Stephanie Z.
Yelp
One piece of advice that I have started giving everyone is to plan ahead - one thing everyone can count on is death. Luckily, my family had the means to pay everything upfront; some do not. Greenwood was the first cemetery I called. A spot a few feet from my aunt was available, this was the selling point for my father. Here is where it gets tricky, you are dealing with multiple people at once, you have the person that is in charge of the selling you the burial spot (Julian), then the funeral director (Francisco), lastly you'll have the person in charge of the service (I forgot your name, you got the job done, thanks) if you don't preplan, Greenwood allows you up to 48 hours before the service to pay in full. Note: starting prices for an interment alone is $19k, that's not including absolutely anything, other than the space where you will be buried - up to 2 "whole bodies" and an additional fee for extra, but must be cremated. Note, that every time it is "opened and closed" it's an additional fee of approximately $1,7k. Basic headstone price it starts at $4k, once again basic, just names. It will take approximately 3-4 months to receive, because it is made in China. By the time you think you're done, you're looking at a total of around $34k. The day of the funeral, grass wasn't placed on my mother's grave. Flowers from the service covered the dirt, so it didn't look that bad. Note my mother's funeral was on 07/02. Once we had my mother's service, we actually believed she would be getting grass soon, we were so wrong. Time went by and my family and I visited often, we kept getting directed to speak to the advisor that helped us (Julian). I honestly feel bad for Julian, he's eager to help, but his help doesn't get you anywhere, so ask for a supervisor and threaten legal action. My father paid everything upfront, therefore he expected Greenwood to be professional and to uphold what they promised and for them to plant fresh grass. Nothing happened. Multiple phone calls, and multiple texts, and in person conversations and no grass. Every time it was "oh by this week." "No later than this week." "It should be done soon, a work order was placed." They gave us the go around every time, it wasn't until my father said he would be pursuing legal action against Greenwood that Ms. Dayana Moncada Flores promised my father that she would have it done by Monday 07/29, 27 days after the funeral. She kept her word, BUT she notified my father via phone call that old grass was placed, because no fresh grass was available. Everyone in the family was infuriated. My dad requested the old grass to be removed, no one wants their loved one disrespected in such way. Finally my mother received her fresh grass on 07/30, 28 days later. I personally visit everyday at different times of the day. I have NEVER seen the sprinklers on my mother's side turned on, I have never seen anything getting watered EVER. Remember when signing your contract, everything is broken down. How my advisor worded it "it's like paying HOA fees".Greenwoods HOA fee is a joke. It's $1,5k for maintenance alone. Maintenance that isn't done. My father is an entrepreneur, businessman, restaurateur, and a professional agriculturalist. Therefore he is highly versed in this field. My father showed up everyday that finally led up to the grass being placed. He watered my mother's soil to keep it fresh and moist, set fertilizer, and even added vitamins and nutrients as well as eggshells and coffee grounds to make sure the new grass would grow beautifully. I purchased the section right next to my mother and where my father will be, my father and I have been doing more maintenance than what the gardeners at Greenwood do. If it weren't for the multiple families that visit their loved ones and water their own grass, their loved ones would have abandoned, dead and yellowing grass, like most areas of the cemetery do. Here is an extremely important note for all those to wish to do business with Greenwood, PLEASE read your contract thoroughly. I purchased my spot next to my mother, I am now considering asking for a refund and not dealing with the hassle of dealing with the staff there. I went to visit my mother's resting place today and the grass was cut by probably somebody's 5 year old kid with dull scissors. When I called the receptionist Ariana answered and I was advised to wait after 5pm to set my mother's decorations back up, because that's when the gardeners go home. When I asked for a watering schedule she said "that is a really good question.",she put me on hold and said there's no schedule. Grass is watered depending on factors, when I asked what factors, she said like when the grass is cut, so let's assume it's once a month, that means the grass is only watered once a month. If there is 50 people (we all know there's more) buried in the same section and they all paid $1,5k in maintenance each that's $75k in maintenance, who's pocketing all that money?
