Complaints Procedure for Gardeners Somers Town

Gardeners Somers Town is committed to providing reliable and professional gardening services to all customers. We work hard to maintain high standards of lawn care, planting, maintenance, and related garden services. However, we recognise that sometimes things can go wrong. This Complaints Procedure explains how you can raise a concern, what you can expect from us, and how we will work to resolve issues fairly and promptly.

Our Commitment to You

We take every complaint seriously and treat it as an opportunity to review and improve our services. Our aims when handling a complaint are to:

Listen carefully to your concerns and understand the issue in full.

Investigate what has happened in an objective and fair way.

Resolve the matter as quickly as possible, keeping you informed throughout.

Offer an explanation, apology, or practical remedy where this is appropriate.

Use your feedback to improve our gardening services and customer care for the future.

What This Procedure Covers

This procedure applies to complaints relating to our gardening services, including but not limited to garden maintenance, lawn care, pruning, planting, seasonal tidy-ups, and associated customer service. It covers the work carried out by our gardeners, our administrative processes, and how we communicate with you before, during, and after a visit.

This procedure does not cover general enquiries about services, requests for quotations, or routine booking changes unless they form part of a wider complaint.

Informal Resolution

Many concerns can be resolved quickly and informally. If you are unhappy with any aspect of our gardening work or service, we encourage you to raise the issue as soon as possible with the gardener on site where practicable, or with our office team shortly after the visit.

At this informal stage we will aim to:

Understand your concern clearly.

Explain what has happened and why.

Agree any reasonable steps to put matters right, such as returning to complete or adjust work where appropriate.

We aim to resolve informal concerns promptly, usually within a few working days.

How to Make a Formal Complaint

If your concern is not resolved informally, or if you would prefer to make a formal complaint from the outset, you may do so in writing. When making a formal complaint, please provide as much detail as possible, including:

Your full name and the service address.

The date of the gardening visit or the period to which the complaint relates.

A clear description of what went wrong, including any specific areas of the garden or aspects of the service that were unsatisfactory.

Any relevant photographs or notes that may help us understand the issue.

What outcome you are seeking, such as a return visit, correction of work, or further explanation.

Written complaints help us keep a clear record and ensure that nothing important is overlooked during our review.

Acknowledgement of Your Complaint

Once we receive your formal complaint, we will acknowledge it within a reasonable timeframe. In the acknowledgement, we will confirm that we have received your complaint and explain the next steps in our investigation, including who will be handling the matter and the expected timescale for a response.

Investigation and Assessment

We will review your complaint carefully and impartially. This may involve:

Checking our booking and job records for the relevant dates.

Speaking with the gardeners or team members who attended your property.

Reviewing any photographs or notes taken before, during, or after the work.

Where appropriate, arranging a follow-up visit to inspect the garden and assess the work carried out.

Our aim is to establish what happened, whether our standards have been met, and what, if anything, needs to be done to resolve the matter.

Our Response and Possible Outcomes

After completing our investigation, we will provide you with a clear written response. This will usually include:

A summary of your complaint as we understand it.

Details of the steps we have taken to investigate the issue.

Our findings and any conclusions we have reached.

Any actions we propose to take to resolve your complaint.

Depending on the circumstances, possible outcomes may include:

An explanation of what happened and why.

A sincere apology where our service has fallen below the expected standard.

A return visit to repeat or correct work within a reasonable time.

An adjustment to your invoice where appropriate and justified.

Confirmation of changes we will make to our processes or training to reduce the likelihood of the same issue arising again.

Timescales

We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as is reasonably possible. Simple issues may be addressed within a few working days, while more complex matters that require further investigation or site visits may take longer. If we cannot provide a full response within the initial timescale indicated, we will keep you informed of progress and let you know when you can expect a final answer.

Further Review

If you are not satisfied with our final response, you may request that your complaint is reviewed at a higher level within our company. In such cases, a senior member of our team, who has not previously been involved in your complaint, will review the handling of the matter and the conclusions reached. They may uphold the original decision, vary it, or decide that further action is required.

Using Your Feedback

We value all feedback from our customers across the local area, including concerns about garden maintenance, seasonal work, and one-off projects. Complaints help us identify areas where our service can be strengthened. We regularly review the nature and frequency of complaints to improve our gardening practices, scheduling, communication, and customer service standards.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

All complaints are handled confidentially and with respect for your privacy. Information about your complaint will only be shared with those who need to know in order to investigate and resolve it. We retain complaint records for a reasonable period so that we can monitor our performance and demonstrate how concerns have been addressed, in line with applicable data protection principles.

Changes to This Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Somers Town may update this Complaints Procedure from time to time to reflect changes in our services, internal processes, or good practice in handling customer concerns. Any updated version will apply to complaints received after the date of publication.