Herberger Family Elk Grove Funeral Chapel

“These guys are the real deal. I talked to many funeral homes, this group actually cared about us! He made it possible to bury my mom without regrets. They were kind, were not looking to get every dime out of us. They even did a special viewing we did not originally know we would request but really needed. No charge. If you want to speak to someone that is honest, warm and caring, come see Elk Grove Funeral Chapel. You will be glad you did. I called around, These guys were HONEST! unlike others I called. Seriously they care. God bless.”

— Cheyenne

“My mom past away back in January and I was referred to the Herberger Family Elk Grove Funeral Chapel. It was a horrible experience from the start. I was working with Douglas from the start. We met him in person to arrange my mom's funeral. I can tell he was in a hurry and sort of felt rushed throughout the conversation. My friend had told me that we would be able to pick the urn for my mom's ashes, however, Douglas didn't mention any urn. I had to ask if that is something we would get to choose and that's the only time he talked to us about it. But we still did not get to see any choices of urn. He suggested a popular one which we chose. It was a beautiful urn, otherwise. There was no follow-up call after that. On the day of the viewing, I was shocked how my mom looked so different! She did not look like her. There was also only one older person helping us. We were trying to turn on the background music but the person did not even know how to operate it their audio system. Fortunately, my family are tech savvy and were able to figure out their audio system. Few weeks after the funeral, I made a couple of phone calls to Douglas to discuss paperwork that I would need in order to transport my mom's ashes to another country. He told me the process is pretty laborious and will need to obtain 6-7 different letters/forms from different places (cremation certificate, mortuary certificate, non-contagion letter, authentication letter from county clerk, authentication letter from Secretary of State, Consular Mortuary Certificate) including the ones from the county where my mom passed away and those letters that would come from the funeral home. My friend, who had all those letters taken care of by Herberger funeral home was charged $100 for everything, this was year 2011. When I asked how much it would cost if they obtain all the paperwork for me, he was charging me a ridiculous amount of $600! I thought about it for a few weeks and asked how much it would cost if I obtain some of the letters and Herberger will obtain the others. He said their funeral home can obtain 3 of 6 letters and reduced the charge to $300! It's 3 letters for $300! I agreed as I did not think I have any choice since he mentioned 2 of those letters will be coming from Herberger funeral office anyway. He told me how to obtain the other letters. Since my mom passed away at another county, I needed to go to that county to request for 1 of the letters, which I did. I only paid $10 for a letter and took me no more than two weeks to obtain it via mail! Douglas told me it would take about a week to obtain the 3 letters that Herberger Funeral would take care of and that he will call me back when it's ready. Weeks had past and no call. I called a few times and left messages. When I came over to pick up, there were only 2 letters. I was told that I need to get the other letter at the city hall. I told them that it is not what Douglas and I had agreed to and told him that I had paid a ridiculous amount just for those 3 letters. He said he will pick it up from the city the next morning and would call me back. I had told him that I really hope I get a call because I always have to call to check on status or follow-up even if I was told I would be getting a call back. He promised me he will call back the next morning. And the next morning came, of course, no call again. The entire week had passed and still no call. In the end, Douglas told me that I had to get the 3rd letter from the other county and he reimbursed me $100 for the misinformation. I am very disappointed with Herberger Family Funeral as they don't follow through and does not keep their word. They overcharge and take advantage of the mourning families. A letter that I had obtained from a county office that cost $20 plus shipping cost $100 at Herberger. I understand that they may not have enough employees and the inflation factor etc. but I was able to obtain some of those letters via mail and it only cost me $10 or $20 while they charge $100 per letter! That is taking advantage!”

— Marie Chem M-U

“Avoid this place at all costs! My sister passed away on January 13th. It is now January 24th and our family has yet to have closure due to Douglas. Douglas would not return emails or phone calls. I had to find out from the coroner her body had been picked up and had arrived at Herberger. I stopped in with my sisters daughter to set up a date and time for the family could gather and say goodbye. He told us we had to wait several days for his embalmer to be present during our viewing. His embalmer?! We had made arrangements for my sister to be cremated. I was stunned. I confirmed he remembered she doesn't need embalming. His arrogant demeanor didn't care or even acknowledge his mistake. He stuck with his story that his embalmer had to be present during the viewing and we needed to wait a few days. (Meanwhile the family had all came to town and we had ordered beautiful flowers in honor of my sister) The family has left town at this point as it has been 12 days. I sent another email yesterday and asked again when I could say goodbye to her. Now the excuse I get is 2 weeks is too long! This place is awful. I will be reporting to the BBB as well. Do your loved ones a favor and avoid Douglas and this place.”

— Denise Floyd