about the deceased and the survivors.
There was that awkward tenseness in the air. It was the kind of tension that no amount of levity could cut through, a cold chainmail that blanketed the entire room. Devin adjusted his tie and patted the breast pocket of his jacket, making sure the brochure was still there.
This was, no doubt, the hardest part of the job. Many families weren’t ready to accept their loss and it was a delicate balance between console and saleman. Fortunately, Devin was trained by the best of the best in the business. There wasn’t a sale that he couldn’t close and a family he couldn’t satisfy with the level of service he provided.
The latest clients, a man and a woman with bleary red eyes and gaunt faces, sat by the door as they went over their own brochure. As the salesman approached them, the both looked up and Devin could see the immense sadness welling up in their eyes.
“Alright folks,” The salesman said with a clap of his hands, “Let’s say we get that rotting corpse off that cold slab and into a nice comfy coffin while there’s still some flesh on those bones, huh?”
A mortified look crossed Devin’s face even before he finished hearing the sentence. That was Ric for you. The worst salesman ever. He couldn’t sell water to a man burning to death. As the couple stormed out of the theater, Ric just stood there with a confused look on his face.
Devin just shook his head and turned towards his waiting clients. This is why you didn’t hire family, he told himself.
Behind the Random: I’ve been fortunate enough in my life that I haven’t had to do the enviable chore of making funeral arrangements yet. I can only imagine how hard that would be, especially if it was a sudden and unexpected death. I think it would take a special kind of person to be a mortician. Not this guy, that’s for sure.
642 Things 