W. M. Smith-McNeal Funeral Homes & Chapels

“This business demonstrated extremely callous services during the funeral services of my Dad. I made the decision to not be strong armed by McNeal but to move my Dad’s body to Fielding Home fir Funerals. I was extremely satisfied with Fielding’s funeral services, they treated my Father’s body and me with respect. My Dad passed away on 12/15/20. I was referred on McNeal funeral home by a family member. I called initially, explained my Dad’s passing, and asked several questions about the funeral process in securing his funeral home to lay my Dad to rest. The owner, Bryan McNeal, was very focused on picking my Dad’s body up. He kept asking my for the location and permission to pick his body up. I was adamant that I did not want his son to pick up my Dad’s body until I was clear on the financial responsibilities and the process. Part of this process is how payment is received and the cost. I was very straightforward and asked for a sit down or a virtual meeting to go over the details. The owner explained that the average funeral costs ranged between $8500 to $9000. He also asked if my Dad had a policy- to which I answered “yes.” He further explained that I would just need to make the choices for my Dad, such as newspaper announcement, service date and times, and the costs for the service would be deducted from the policy. He informed me that we could meet the next day ,Wednesday, to finalize all the specifics. I wish that I had clued in to his aggressiveness at that time and ended the call, but in my grieving state, I did not. I gave him the permission to proceed. On Wednesday, the owner cancelled our meeting and I was put in contact with the office staff. The woman in the office assured me we could still make plans - in the meantime. I proceeded to communicate my desires for the services. The walkthrough and services were scheduled for the following Monday and Tuesday. The office informed me that he was very busy with other funeral services and could not meet again. He would reschedule. I informed them that we would definitely need to meet to finalize, as my Dad’s services were next week. I told her that to move forward, we would HAVE to meet tomorrow. I had not even picked out a casket for my Dad. On Thursday @ 10:42, I received a text from the owner simply saying he could Zoom with me at 12 noon- that same day. He also -via text-asked me to pull up their general price list and look at the caskets. We finally met a little after 12 noon. I went through making all the final selections, and the remaining arrangements. In the casket choosing process, he tried to suggest high priced caskets to jack the price. He also tried to renege and say most funerals were about $9k without a casket. I selected the casket that was best for my Dad and my budget. At the end of this meeting, the owner asked about policy information. My Dad was a longtime longshoreman. I informed him, it was through the ILA. He told me that I would need to pay HALF of the total costs up front, and made some disparaging remarks about ILA. I told him that is not what he previously explained He told me that he did not have 4 weeks to wait for his money. He said I could postpone the services because he needed his money. At this point, I am angry at the way he is doing business. He tells me that he will call his son, asks me if I can pay at least 1k. I tell him, “ No.” He tells me he will call his son and call me back. This was after 1pm. He didn’t call me back, I called around 6. He didn’t answer, but texted me to say he had taken pain medicine and would call me at 10am on Friday. The next morning came and no call. Enough was enough for me! I was able to connect with Mark Fielding of Fielding Home for Funerals. It turned out he was a friend of my Dad! Fielding honored the same date and time of my Dad’s original walkthrough and services. Their chapel and caskets were way nicer that McNeal’s and they stuck to their word! Also, when Fielding went to pick up my Dad’s body from McNeal- they would not release him without a check.”

— Mrs. Pratt

“Wonderful experience very professional work and positive attitudes several family members funerals were handled here very happy with work.”

— Angela Fields

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— Felisa Grant McDavid