Berardinelli Family Funeral Service

I am so sorry the other three (at this posting) reviewers had a less than stellar experience. Maybe it is because we were not worried about cost. My Mom died on 1÷11÷16 and EVERY interaction we had with Berardinelli was helpful, comforting, professional … I actually am considering working in a funeral home when I retire because I was impressed by what a difference it made in such a trying time to have caring people like Gerald and Danielle to deal with people on the edge. Honestly, I can’t speak to the upselling issue, so this may be a problem for others. I can just say that our experience was very positive and I (and my father and the rest of the family) appreciate the care and service received here.

My grandfather passed away and we chose Berardinelli to provide his funeral services. In addition to trying to upsell us through the whole planning process, we were told the obituary would run on Sunday. It was not printed nor available on the Berardinelli website. After numerous phone calls, it turns out they never submitted the obit to the paper nor did they post it to their website.
In a time of grief, you want to feel taken care of not forgotten. You want to feel like your loved one mattered. The whole experience has left a bitter taste in my family’s mouth.

I imagine that there are many reasons why someone would opt for extravagant funeral expenses — at the top of the list would most likely be guilt, followed by means, or vice-​versa. However, most of us do not have the means and likewise, should not be taken advantage of in a situation that is unfortunate enough.
Within 5 minutes of my mother’s death, the St Vincent Hospital staff shoved a list of mortuaries in my face asking me to choose one. Since I had not lived in Santa Fe since the early ’80’s, Berardinelli was a name I recognized, so I chose them… initially. One of my cousins mentioned that they were expensive; to which I inquired if there was a difference. There is — Do not make the same mistake!
My family had already had the discussion about funeral arrangements, so I knew that my mother wanted a very simple cremation. Not to mention the fact that I am secure in the knowledge that she is with God, regardless of the send-​off we give her on earth. The price at Berardinelli’s for a simple cremation, which does NOT even include an urn is $ 3,915.00.
Fortunately, I had friends with me at the funeral home that morning who mentioned to me that there were other options. The option I chose was Riverside Funeral Home in Albuquerque. They provided the exact same service outlined above for $ 1,245.00, which included a $ 350.00 fee for transporting the body from Santa Fe, as it is outside their 40 mile radius. I understand that in the future, Riverside funeral home is planning to also have a Santa Fe location. Incidentally, this particular funeral home was not on the list provided by St Vincent’s Hospital.
I still did, however, owe Berardinelli Funeral Home for transporting her body from the hospital (which is located, literally, right around the corner) and refrigerating it until the Riverside people arrived to pick her up. For that service I paid $ 974.81. So there you have it — the choice is up to you.
In fact, I did notice a handwritten «note to self» posted in Mr. Berardinelli’s office, which reads, «We Know What Our Work is Worth» with the word «worth» underlined. I guess he has to reassure himself that overcharging people in a vulnerable hour is not a reprehensible act. I have a photo of said note & once the dust has settled down a bit, will post it.

If I could give them less than the star they have I would. They agree to one thing, change their minds and text you unprofessionally about the change. They dropped the ball on getting death certs, we ended up getting them ourselves when vital statistics said they were ready a day before. Their prices have increased drastically and they don’t provide anything to warrant the price increase. They claim cost of living… what a joke. They are unprofessional, yet feed you lip service that they want to change your perception of how unprofessional they are. If you have a bad taste in your mouth about a company and their less than luster services… follow your instinct… I will never use these people again to bury my loved ones. The only thing they provided was UNDUE STRESS! This is a small town and this company is nothing like it once was. NEVER AGAIN!