Call protocol
Funeral home first call script: when a family calls
Short answer
When a family calls your funeral home after a death, the 100% AI receptionist’s first job is to get them to your on-call director. It answers calmly, says gently that it’s an AI assistant, offers condolences once and asks only what the director needs first: who has died, where they are, and whether a hospice nurse or doctor is with them. Then it puts the call through. If the director can’t answer, it takes a few details and alerts them right away, and you get a summary of the call.
This funeral home first call script is the protocol we start from. You choose every word, and nothing goes live until you approve it.
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Example call: a father who died at home, under hospice
A father who died at home, under hospice
- AI
- Brennan and Grant Funeral Home. This is the AI assistant. How can I help you?
- Caller
- My father just passed away. At home.
- AI
- I’m so sorry for your loss. May I ask his name, and if hospice is involved?
- Caller
- Robert Lopez. Yes, the hospice nurse is here.
- AI
- Thank you. May I have your name and a number, in case we get cut off?
- Caller
- Elena Lopez, 555-0109.
- AI
- Thank you, Elena. I’m connecting you with our director now.
Summary sent to you
- First call
- Robert Lopez, died at home, hospice nurse present.
- Caller
- Elena Lopez, daughter, 555-0109.
- Done
- transferred to the on-call director. No arrival time given.
The script, step by step
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Answer calmly
Your name, that the caller is speaking with an AI assistant, and an open door. No menu, no hurry.
The AI says: “Brennan and Grant Funeral Home. This is the AI assistant. How can I help you?”
-
Family or facility?
Many first calls come from a hospice nurse, a care facility or a hospital, calling as part of their work. From the first answer, it knows whether it’s speaking with a family member or with staff. For staff it skips the condolence line, takes the facility, the name of the person who has died and a contact number, and puts the call through the same way.
The AI says: “May I ask who I’m speaking with, and who you’re calling about?”
-
Condolences, once
For a family member: one short, sincere line. Then it moves on, because the family wants help, not a speech.
The AI says: “I’m so sorry for your loss. I’ll get you to our director.”
-
Who, where, and who is with them
The name of the person who has died, where they are now, and whether a hospice nurse or a doctor is involved. If the caller says 911, police or paramedics are already there, it skips the next step.
The AI says: “May I ask your loved one’s name, where they are now, and whether a hospice nurse or a doctor is with you?”
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The line for an unexpected death at home
If the death was at home, unexpected, and no hospice nurse or doctor is involved, it asks for the caller’s name and number in one question, then reads your funeral home’s line, usually to hang up and call 911 first, and alerts your director. It doesn’t explain what happens next. If at any point the caller isn’t sure the person has died, it reads that line at once, before anything else.
The AI says: “If this was unexpected and no hospice or doctor is involved, please hang up and call 911 first. We’ll be here when you’re ready.”
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Put the call through, or alert the director
The call goes to your on-call director, with a one-sentence heads-up so they pick up knowing the name and the place. If the director and the backup can’t answer, it takes the caller’s name, relationship and number, repeats the number back and tells them it’s alerting the director right now. It doesn’t guess when the director will call.
The AI says: “I’m alerting our director right now so they can call you. May I have the best number to reach you?”
When it puts the call through
For a funeral home, these are the rules we start from. Yours replace them.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| A family calling about a death, any hour | Put through to the on-call director |
| A hospice, hospital or care facility calling | Put through to the on-call director; details taken if they can’t answer |
| Director doesn’t answer | Backup director tried, then details taken and emailed at once |
| Unexpected death at home with no hospice or doctor, or the caller isn’t sure the person has died | Your 911 line first; director alerted |
| A family asking about arrangements already made | Message for the arranging director, or put through |
| Questions about prices | Read from your price list, or a director calls back, as you’ve set up |
| Service times, directions, flowers | Answered from your protocol |
What it never says on this call
- Anything about the cause or circumstances of the death.
- Sales language, package names or “while you’re on the phone…”
- A time when the director or your team will arrive, unless you approved it.
- A request for the caller’s name or number as a condition for giving a price.
- Trade words with the family, such as “removal.” Those stay in your summary.
What you decide
- Every word the family hears: the greeting, the condolence line, how your director is introduced, and whether the assistant gives a name or simply says it’s the AI assistant.
- Who’s on call each night and weekend, and the backup.
- Your line for an unexpected death at home, in the words your home uses.
- Prices: whether it reads your price list when asked, or a director calls back.
- What it answers on its own: service times, directions, where to send flowers.
- Spanish: families can speak Spanish with the AI on the same line (how a Spanish-speaking caller is handled).
We write it with you, and you approve it.
Why this protocol works
Our call protocols come from nearly two decades of running phone reception for small businesses, and first calls are the ones where tone matters most. The protocol is short on purpose. It knows when to hand over: a family calling about a death reaches a director, not a form. It never promises what you don’t: no arrival times, no prices beyond your list. The rest of the method is on our method, and how the director is introduced before the call connects is on call transfer.
Questions funeral directors ask
Will families be upset that an AI answers?
Families mind waiting, a voicemail beep or being asked too much. The AI says plainly it’s an assistant, keeps its words few and gets them to your director quickly. You hear every call afterward, so you can judge the tone yourself and change any line.
Can it handle the first call without a director?
It can take the details your director needs, but we don’t recommend it as your default. A family should reach a person who can make decisions. Your protocol puts the call through first, and only takes details when the director and the backup can’t answer.
What about callers who ask for prices?
Under the FTC’s Funeral Rule, a funeral home asked about prices by phone has to answer with accurate information from its price lists, and can’t make the caller give a name or number first. Your protocol follows what you’ve set up to meet that: a price list the AI reads as written, or a director who calls back.
Does it answer death calls at night and on weekends?
Yes, every hour of every day: funeral home after-hours calls follow the same protocol and your on-call schedule. If you’d rather your staff take calls during the day and the AI cover nights, that works too; see the after hours answering service.
Put this protocol on your funeral home’s line
Tell us how your home handles a first call, who’s on call and the words you want families to hear. Setup is free, and you approve every line before your number is forwarded. Plans are on pricing; other protocols are in the call protocol library.
Free setup · No contract · Cancel anytime