The monument/headstone industry is a unique field to work in, with different expectations and responsibilities from more conventional industries. I am reminded of these responsibilities almost weekly as I visit with friends, acquaintances and even family when they ask that ever so common fluff question of, “Well, how’s business?” When this question pops up, I have to balance my answer knowing that our customers give us their business during very difficult times in our lives. Just this past weekend I was visiting with an old friend and he asked me how business was. When I told him things are good, we are steady, he paused and said, “Well, is that a good thing?” This kind of interaction happens all the time with all of our team and franchises at Sterling Monument, and we use that question to explain why we have dedicated our lives to this industry.
Our mission at Sterling Monument company is to connect generations by telling unique stories through memorialization. We take great pride and are always trying to improve our business model so that families that interact with us at any of our six locations across the state of Texas (Abilene, Brownwood, Crystal City, Eastland, Granbury, & The Woodlands) are greeted by a warm, modern & intentional atmosphere and sales staff. We believe that when families are looking to buy a memorial for themselves or a loved one that their experience should be genuine and authentic, just like the person(s) whose story they are telling.
Often times people feel like it’s a bad thing when we (Sterling Monument) get the opportunity to serve a family in our community, but I want all who read this article to know our hearts when it comes to how we serve these families. We are never hopeful, excited or glad when someone in our community passes away. These are our people too! We love our communities and all the people we are sharing this life with. In fact, that’s why we do what we do! There are many monument companies and big corporation funeral homes and cemeteries that see death as only profits and financial gains. We see a need! We see a need to be there for our people. We see a need to connect generations. We see a need to give that final gift to a loved one. And we are your local company that wants to walk with you through that purchase.
A monument can be bought just about anywhere in this digital age. Heck, even Amazon sells monuments now (but, they don’t install them like we do!). However, through our 30 plus years of serving our communities in Texas, we feel confident that you will not have a more personal and real experience when that time comes for a monument purchase in your family. When you work with us, you will sit down with our staff and tell the story of your loved one, and we will work side by side with you to design the best monument to memorialize your loved one. The personalization of that experience is often a healing step in the grieving process that cannot be replicated through a quick purchase from an impersonal online reader.
Our locally owned and operated stores want to take care of you the way we want to be taken care of when the time comes for us to connect your future generations through memorialization. We expect every customer experience to be unique, and we take great pride in serving our communities by being a first-class experience from start to finish during what is often times a very difficult purchase. I tell people all the time, we are definitely not a perfect business, but we are proud of what we do, of the service and care that we provide to the families we support, and we take our responsibility to serve seriously at every step in the journey.