WASHINGTON -- People who arranged a burial at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemetery gave an overall 96-percent satisfaction rating in the first comprehensive survey of next of kin and funeral directors.
Other findings showed 92 percent or more of the same users of a VA national cemetery agreed or strongly agreed the service was excellent, and 96 percent said the same about the cemetery's appearance.
The Survey of Satisfaction with National Cemeteries was administered by VA's National Cemetery Administration (NCA) in conjunction with Caliber Associates, a national survey organization based in Fairfax, Va. The survey was mailed to approximately 20,000 next of kin and 3,500 funeral directors concerning burials between July 2000 and March 2001. The response rate was 70 percent.
"The 1,460 employees of the National Cemetery Administration make sure that every day is Memorial Day by ensuring dignity and peace to our honored dead," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. "This survey confirms what we've always known: When it comes to honoring our heroes and showing compassion to their families, no one does it better than our national cemetery staff."
VA's Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Robin L. Higgins said the survey was taken to gather data that will be useful to cemetery directors and to the NCA for planning its goals and measuring service. VA oversees 120 national cemeteries in the United States and Puerto Rico, 87 of which can accommodate full-casket or cremation burials.
The survey was conducted from July to September 2001. Questions covered overall satisfaction; information and communications; committal services; headstones or markers; and maintenance, appearance and visitor accommodations. The survey was sent to next of kin who had interred a loved one between three and 12 months before the start of the survey.
VA plans to conduct this same survey annually, starting in summer 2002, to monitor customer satisfaction and guide improvements at each cemetery. "With this performance measurement tool, we'll be able to find and replicate our strengths and improve even more in isolated areas of weakness," Higgins said.
Early in 2001, in a survey conducted by the University of Michigan called the American Customer Satisfaction Index, VA national cemeteries scored among the highest of more than 60 federal programs, averaging 93 out of 100 points. The survey was national and did not rate individual cemeteries.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, VA web sites on the Internet at http://www.va.gov or http://www.cem.va.gov, or by calling VA regional offices toll-free on 1-800-827-1000.
