No response from Doves to mother’s plea for better service to mourners
Despite an undertaking that comment will be provided, none was received at the time of publishing.
Express made several attempts to obtain comment from Doves.
The inquiry requested Doves to comment on the various concerns raised by Bayman, her request to the funeral service to review company policies and procedures to improve service delivery and whether Doves adheres to a code of conduct and, if so, provide a copy of its code.
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Doves was also questioned whether it is a member of any industry regulator.
The first inquiry was sent to the branch manager at Kempton Park Doves on July 14, as well as to Samantha Davey, Doves regional franchise manager for Gauteng Central, on July 15.
The Kempton Park branch manager stated Davey will deal with the inquiry. At the request of Davey and Bayman, Express attended a Zoom meeting on July 24 with Davey, Ann Bayman, Carol Simpson and Bayman’s brother, Alan Mallinick. Davey undertook to provide written comment to Express in response to Bayman’s concerns.
Follow-up emails were again sent to Davey on July 29 and August 5 and the inquiry was then referred to operational branch manager Donivon Esterhuizen who, although sent comment on behalf of Doves, recalled the comment by the morning of August 12, the final date for comment.
The recall was confirmed by Davey and despite an undertaking that comment will be provided, none was received at the time of going to print.
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Safpa
The South African Funeral Practitioners Association (Safpa) told Express Doves is a member of its association.
“The association has built its reputation on assisting, coaching and supporting inexperienced, existing and aspiring funeral undertakers and its owners towards well-functioning businesses being part of Safpa,” the association’s website states.
“We work hard within the profession to promote best practice and protect the interests of our members and their local communities. Along with representing the views of our members at a national and local level, we also provide training and education programmes to ensure they continue to meet the highest of standards,” the association declares.
The association stated it was unable to share its code of ethics with a non-member of Safpa.
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Commenting on complaints against Safpa members, Safpa deputy president Ndabe Ngcobo said an aggrieved party can lodge a formal complaint with the secretariat of the association.
“The matter will be dealt with internally, giving all the involved parties a fair hearing and our disciplinary committee led by the deputy president,” said Ngcobo.
He said complaints about association members can be sent to ganiyanga2@gmail.com
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