Celebrating 50 Years
First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone who has supported the company to celebrate 50 years since the formulation.
The company started off in 1964, the same year as the Tokyo Olympic Games, as a mutual aid institution in Saitama, with former Warabi mayor and prefectural council Mr. Shojiro Takahashi as President of the Board, prefectural council Mr. Minji Hosono as Chair, and Kawaguchi mayor Mr. Motoyoshi Ohno as councilor, along with the cooperation of various local governments. The name was then changed to Saitama Kankon Sosai Center, and spawned myriad ceremonial facilities under the "Heiankaku" brand. Under the mission statement of "Creating Great Security and Integrity", the company renamed itself "Ceremony" in 1979.
I was appointed president 15 years ago, when the company had bright staff, but not a signature product concept.
Ceremonial events are a milestone in ones' life and as a service business, I aspired on providing the ultimate customer service.
In order to realize this, I set up three concepts:
One: Employee education. I congregated our veteran employees and created a work manual based on their individual skills in order for our entire staff to be on the same page. In other words, the evolution from a funeral home to an overall ceremonial company.
Two: Realignment and addition of directly-operated funeral homes. In order to achieve customer satisfaction, location and facilities were of the utmost importance.
Starting off with the 1998 Koshigaya Hall, Naka Urawa, Kawaguchi, Omiya, Yono, Ageo, Kawagoe, Musashi Urawa, Komaba, Iwatsuki, Kasukabe, Nishi Kawaguchi, Sayamagaoka, Yanagibashi, Itabashi, Onari, Koshigaya East Exit funeral homes were newly built based on the interior and facilities of top-class hotels, restaurants, commercial buildings, and museums all over the world.
Three: New developments in public relations, realizing the importance of getting our message across to our customers. Establishing actor Morio Kazama as the corporate image character with the catchphrase "Choose your memorial services", we clarified the pricing structure, offered complimentary quotes in advance, and provided information on facilities and services.
On this day of our 50th anniversary, we are proud to say that the work has paid off, where we are highly regarded for the services which we provide, thanks to your support.
We construe that the 50 years is the starting point for another half-century of opportunities, where we will continue to place efforts on employee education, facility upgrades, and adaptation to changing customer needs, in order to provide ultimate customer service.
Thank you.
Autumn, 2015
Ceremony Co.
Saitama Kankon Sosai Center Co.
President Tsukasa Shiga
