The last few months I have been approached by many people coming to our showroom telling me that most other tombstone companies that have given them quotations on tombstones but they only found out at a later stage that the price that was given to them was not inclusive and the price of the memorial increased drastically.
The tombstone industry in South Africa is thriving, and where there are many reputable companies there are unfortunately, as in any industry, there are fly-by-nights. This post is to assist the you in making the most informed decision when selecting a tombstone for your loved ones.
What do I mean by All Inclusive?
When purchasing a tombstone from us, ALL our prices on ALL our ranges, including our Sales or Specials include the following:
- Vat
- Installation in the Johannesburg Area
- Wording and graphics - NO RESTRICTION, you may have as many words as you like on the tombstone.
- free colour unveiling invitations custom made to your specifications
- Free remembrance notice posted on www.southafricanfunerals.co.za
- We also offer a free design service for tombstones, as well as mock-ups of the wording for the tombstone before we engrave for you, so you can make sure that we are creating the vision you have for the memorial.
Many companies will include vat, but sometimes they will not include installation in the price. You need to ask them if it includes installation in the area that the cemetery is in.
Avery important aspect is engraving or the wording for the tombstones. Most companies will offer you between 80 - 100 words in the price that they give you. They will then charge you anywhere between R2.50 to R8.00 per LETTER after this. If you want any graphics such as roses, praying hands etc they will also undoubtedly charge you extra for this.
Here at Forget me not Tombstones we offer you unlimited amount of words and graphics. If we do not have the graphic you are looking for, we will source it and place the design that you like on the tombstone. we do this free of charge. So you dont have to worry about cutting out wording that you want to place on the memorial for your loved one, but you can say everything that you want to, with no worry about the additional cost.
Other companies might offer you free unveiling cards, but you need to ask what type they are offering you. The invitations might be a blank card that you fill out yourself or a standard invitation. Everyone wants something special for the unveiling and we provide this. Our invitations are made in a variety of colours, beautiful graphics, loving wording and are made to your specification.
We go one step further, and offer you a free posting of your unveiling or remembrance notice on our partners website - South African Funerals. Just another service we are offering to assist you in the whole process of purchasing a memorial.
A Word on Granite Grades
This is a little known fact that many consumers are not aware of, but there are 3 types of granite grades.
The grades are used to grade the granite's quality, this is usually done by the number of imperfections in the stone, the degree and amount of any fissures, cracks and points of weakness.
The three grades are:
- 1st grade granite - export quality, the highest quality available on the market
- 2nd grade granite - Has a degree of imperfections, fissures, cracks and/or points of weakness
- 3rd grade granite - Has a large degree of imperfections, fissures, cracks and/or points of weakness.
What about a Guarantee?
You need to make sure that the company that you purchase a memorial from, has a good track record, has been in business for a number of years and is known for their quality and service.
We offer 25 years guarantee on ALL our tombstones. We have been in business for 11 years this year, we have an excellent track record. We have been nominated for small business of the year award from radio 702 and pastel in 2011, we were interviewed for being a successful business on "The Big Small Business Show" on summit tv. We have also done tombstones for many significant South Africans, and have a large celebrity and govermental client base.
A first in South Africa
Forget me not Tombstones takes our guarantee one step further - we will fix the tombstones and reinstall it if the tombstone EVER subsides, due to weather or elements. After many years in the business, we have learnt that cemeteries have different soil, and some are more prone to water damage than others. Here at Forget me not we realise that this is is a factor completely out of your control and can be very upsetting, and other companies can charge a small fortune to reinstall the memorial. If this ever happened to you, all you have to do is phone us, log in a repair for the tombstone, and we will fix the subsided tombstone - no hassle, no stress - no problem.
Additional Services
You are probably asking yourself how could there possibly be more that we could offer? the answer is YES.
If you do not see a tombstone that you like in all our ranges, email us a sketch or a photograph and we will provide you with a quote. If you only have an idea or a vision we will work with you in our tombstone design studio and come up with a unique memorial that suits all your requirements. Again this is a FREE service.
We also offer a wide range of resource tools, such as inspirational wording on our website, which is updated regularly, we source the latest wording and we search the internet for the best and most beautiful words.
We also have a noticeboard, where you can learn on how to acquire a permit from the cemetery, contact numbers for cemeteries, any news that has been launched in the tombstone industry and municipalities that relate to cemeteries. Support group information is also available, in order for you to connect with people who are experiencing similar emotion to what you are going through.
Closing Thought
We at Forget me not Tombstones, pride ourselves in being open and honest with our clients, and that is why I have written this article in order to assist you in making an informed decision.
We pride ourselves in offering affordable tombstones and memorials, however there might be places that offer cheaper tombstones than us, however i can almost guarantee you that they do not include all the services we offer in the price. They also do not have the track record than us, been in business for as long as we have and offer high quality tombstones with outstanding service not only during the selection of the tombstone and the installation but aftercare service.
In a nutshell we offer peace of mind - today and tomorrow.\
I sincerely hope that this has been of assitance, if you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact me.
thank you for taking time to read this.
Blessings and Light
Tasch
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