A local funeral director is among 100 in the U.S. to earn the J.D. Power Circle of Excellence Award for Commitment to Service Excellence.
Don Robertson, of Collins-McKee-Stone Funeral Homes, earned the award for the service he provided to families in 2022. He explained the 2023 awards will not be presented until later this year.
Awards are based on the results of surveys completed by families that are served between January and December, Robertson said.
Power conducts the surveys for the funeral homes, Robertson said. “They give us feedback from the families we serve. If it’s anything negative, I get that too.”
He added that in those rare cases, “if there is something negative, I can address that with the family after seeing the survey, and get that corrected. It’s been very few times I get anything negative. Most of the surveys I get are perfect scores, which is 1,000s.”
Considering there are thousands of funeral directors in the United States vying for the distinction, “this was quite an honor for me. I’m a senior so any pat on the back is well taken,” Robertson, 77, said.
He added that in addition to the certificate, he received a plaque and a “class ring with diamonds in it.”
But he was quick to add that the award signals that he is providing the best service possible to the families he serves – and the satisfaction of those families is paramount.
“Over the years, I have waited on thousands of families during the worst times in their lives,” Robertson said. In addition, the process is “as smoothly as possible,” Robertson also provides a sympathetic shoulder, “a listening ear, and I’ll do anything I can to help them get through a tough time. It’s the satisfaction to me to make sure it I do everything I can to make sure a family is satisfied with every area of a funeral experience.”
Robertson serves families in Henry County as well as families in some areas of Patrick County that “are not too far from where we’re located in Bassett.
“The eastern part of Patrick County, Patrick Springs and” other areas, are often served by the Bassett location, he said, and explained that other Patrick communities may be served by the Martinsville location.
“Then of course, there’s my experience of being a funeral director. Next month, I will celebrate 51 years of being a licensed funeral director,” Robertson said, and explained that he started his career in Danville. He lost his first wife in 2014, and retired from his career in Danville at the age of 66.
“I was then contacted by McKee looking for a part-time funeral director,” he said, adding the post quickly became full-time, and in 2015, “I moved here to Collinsville from Pittsylvania County. Since then, I met my wife, Gloria. I married a Henry County girl.”
While he appreciates the recent award, “my reward is from the people that I serve,” Robertson said. “It’s not a monetary reward” that he seeks, but the knowledge and satisfaction “that I’m doing my job, going
above and beyond for the families I serve.”
Recently ordained as a deacon at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Horsepasture, Robertson said that after “all these years of working, I guess this came to me at a good time in my life. Of course, I love for families to tell me they were pleased with things, but this survey comes within a month” after the funeral, “so the family has time to chance to sit and think about situations. It’s after the fact” and not in the immediate throes of an emotional upheaval.
Receiving the award “is nice. It lets us know what we’re doing right and lets us know what we’re doing wrong,” Robertson said. “And we’re graded not only on the director; this is about the whole funeral home, including support staff. But I was the funeral director that waited on family, the funeral director with them throughout, and the funeral director with them through burial or cremation.”
Serving as a funeral director “is my ministry. I’ve enjoyed my occupation. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, and my dedication is to the families,” Robertson said. “If its anything I can do for them, anything possible, I’m going to do it. End of story.”
