Complaints Procedure

Complaints Procedure for Gardeners Keston Clients

Gardeners Keston is committed to providing reliable, high-quality gardening services. We recognise that, on occasion, things may not go as planned. This complaints procedure explains how you can raise a concern about our services, how we will handle your complaint, and what you can expect from us at each stage.

Our Commitment to Fair and Prompt Resolution

We take all feedback seriously, especially when it highlights an area where we can improve. Our aims when dealing with complaints are to:

Listen carefully and treat every concern with respect and professionalism.

Investigate issues thoroughly, impartially, and as quickly as reasonably possible.

Provide clear explanations and, where appropriate, practical solutions or remedial action.

Use what we learn to improve our gardening services and customer care.

What Counts as a Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our gardening work, conduct, communication, or administration that requires a response from us. This might include matters such as:

Quality of gardening, maintenance, or related services provided.

Timeliness of appointments, reliability, or punctuality.

Conduct, behaviour, or attitude of our gardeners or office staff.

Information provided before, during, or after the service, including quotes and invoices.

We encourage you to raise your concerns as soon as possible so that we can address them while the details are still clear for everyone involved.

How to Make a Complaint

You can make a complaint verbally or in writing. While we will always listen to concerns raised in person or by phone, we recommend submitting your complaint in writing wherever possible so that we can keep a clear record of the issue and our response.

When making a complaint, please provide the following information to help us respond effectively:

Your full name and the address where the gardening work took place.

Dates and times of the service or incident you are unhappy about.

A clear description of what went wrong and how it has affected you or your property.

Details of any conversations you have already had with our gardeners or office staff about the issue.

What you would ideally like us to do to put things right, if you have a preferred solution.

Initial Informal Resolution

Where possible, we encourage you to raise any concerns directly with the gardener on site or with our office team at the earliest opportunity. Many issues can be resolved quickly and informally, for example by:

Clarifying what was agreed in the service specification.

Arranging a return visit to make adjustments or complete outstanding work.

Correcting misunderstandings about timing, access, or specific gardening tasks.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of this informal discussion, or if you prefer not to raise the matter informally, you can proceed to our formal complaints process.

Formal Complaints Process

Once we receive your formal complaint, we will follow the steps below.

1. Acknowledgement

We will acknowledge your complaint as soon as reasonably practicable. In our acknowledgement, we will confirm that we have received your complaint and outline the next steps and expected timeframes for our investigation.

2. Investigation

Your complaint will be reviewed by a person with appropriate responsibility within Gardeners Keston. The investigation may include:

Reviewing job records, notes, and any relevant photographs.

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

Considering any previous communication we have had with you about the matter.

We aim to complete most investigations within a reasonable timeframe, depending on the complexity of the issue and the availability of any necessary information.

3. Response and Outcome

Once the investigation is complete, we will provide you with a clear, written response. This will include:

A summary of your complaint as we understand it.

An explanation of what we have found during our investigation.

Any action we have already taken or propose to take to resolve the issue.

Any changes we intend to make to our processes or services where appropriate.

Possible outcomes may include an apology, corrective work, a revised schedule, or other practical steps to address the problem. In some cases, we may conclude that no further action is appropriate, and we will explain our reasons carefully.

If You Remain Dissatisfied

If you disagree with our response or feel that your complaint has not been handled fairly, you may ask for the decision to be reviewed. Your request will be considered by a senior member of our team who was not directly involved in the original investigation, where reasonably possible.

During this review, we will revisit the information already gathered and consider any additional details you may wish to provide. Once the review is complete, we will send you a final response outlining our decision and any further steps we are prepared to take.

Time Limits for Raising Complaints

To help us investigate effectively, we ask that you raise any concerns within a reasonable time of the issue occurring. Complaints raised long after the gardening work has been completed may be more difficult to investigate fully, particularly where gardens naturally change over time or where weather and seasonal growth affect the condition of plants and lawns.

Recording and Using Complaints to Improve

Gardeners Keston records complaints and their outcomes in order to monitor how we are performing and to identify any patterns or recurring issues. We use this information to:

Review and refine our working practices and service standards.

Provide additional training or guidance to our team where required.

Improve communication with clients about what to expect from our gardening services.

Your feedback plays a vital role in helping us maintain and enhance the quality of our work across the area we serve.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

All complaints are handled sensitively. Information you provide will only be shared with those who need it in order to investigate and resolve your complaint. We will handle your personal data in line with relevant data protection principles and retain records only for as long as necessary for legitimate business and legal purposes.

Accessibility and Support

We want our complaints procedure to be easy to use. If you need assistance in making a complaint or require us to communicate in a particular way, please let us know. We will do our best to accommodate reasonable requests and to ensure that all clients can raise concerns and receive a fair and timely response.

This complaints procedure is designed to give you confidence that, if something goes wrong with your gardening service, Gardeners Keston will listen carefully, act responsibly, and work with you to reach a fair outcome.