Part 1

There's this contradictory pull within yourself — having to prepare for your grandmother to go, while she's still here with you. My grandmother was the one who brought me up, and when she passed, it wasn't easy for me. I was waiting for her to go, but at the same time, when I called the company, they responded so well. The first thing I felt was compassion. The second was — when both of those feelings come together, you don't feel overwhelmed.

Interviewer: What was your greatest fear when you were calling to enquire about a funeral service, before it even happened?

Joey: The greatest fear was not knowing how to handle my family. But when the Harmony team came, the first thing they did was settle my family — they're very, very good at that, because they know how to settle people's emotions. When emotions run high, it isn't easy to negotiate what to arrange for my grandmother, because everything they wanted was the best for her. They're really very good at settling people's emotions, and they're very compassionate about it.

Interviewer: How did you feel supported during this period by Harmony Funeral Care?

Joey: Besides the logistical side of things — my grandmother passed away at 4am in the morning, so I was thinking, will they even come at this hour? Surprisingly, they came within half an hour. But my grandmother was still with us, so when they arrived I felt like I'd wasted their time, because then they had to wait for so long before we could even discuss the funeral packages. They ended up waiting three hours for my grandmother to go, and they never asked for anything for the wait — they just waited patiently. And the thing that stood out to me most is that they always have tissue in their pocket. Every time someone started to cry, out came a tissue. They had everything covered — not just physically, but emotionally too.

Thank you for trusting in Harmony Funeral Care, your number one bereavement buddy.

Part 2

Interviewer: What happened during the funeral that you felt was the most meaningful?

Joey: One of the most meaningful moments for me during the funeral was when everybody was there, and all of them bowed to my grandmother. That was very meaningful for me, because they didn't know my grandmother. First and foremost, they were providing a service — and nowadays, when people provide a service, they just provide it. But not them.

Interviewer: What advice would you give to someone who is facing a loss right now?

Joey: The one thing that struck me the most when I lost my grandmother was Cindy. I remember Cindy calling me — "Hey Joey, have you prepared the clothes? Have you prepared this and that?" And thankfully, my phone rang and it was them again, and they were very fast to respond: "Okay, you cannot take this, you cannot take this — just do whatever you feel is most comfortable for your grandmother. That's all you need to do." I was comforted by those words. But the best part was after everything, I got a WhatsApp message — I received a video, and then the next thing was, "How are you guys doing after the funeral service?" I don't think a lot of funeral services do that, because once the service is done, it's just, okay, done — we have the next case, the next project to deal with. That's the thing that left the biggest impression on me of Harmony Funeral Care.

Interviewer: Why would you recommend Harmony Funeral Care?

Joey: They really place us as their priority. Whatever problem we had during the funeral, they solved it for us.

Harmony Funeral Care: Thank you so much for your time, and once again, thank you so much for placing your trust in us. It means a lot to us. For everyone who has placed their trust in Harmony Funeral Care to help arrange a farewell or funeral, we will make it a point to do it to the best of our human abilities. In another way, we are helping not just the deceased with their afterlife, but also the surviving family members — and at the end of the day, what matters is relationships and friendships.