[ 00:00:13 ]All right, welcome in to the Behind the Bottom Line podcast. I’m Adam Hayes, joined to my left by my co-host, Bob Payton. And across the table from us today is Sarah Kendrick with Raya Services. Welcome in. Welcome.

 

[ 00:00:25 ]I’m happy to be here.

 

[ 00:00:26 ]Yeah. Tell us about Raya Services.

 

[ 00:00:29 ]Yeah, I’ll just jump right in. The service that I provide is, so you know how that there are things that you know that nobody else knows about your business or about your family? Well, that becomes a problem if you’re not there to do the things that you normally do. So I help people get that information out of their head and into a book. I’ve got a process where I guide people through thinking through what it all looks like and what information we need and getting it recorded. So that way we have what we need when life does its weird twists and turns. Yeah.

 

[ 00:01:02 ]Yeah. When life enacts its inevitability. Yes.

 

[ 00:01:07 ]Yeah. Yes. We like to say in our family that life keeps lifing. Oh, yeah. That’s a good one. I like that. Just keeps lifing at us.

 

[ 00:01:17 ]That’s a tagline right there. So I’m going to ask you a question that I only know to ask based on our previous conversation. But, you know, you got into this because of a direct experience. So talk about that. Yeah.

 

[ 00:01:29 ]I did, yeah. So I started the business in 2020, and I had left my previous career. And what was that? I was a music therapist for about 14 years.

 

[ 00:01:40 ]Oh, cool. Where at?

 

[ 00:01:42 ]I worked for a couple different companies in Indy, but the last 10 years I was at Opportunities for Positive Growth.

 

[ 00:01:47 ]Okay, yeah. I’m familiar with that.

 

[ 00:01:49 ]Okay, yeah. So I worked with people with developmental disabilities. A wonderful work, and I really enjoyed it. But also, it took a lot out of me to do that work. Oh, sure. Thank you. Rewarding and difficult. Sure.

 

[ 00:02:03 ]Well, I understand it takes a lot of energy. It does. It does. Yeah.

 

[ 00:02:07 ]And so when I left in January of 2020, so it, it’s. It was weird timing. I had, I didn’t know what I was going to be doing next. And so, I was just kind of open to new ideas. And I had read an article about a woman whose husband had passed away very suddenly. They were only in their 40s and he got a really late-stage cancer diagnosis and then he was gone in 30 days.

 

[ 00:02:30 ]Wow.

 

[ 00:02:31 ]Just an awful story, you know it just really touched me, but in that article part of what she talked about was how hard it was for her to manage what she called the business of death; sure, the making phone calls, the cancelling services, the should she get rid of the cell phone, yeah yeah um and so that was actually my original business idea was is there somebody providing that service of helping people move through that time um can I get that job because I just wanted it I never intended to start wanted a job. I wanted something simple but obviously that was meaningful. And so I started to research what that would look like. And then we actually lost both of my grandmas within about three months of each other in 2020. And so my family was my first test case. I was, that was not my intention. We didn’t know that that was going to be what happened that year. On top of all of the other things we didn’t know were going to happen that year. But seeing how I was able to help my own family really affirmed that I could do this for other families. And so I do still do that work. But what I do more of at this point is the pre-planning. Before it happens. What we found with, with my family and then with many, many others is we don’t have the information. We don’t have the answers we need. The person who had the answer isn’t here anymore. And now we have to figure it out. And that’s just on top of grieving the loss of someone having to figure out all those pieces. It’s just, it’s just too much. It’s too hard. And that’s, we can do better.

 

[ 00:04:08 ]Yeah. And I’m self-disclosure. I have a, I’m a client of Raya services. You’re not only a member, you’re a client. Correct. And I can tell you after going through that process, both for personal and business, which we’ll talk about in a second, it’s very enlightening. Even as the one that, you know, is taking the action to go do it. The questions you ask are just fascinating, right?

 

[ 00:04:34 ]Now, for our audience, this is different than an estate plan or a will plan. So talk to us about the difference where the gaps that you see are. Let’s talk specifics.

 

[ 00:04:46 ]Yes, very different. Wonderful companions, but they’re very different things. So, your typical estate plan includes a will, your power of attorney directives, you know, that sort of thing. This is not legal work that I do. I’m not an attorney.

 

[ 00:05:02 ]But there’s still gaps that you fill that are essential. Give a couple examples of those gaps.

 

[ 00:05:07 ]So, for example, you know, your will is going to say where your stuff should go, right? Like, it’s the basics. Here’s what I’ve got. Here’s where it should go. Here’s what should be done. But it doesn’t tell you the passwords for how to manage your bills. It doesn’t tell you how to feed the dog. It doesn’t tell you how to take care of your house or your loved ones if you’re a caregiver for someone. Your will’s not going to talk about that at all. It’s those day-to-day details that I help people focus a little bit more on. Yes, the end matters, but also just the how do we do the day-to-day stuff. So I like to share the example. There’s a question in the book. Let’s see if I can phrase it right. I’ve read it a million times. Very long pause. It’s okay. But you can cut it out.

 

[ 00:05:56 ]I know.

 

[ 00:05:57 ]So I was like, if I can just think about it for a minute, I’ll get it right. It’s just a very long pause. The basic gist of the question is, if you were unable to speak on your own behalf, what should your caregivers know about caring for you? So what do you need your environment to look like, basically? So you’re incapacitated in the hospital. You can’t speak to your own care. What can we do to make you more comfortable is the gist of the question.

 

[ 00:06:23 ]What a fantastic question. Yeah. Because all of us, well, most of us have an envisioning of what that should be and an expectation of what we want. And if you are incapacitated and unable to communicate it, I can understand how frustrating that might be. Yeah. Yeah.

 

[ 00:06:42 ]Well, and it’s, it’s. Yeah, I ask a lot of questions that I hope we never need the information for. That’s one of them is I hope that nobody ever needs this information. I never want you to be in a situation like that. But if you find yourself in that situation, how much better will it feel for your loved ones if they can provide you with, you know, I’ve heard everything from ‘I want a fan’ to ‘I don’t like being cold.’ I need extra blankets to ‘I hate wearing socks in bed.’ Make sure I’m not wearing socks to ‘I hate having unsocked feet in bed.’ This works so I encourage for the personal pre-planning that, you know, spouses do the work whenever possible together just because you know, things that I don’t know. I know things that you don’t know. We need to make sure those things are covered on both sides. And I was working with a couple. And I had asked them the question and given them the background information. So I always use the example. I’ve got asthma. I’m not great at breathing. So no flowers, no fragrances in my room. So I like to give examples to people, too, of like what other folks have said. And I shared that. And then I said, OK, so for you all, what would you what would you prefer for your environment? What is there? You know, what can we do for you? Which is a tough question, right? Like it’s a lot of people don’t exactly know, but they thought about it for a minute and the husband spoke up first and he said, you know, I would love to have the TV left on in the background. I would like to feel like I was a part of things and like have that. I don’t know if I could hear it or not, but I would just appreciate having that.

 

[ 00:08:08 ]Presence yes in the space and as soon as he finished his wife said please don’t leave the TV on in my room, I hate that so much better get some headphones, that’s right, and I just like and we all laughed about it but that’s it, that’s exactly why we should do it together right, it’s because yeah god forbid if something happens exactly why you need it because exactly you know if my preference is to have the TV on I might assume that off exactly then it was a disservice to her it was right and we can’t yeah we can’t know that though unless we have those conversations it doesn’t mean I don’t love her but if she’s not able to communicate she might think that right yeah she’s like oh great he’s torturing me.

 

[ 00:08:53 ]It’s really something to consider, though, isn’t it? I mean, again, we hope that nobody finds themselves in this situation.

 

[ 00:08:59 ]But they do.

 

[ 00:09:00 ]But they do. And sometimes people are like, yeah, I. One of the examples that somebody shared with me of something that they want is like, I don’t. Share all bad news out of the room. Everything in the room with me should be positive and encouraging. And, because I don’t know what I’m going to be able to hear, but you know, you have people who will have somebody come in, a doctor or a family member, and just talk about all this terrible stuff while a person, we assume they can’t hear. That’s not always true. No. And it’s just. Yes, let’s be a little more mindful of that like this is a person they’re still here with us right in some aspect. So how can we how can we serve that and that’s just Kind Of one of my favorite examples to share because I just think it’s so telling.

 

[ 00:09:45 ]It’s not always even death, right? No. It could just be a sickness. It could be. It could be a surgery that didn’t go well and you’re just stuck in the hospital, yeah. And you may be, I think in your case, maybe in a different location, yes. Right? I mean, if all of a sudden you travel to Phoenix, Arizona and you’re stuck, you can’t leave.

 

[ 00:10:05 ]Yeah.

 

[ 00:10:06 ]What’s your other half do? Right? I mean, it’s like, well, where is the checkbook? Right. Oh, where is the will? I don’t know.

 

[ 00:10:14 ]Am I a beneficiary on the brokerage account? I don’t know. Correct. Right. Yeah.

 

[ 00:10:19 ]Well, and do you have all your beneficiaries updated? Are they all complete? Like it’s all.

 

[ 00:10:23 ]Exactly. Yeah.

 

[ 00:10:23 ]There’s just a lot of details.

 

[ 00:10:25 ]Does that match your will? Yeah. Is it a match your estate plan? Correct.

 

[ 00:10:27 ]Yeah. Fun fact. If they differ, your beneficiaries that are listed will trump what’s in your will. Correct.

 

[ 00:10:33 ]Wow.

 

[ 00:10:33 ]So you got to make sure that those official beneficiary designations are correct.

 

[ 00:10:37 ]Right. That’s interesting to know. That you deal with and the reason I’m asking this because I want our audience to identify hey, this may be something that I want to do or need to do and want to do right because I know that I want to make sure that I have a plan in case something were to happen.

 

[ 00:10:54 ]Yeah, I think, again, it’s just those smaller details of things that I like to because I mean, people think about the broad strokes of like, yes, you’d need to know how to pay the bills, although we still don’t share our passwords with somebody else. Right. So like, yes, we do. But people understand the gist of that sort of thing. But I like to focus on the even smaller bits because it’s not what you would necessarily think about. You know, if I’m working with someone, I have dogs and so they are very important to me. I’m the main caregiver. I want to make sure that if something happened to me, my husband would know exactly what medications to give, how to take care of them, how much to feed them, how often. And if both of us were gone, then we need whoever’s going to step into that space to know exactly what to do to care for them as well as possible. Same thing for kids. I just don’t have those, so I don’t speak to kids.

 

[ 00:11:45 ]You do. They’re knowledge.

 

[ 00:11:47 ]They just have four legs. It’s great. Yeah, but that’s the kind of stuff that I encourage people to really think about. It’s like, okay, yes, um, we need to know for your human child, well, your dog child too, but surely do they have allergies? Do they have foods they need to equate? Do they have a schedule they need to stick to? What bus are they going to get on? Does the parent who’s the primary caregiver does the other parent know what school they’re at to go and pick them up.

 

[ 00:12:16 ]It sounds silly, but it’s true. Yeah. Yeah. And then obviously, you know, that’s the personal side. Yeah. There’s also the business side.

 

[ 00:12:24 ]Yes, there’s also the business side. And Bob knows this about my story. Most of what I’ve come up with, it’s because I found gaps in my own life. So the personal book came about because of, you know, what we experienced with my grandmother’s not being able to find this one particular life insurance policy information. It was older than I am, and it was wild. But then I had my own medical emergency in, I want to say it was 2022. That feels right.

 

[ 00:12:52 ]Sounds right, yeah.

 

[ 00:12:54 ]We had traveled to Nashville, Tennessee for my birthday, and I ended up having emergency surgery. It was the worst birthday ever. I would not recommend it; a terrible trip, but you know, I had a great view from my hospital room. So, um, yeah, it was, it was, uh, it was an eye-opening experience because by the time I got to the hospital, I was, I couldn’t speak on my own behalf. I was in so much pain. I didn’t even know what was happening around me. I was just like, ‘the medicine they’re giving me is not enough.’ That’s all. That’s all I know. Um, and if you know, it’s; We talk a lot about grief brain and stress brain, and how they don’t operate the same way because they just don’t. Your brain today, if something terrible happens tonight, is not going to operate the same way because you won’t have the same bandwidth that you have right now. It’s just one of those things. All of that, it was; again, just a really rough experience. I stayed several days in the hospital, obviously longer than I was planning on having our long weekend be. And my husband didn’t know how to access any of my business information. He didn’t know how to contact the clients that I had scheduled. He didn’t know how to contact the people I was supposed to have meetings with. His name wasn’t even on my business account. So, that’s a problem.

 

[ 00:14:15 ]Yes.

 

[ 00:14:16 ]So, from there, I developed the business pre-planning work. And now I have a book. But something that I encourage business people to do, this is just an extra fun tip. Don’t leave it for your spouse to do if you’re a solo, if you’re a small business owner. A lot of us think, oh, well, my so-and-so would manage things. But leaving it to them; if something happens to us, you know, I was in the hospital. My husband was also incredibly stressed out that weekend. I was in the hospital. He had had a car accident that had disabled our car that was down there with us. So his brother had to drive a car down. take the broken car back. We also had her dogs with us and he was trying to manage.

 

[ 00:15:02 ]Wow. All of it. Yeah.

 

[ 00:15:04 ]Wife and the, you know, wife in the hospital getting the different car, like just. He had no margin to deal with my business. We made it work. We got things sorted. He was in no, he should not have had to think about my business, right? Like I needed a better backup plan. So what I encourage people to do is have what I call a business executor. So kind of like you would have an executor for your will. If something happens to me, here’s who you get my information to, here’s who you get my business book to, they’ll take it from here. And for me, I have asked an estate attorney who I’m very close with, if she would be willing to serve in that function for me, because I do operate by confidentiality; to be somebody that my clients were really comfortable with. But there are a lot of loose ends. If I disappear or if something happens to me, even for my tiny business, there are a lot of loose ends that would need to be tied up with just getting people their information and making sure they had what they needed and that they also knew that I wasn’t going to be coming back to my business. And it would be a disservice for me to just leave that for him to manage in my absence; he’s already going to be dealing with enough. Yeah.

 

[ 00:16:18 ]Yeah. That makes sense. That’s awesome. So, what was the inspiration for Raya Services? The name.

 

[ 00:16:25 ]Yeah, it’s… It’s hard to name a business. That’s what I’ve learned. I’ve learned many, many things, but that was one of the first things: just how in the world do you name a business? And I thought about naming it after myself because that’s, you know, pretty straightforward. And it just didn’t quite feel right for me. And so I looked to, I looked to, you know, the gods and goddesses for inspiration because, you know, Nike and different, you know, I was like, there might be something there. And I was looking for a, someone who would represent like ease or comfort or, and the one that I came up with that made the most sense, it’s a little bit of a stretch, but was the Titan Rhea. She was known for being, representing ease for women in childbirth and different things like that. So I was like, well, we can probably work with that. But so then I was able to find the acronym of relief, healing, empathy, and advocacy to go along with it, which I just, that’s how I want to operate for people. And I think that’s really representative of the kind of thing that she exemplified. I mean, again, like just. Made up things, but you know, it’s just, it was the inspiration for me finding the words to fit with what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to provide that ease, that comfort for people, offering them that relief and healing by working with empathy and advocacy.

 

[ 00:17:50 ]Yeah, that’s awesome.

 

[ 00:17:51 ]Thank you.

 

[ 00:17:52 ]So what do you, what do you see happening in the next couple of years?

 

[ 00:17:56 ]I mean, who in the world even knows? As we said, life just keeps lifing. And so it’s a wild ride, isn’t it? At this point. I think I see things just getting a lot more steady for what I’m doing. That is my hope and my aim. I, when I started this process, I had zero books. I was like, there are books I can; I can just borrow books. No, I needed to; I had to create my own. So I do have three books at this point. I don’t foresee another one, but I mean, who knows? I did. So, I mean, we’ll just see. I do know that I want to redo the first book just because I’ve learned more and there’s more I want to add to it. So they’re going to be evolving, but. So you’ve got the personal; I do the personal, the small business and the caregiver book. Yeah. So in the caregiver book, it’s, it’s very exciting. It’s been really fun. And it kind of goes back to my music therapy work, I worked with people with developmental disabilities. This is a book geared towards the care of the long-term care of a loved one. So either, you know, a kiddo with special needs or an older person with dementia, if there’s somebody who needs that day-to-day caretaking of them in order to keep them well, We have to know what to do. We have to know what to feed them. We have to know who their therapists are. We have to know what their schedule is like and when they go to work and when they go to the day program. And it’s just, again, in most families, there’s typically one person who’s wearing that hat and providing that role. And if that one person is missing, a lot of stuff falls apart really quickly. Yeah, sure. Yeah.

 

[ 00:19:44 ]And so what does an engagement look like? Not from a cost perspective, but what a client would expect. So you say you have three books. What do they come away with? Do they come away with their own book and then that’s filled out? And then do you coordinate ongoing meetings with them on an annual basis or a biannual basis? How does that work? And kind of explain that.

 

[ 00:20:06 ]Yeah, it’s a great question. So I always start with a consultation just because people don’t understand what I do. That’s why you’re here. Unique thing. So there’s not this idea in their minds when I say what I do. They’re like, what’s this? So I always want to start with that conversation to help explain what it is that I do and learn a bit more about them and what they might need and if it’s a good fit. So we always start there. And then the personal and the business processes are really pretty similar in that I have a checklist of information that I provide to someone before their sessions. And it gives them the list of everything we’re going to talk about during that session. So then when we meet, and it’s all done virtually so that people can be in the comfort of their own home. And that way I can work with people across the country as well. But we do all of that virtually. And when we meet, I take them through the book-it’s a digital PDF. I do like to show people my printed version just so they can hold it. But it’s a digital PDF that I use with people because it’s able to be password protected and it’s a little bit more secure in keeping that information safe. I fill out the information for them, just for ease, for accountability, to streamline the process as much as possible. And then at the end of the process, I put that book on a flash drive. And either if they’re local, I’m happy to meet up and, you know, do the whole in-person thing, which is always fun. Or I can ship it by UPS so that we’ve got a tracking number to make sure that things are going where they’re supposed to go. And then as far as following up with people, from that point, they’ve got everything that they shared with me, nothing they didn’t want to, to share everything. That’s fine. But everything that they shared with me is now in the book. And from there, they can either keep it updated on their own. I do reach out to people on an annual basis and say, hey, it’s been a year. It’s time to update your book. What’s changed? Some people do choose to work with me again and help walk them through updating that information. Some people just have done it on their own. Because once you’ve done it, it’s not done. We can finish it once, but unless you die tomorrow, it needs to keep evolving. You need to keep updating it. I do encourage people to do that as often as possible. If you can get that foundation in place, people find it a lot easier to just keep things updated. Getting it all gathered together the first time is the hardest time.

 

[ 00:22:28 ]People move. Children are born. People pass away. Things happen. A business, I mean, just think in a year’s time how much changes, oh yeah!

 

[ 00:22:40 ]For sure, have you, have you considered or thought about you know making that and/ or storing that in an online repository that kind of is a living, breathing document area for you know, for folks to consider that, you know, and say, you know, you have a series of emails that go out on a continual basis that says, ‘Hey, it’s time to update your caretaker plan again. It’s been three months and we see you haven’t logged in. It’s time to log in and update it.’

 

[ 00:23:07 ]Yeah, I’ve thought about it and people have recommended it to me. But at this point, that’s just so text-heavy. It’s just beyond where I’ve had the knowledge and the budget really to figure out. It could be something. Maybe that could be something in the future. At this point, though, I’ve got to keep it pretty simple for my own purposes. But it’s a great idea because I love the idea that people could have access to that and we could share access to that. But at this point, I haven’t quite figured that out yet.

 

[ 00:23:43 ]would like to reach out to and connect with? Who are the valuable referrers for you? Is it estate and will planning attorneys?

 

[ 00:23:52 ]It is, yeah. Estate attorneys is a big one. Another one that I found that’s been a little bit more surprising, although it probably shouldn’t have been, is financial planners. So anybody who’s kind of in the business of helping people think about something beyond right now, it is helpful. I actually have a very small version of the work that I do that I provide in a workshop format. It’s a presentation and kind of there’s a small workbook that we go through in a space. And I’ve had financial planners schedule a lot of those with me. So that’s been really fun.

 

[ 00:24:30 ]And their clients. Yes.

 

[ 00:24:31 ]Yeah. It’s a value add for their clients. They’re providing this as an education opportunity for them. So, you know, anybody who is interested in having me come in to do something like that or as an employment benefit for their employees. I was, yeah, I was situated to do that for a 40-employee business at the end of last year. So, you know, it’s. Yeah. It’s, it’s, I mean, also just people, right? It’s also just, just, you know, if you’re starting to care for a loved one who’s getting older let’s talk about their information now because they can probably share their information with you now. Right.

 

[ 00:25:13 ]Sure.

 

[ 00:25:14 ]You know, will they be able to next year or next month or yeah. I mean, if, if you’re the person who’s kind of managing both ends of things, it’s. Yeah, a lot happens if you’re not there to balance everything.

 

[ 00:25:30 ]So let’s play with that last one. I mean, we talked about it a little bit before we started recording-was the Silver Tsunami, right? Just this massive wave of boomers who are now entering 65 plus, right? And do you see that same thing? Do you feel it in terms of the market? I mean, the reality is there’s just going to be a big wave of retirements and honestly deaths, which sounds awful, over the next two decades.

 

[ 00:25:57 ]Yeah. It’s interesting. When I first started my business, I really thought that older folks would be the target demographic for what I do. They are not.

 

[ 00:26:08 ]Interesting. Say more. Yeah, I was going to say, tell us about that.

 

[ 00:26:12 ]I know, you would think. And this is all just my best estimation. I think that it’s a little too close. And I think that sometimes they feel like, you’re documenting my demise type of thing.

 

[ 00:26:29 ]Yeah. Either that or it’s, you know, stuff that, you know, we as humans. Culturally or otherwise, haven’t been adapted to answering these questions right, yeah, right there’s which is a, which is why your service exists, right, yeah, there are definitely both pieces of it, it’s both.

 

[ 00:26:48 ]Well, I’m not going to share my information with you, a stranger, right. And then there’s also the part of no, I don’t want to talk about this because it’s a little bit too in-your-face, yeah. Um, and so what I’ve found is that people who respond most often to what I do Because again, they’re starting to care for the older folks. And they recognize that A, if I’m not there to care for them, everything falls apart. And then B, I need to figure out what they have because I’m going to have to be the one to manage it afterwards.

 

[ 00:27:22 ]Right.

 

[ 00:27:22 ]And what, what I found is now it’s gone both ways. I’ve had both situations happen where very often the let’s call them the child, you know, because they’re right in the middle um will do the work with me first and then say hey mom and dad, We’ve done this work. It was really helpful. We’d like for you to work with Sarah so that we can get our information gathered together. And there is that sense of privacy that a lot of parents are feeling that they don’t want to burden their kids; they don’t want to have them, you know, they don’t want to share all the information now. And I was like, ‘That’s fine, you don’t have to share it now. Let’s just write it down and that way when we do need it, we have at least exactly what we need.’ But for them, it matters a lot less to me because it doesn’t matter at all; I’m just taking the information and typing it, yes, yeah, so there’s it’s it’s made some people a lot more willing to do the work, um, because they want to keep their information private as long as Yeah.

 

[ 00:28:23 ]And you and I, this is a conversation we had when we met was, you know, I, my own parents had, you know, gone through the whole process of passing away; right, dad first, then mom. And they are, they’re very bright; right? And especially that age group, right now, whether our young people that when they get old, we’ll have that same, you know, hidden, everything’s quiet, everything’s secret type of attitude. But what, and I think I remember telling you this, the moment that… I got the guts enough to ask them these questions. The relief on their face was unreal, right? They were just like, somebody finally actually asked. And, you know, we started, you know, way too late, all those kinds of things, but at least we had a little headstart versus a blank sheet of paper. Right. Yeah. So I mean, keep pushing, keep pushing that button because I know it’s hard for, you know, the people that are listening, it’s, it’s hard and difficult. They’re not fun conversations sometimes, but they’re necessary. So necessary.

 

[ 00:29:25 ]They really are and it’s it’s It’s the difference between leaving a legacy. And leaving a legacy of chaos. Right.

 

[ 00:29:35 ]Yeah.

 

[ 00:29:35 ]You know, and it’s just what, well, which one do you want? Cause you’re going to leave, you’re going to leave one or the other. Yeah. Life is life. Yeah. Because life keeps on living. That’s right. Yeah. And it’s, it’s, it’s, I’ve heard so many stories and I just, it’s. I think a lot of people just don’t think about it because they don’t want to. I get it. It’s not fun. It’s not a fun conversation to have. This is a weird job that I do where I make people talk about uncomfortable things. We’re going to have to talk about it eventually. And either you can be part of the conversation or we’re going to have to figure it out without you. And then everything gets harder. It’s, you know, it’s that. How well can you grieve if you’re also trying to find the password for the stupid bill that you cannot get to or you can’t, you know, you can’t even close the account.

 

[ 00:30:24 ]That’s right. Yeah.

 

[ 00:30:25 ]Yeah. I mean, and that’s one of my classic examples is when I was trying to call and close my grandmother’s cable account. A, it took like, I don’t even know how long it took. Way longer than it should have. They passed me off to several different people. And then she had a backup person on the account that I had to call and have them approve. Like, my grandmother’s no longer, she doesn’t need cable. She has died. All I need to do is cancel.

 

[ 00:30:52 ]Shut the cable off. Should be really straightforward.

 

[ 00:30:56 ]Yeah, no, it’s not at all. They do not make things easy for people who are grieving. And I was doing this as a work, right? Like I had kind of explored what this looked like. So I was prepared for it to be difficult. And it was just even more difficult than I thought it would be. They ended up trying to like bill us for the last month. Because that’s how they build things and I was like, ‘Couldn’t you call me sooner? Was at my grandmother’s funeral. Are you sure there’s nothing you can do? You know, it’s.’ Again, I understand that it’s not this person who I’m on the phone with. So I tried to be kind, right? Cause it’s not her fault. She’s got policies and she was able to go, like she was able to fix it. But you know, if, if it was my mother, cause this was her mother, if my mom had been on the phone with her, what would that have done to her? You know, would she have just paid that ridiculously expensive cable bill? Well, I don’t even know what she was getting, you know, just would she have just paid it to make it simpler? Would she have yelled at this poor girl who it’s her job? It’s just, how can we make these things? It’s never going to be easy. It’s always going to be hard, but a little bit easier. Just a little bit easier.

 

[ 00:32:06 ]So how can people find you?

 

[ 00:32:08 ]Yeah, I am at reaservices. com. So that’s R-H-E-A services. com. People are welcome to find me on Facebook or LinkedIn or Instagram, although I’m not great at keeping up with the socials. I’m technically there, but it is not my area of delight.

 

[ 00:32:29 ]So reaservices. com, R-H-E-A services. com.

 

[ 00:32:33 ]That’s right. That’s the best way to do it. Email me Sarah, S-A-R-A-H, at rayaservices.com or. I can do my phone number so 317-732-5181 Awesome! Say that again: 317-732-5181. So, I’m happy to chat with people if they’ve got questions. Um, I just I think we can do a little bit better on being prepared.

 

[ 00:33:01 ]Awesome. Thanks for doing what you’re doing. Yeah. And thanks for coming on. Yeah.

 

[ 00:33:06 ]It’s been lovely. I appreciate it.

 

[ 00:33:08 ]Thanks, Sarah.

 

[ 00:33:09 ]Thank you.