Wonderful people, cared for the families I ministered to. And even reached out to me personally after one of those memorial services

I have been debating on writing this for a while. My son passed away 11/7/2020 and we had him cremated at the James Island location. Everything was going at least okay until the guy we were originally meeting with (don’t remember his name) had to leave and then Jamie came in to finish with us. My son was only 3 months old so we didn’t need a bigger urn and we had seen a beautiful bamboo box urn on their website and we told him we wanted that one. The first guy said in an judging tone “okay, that’s one of our pet urns.” I really didnt need him to point that out. I was trying to bury my baby, not be judged on the urn we liked. It wasn’t labeled as a pet urn either, otherwise we wouldn’t have chose it.We were also told by the director at a different location that we wouldn’t be charged for one of the fees. (At this point the first guy was gone.) Jamie then proceeded to say something along the lines of “well I’m the manager and it’s not his decision.” He ended up not charging us since we were already told we wouldn’t be and we pressed him on it but he didn’t need to be rude and add that statement. I about walked out at that point. We also had a friend paying for our sons urn and so he called to pay over the phone. Jamie was very rude to him as well and seemed inconvenienced by us at this point. We finished the paperwork and looked at keepsakes and decided to wait to pick some until we came to pick our son up in a couple days. When we came back Jamie was there again and it was fine until we came out after having our time with our sons ashes alone and he said (very condescendingly) “I’d love to help you pick keepsakes out but..” I stopped listening after that because it clearly sounded like he didn’t actually want to help. We decided we’d get keepsakes elsewhere. The urn is beautiful and they did take care of and return the blanket our son was wrapped in but the attitude from those we worked with was horrible. The receptionist lady (I can’t remember her name either, but it started with a D I think) is wonderful. She’s the one I liked the most and we barely even worked with her. I expected better from the others though. Especially when working with the family of a child who had passed.

On February 6, 2020, we had a Memoriable service for my mom, Florence McCants. The service was held on James Island, Folly Road.It takes a lot of preparation in making these arrangements happen.McAlister- Smith made it possible to take care of our needs and provide a well organized service for my mom.During our time of making moms arrangements, our family consulted with McAlister- Smith on James Island and McAlister- Smith West Ashley.I can say with confidence, the entire staff at both locations gave us support and MADE SURE all of our needs were met.I would highly recommend McAlister-Smith to anyone in need of burial or cremation. They also can take care of your fur babies.Our total experience was par Excellant!!!Thank you ALL at McAlister-Smith for a Beauitful tribute to my mom, Florence McCants.Sincerely,Sandra McCants

Wonderfully kind and considerate staff who are all so professional. I would recommend them for any/all funeral needs or for prearranged funeral. It’s wise to get matters taken care of before a death happens.

With the death of our mother we still wondered how all the funeral arrangements would be handled. We had the privilege to have parents that pre-planned and prepaid for their funeral expenses. Several months before she died we chose to have McAlister-Smith carry out those arrangements. The transition was smooth and they treated us like family. With the weather in Charleston, SC, it rained for days on end. The morning of the funeral the rain was non stop and we had to re-arrange our plans for mom’s graveside and burial from the cemetery to the funeral home. Cory was so gracious to us in our time of grief and with the changed arrangements. Cory and all of the staff recognized this was a bit overwhelming for us and our families to process. Ten days later, with the rain drying up, we were able to have mom’s burial. During that time Cory called to make sure we were still doing ok and kept us updated on the condition of the cemetery. While mom’s funeral did not go as planned, Cory and McAlister-Smith worked with us on every detail from the memorial service at the funeral home to the tents and chairs and other details at the cemetery. We are grateful to everyone there for their kindness and caring of our mother, of us, and our families.Susan Warren and Brian Garrett

Mandy and everyone were easy to work with and very responsive. We had the unfortunate problem of having to arrange for our father’s cremation remotely (from out of town) but they walked us through all the the steps and were very helpful. I can’t say enough about how much I appreciated all their help at this very difficult time for our family.

McAlister-Smith Funeral & Cremation on Folly Road on James Island is a quality and caring place to go for all services funeral, burial, and cremation. They have a professional, knowledgeable, and attentive staff to make sure that all of your needs and goals are met and exceeded. They are well worth the call if you are in need of their services.

Everyone at the James Island McAlister-Smith was kind, helpful, and very supportive at this trying time. They made sure that everything went smoothly. I can’t praise them all highly enough for the way they handled everything that I requested.

I originally had this review under the wrong location, it was the James Island/Folly Rd location. Bears repeating. In response to the previous review Mark Smith wanted to know who the employee was - balding, glasses, had a beard at the time as I recall, bit of a southern drawl - I believe it was Mark himself. If thats correct I guess you need to take yourself into your office for a conference.-------------I assume theyre reasonably competent at the technical part of their business and the decor is what youd expect for a funeral home. That part isnt hard to get right. I found it offputting that the director put so much emphasis on trying to tell people to keep their comments short. He said it to me once and again to the group. There werent that many people speaking and there wasnt another funeral after ours. I seriously contemplated telling him to eff himself. Something on cable he didnt want to miss? Try not to make it so obvious this is just a business to you.

One would think that planning your funeral would be weird and depressing, but it was neither. Darryl is experienced and knowledgeable, and he made the process comfortable for us. He was thoroughly prepared for our appointment. He answered all our crazy questions with understanding and assurance, and he assisted us in making the right decisions for us. It feels good to know that we have a plan in place, and I believe preplanning your funeral is one of the most loving things one can do for their family.

Very kind, sympathetic, and caring during the worst of times.

They cremated my buddy max for me, could not have done a better job!

Wow. Darryl was the best as well as the support staff. Made this process seamless and helpful. Continues to support us in every need. Thanks MS Funeral for your stellar performance.

I can not say enough good things about the staff and specifically Darryl, who guided me through the process of planning an unexpected funeral as well as a pre-planned funeral. He and the staff took care of every detail from the planning stages to organizing the funeral services. In difficult times they were able to ease the burden of making arrangements.

My daddy passed away unexpectedly on Thanksgiving morning. McAlister-Smith was so amazing!!! They called us first thing that morning. They walked us through everything, made suggestions and really helped us to find the perfect way to have the funeral. They made us feel very comfortable, they made us laugh and I cant tell you how I loved working with everyone! Cindy, Todd, Frank, and Bernie were AMAZING!!!! Cindy always got back to me in a timely manner. Todd and Bernie kept us laughing hysterically. Frank makes the best cookies ever! Seriously, these folks were the best and I cannot thank you all enough for your support, thoughts and prayers! Chantel M.

Everyone at McAlister-Smith was so helpful and comforting during this difficult time , their knowledge and commitment to making sure that all details were seen to were evident in the smooth and dignified service for both my Mother and Father. I would recommend them to everyone .

The staff here is incredible and made a very difficult time much easier.

Dana Madanski at McAlister Smith Funeral Home is highly regarded in the Senior Service community and has served in various leadership roles. She is knowledge about senior resources and has the spirit of compassion to assist seniors in a variety of ways. We are happy to have Dana - and McAlister Smith Funeral Homes - in our resource network.Barbara Franklin - Franklin & Asociates, Inc.