An appointment had been made at the Hulse, Playfair, and McGarry West Chapel following the death of my father. There was a very lengthy wait, before being greeted by their designated "Funeral Preplanning Counsellor", Anna Silverman, who we soon discovered was essentially a "funeral salesperson", under a different title. In fact, various online funeral websites describe a "Funeral pre-planning counsellor" as "a salesperson" in which "their role involves arranging and selling funeral and cemetery products and services to individuals and families". Therefore, your description/title assigned to Anna would be akin to describing a McDonald's sales associate/clerk as a "nutritional advisor". At no time did Anna provide any semblance of care, concern, counselling, or compassion. Anna began by briefly explaining the funeral process and suggested numerous potential services, all at exorbitant additional costs. For example, she had suggested that we would want to have the funeral service recorded and livestreamed, at an additional cost of $350 (which ended up being $375) for those unable to attend the service. [Incidentally, at no time did Anna ever request my contact information, nor was she ever interested in obtaining this information. However, I did provide this to her, at my insistence. Perhaps it is due to this obvious disregard for my involvement, as one of three siblings, that she neglected to send me the livestream video link for my family members (including my daughter) and other mourners, as little as 24 hours prior to the funeral service. I had to call and write in order to obtain this information, which was eventually provided by Mr. Moss (Manager).] Round candles were also to be provided at a cost of $55 each, along with many other suggested extras by this eager salesperson, who seemed more intent on making greater commission by promoting unnecessary services and products, rather than consoling and assisting us. There were so many add-ons recommended, pulling at our heart strings, that I thought this sales pitch would never end. Within minutes of sitting down to meet with her, Anna escorted us to the casket room. I informed her, as per tradition, that we wanted "a simple pine box" for our loved one, of which Anna should be aware as the expert, "The tradition of using a plain pine box for Jewish funerals is rooted in Jewish beliefs and customs. It symbolizes equality in death, as all people are equal in the eyes of God. The pine box is made entirely of wood with no metal components and is designed to decompose naturally, allowing the body to return to the earth. The use of a pine box is not only a matter of tradition but also a reflection of the Jewish value system, which emphasizes simplicity and equality." Instead of respecting and adhering to this tradition, Anna, for the sake of increased commission, took us over to view veneer or solid poplar and oak caskets that started at almost $3000 and increased in price to over $5000. I was thinking and stated at that moment, that I wish I had made my own casket as a tribute to my loved one, to which Anna quickly quipped "I doubt that you could do that", or had ordered overnight delivery from Costco (mentioned by my sister) or Amazon for similar caskets for less than $1000, which I later confirmed was a realistic option. Furthermore, I specifically asked Anna, as both me and my sister on the phone wished our father to have a "simple pine box", but she stated that these (pointing to the four fancier caskets), were the only available options for a Jewish funeral. Again, I asked, with my sister, "so you do not offer a simpler option that includes a plain pine box?" to which she immediately emphatically responded: "No". I later learned from Mr. Carchidi (GM), that there had, in fact, been other simpler and less costly options available that Anna intentionally neglected to show to us, in spite of our repeated requests and obvious disappointment. Anna placed funeral home literature in front of us, suggesting the best packages and add-ons, and within minutes, we were clearly going to be exceeding $10,000 for our simple tribute to our loved one. This was clearly a cash grab. I expressed concern about the costs and what was or was not required, to which Anna repeatedly explained that "of course, you will want to honour your father with only the best", and other similar statements, guilting us into providing an exceptional service to memorialize and honour the memory of our father, and for the sake of the mourners. The entire process felt like a very disorganized but targetted sales presentation. I was still in the building over five minutes later, when Anna called down the stairs to inquire if I was still around. (continued in next review) read more

Just had a celebration of life at the St. Laurant location. Could not be happier with the staff and amenities. The directors were perfect, respectful, helpful and willing to assist in any tiny detail to make the event as perfect as possible. The arrangements were made 22 years ago. We went there when one grandparent passed 11 years ago. The past two week we were there for the other grandparent. Perhaps through serendipity we met with the original contract writer, Don Renault from 22 years ago! He could not have been more helpful or understanding. read more

This is one of those cases that I wished Yelp offered an option for ZERO STARS. My mother prepaid for a funeral service at the Woodroffe Chapel years before she passed away. She also prepaid for her burial at Pinecrest Cemetery. Both of these payments were mentioned in her will. When she passed away my brother and I went to HP&G to arrange the service. We were informed that they had no record of her payment. There was never the slightest suggestion that there may have been a clerical error of some point. Their rationale for it being mentioned in my mother's was that she wrote it in her will but due to her failing mind she forgot to follow-up with the payment and pre-arrangements. The fact that Pinecrest Cemetery had all the paperwork was further evidence that my mother had in fact prepaid, in good faith, for her funeral. I fought as hard as I could to get some sort of compensation. They were not even willing to give us a discount. The sad part is that I still used their funeral services because it wasn't a time to go around shopping for a funeral home. My mom had just died. I tried to get a copy of the cheque from the bank to prove that she prepaid, but because payment had been made more than 10 years previous to her passing, there was no longer a record of the cheque. So, my advice to anyone thinking about using this service is AVOID THIS COMPANY!!! If someone in your family has already prepaid ... GET YOUR MONEY BACK!! read more

I recently attended a Seminar at the St Laurent Chapel covering wills and executor duties after my father appointed me to be the executor of his will and estate It was a real eye-opener and I learned a ton - beyond what I could find in a google search. The staff helped each of us who attended through our individual cases when questions were asked. Highly recommend to anyone! read more

I am very thankful for the team at Hule Playfair & McGarry for being there in my time of need.