Complaints Procedure
Gardeners Kentish Town Complaints Procedure
Gardeners Kentish Town is committed to providing reliable, professional gardening services across the local area. We recognise that, on occasion, things may not go as planned. This Complaints Procedure explains how you can raise a concern, how we will respond, and the steps we will take to put things right where possible and improve our services for the future.
Purpose of This Complaints Procedure
The purpose of this procedure is to give customers a clear and straightforward way to:
• Tell us when you are unhappy with any aspect of our gardening or customer service.
• Understand how your complaint will be handled and the timescales involved.
• Know what you can expect from us at each stage of the process.
This procedure covers all gardening and related services carried out by Gardeners Kentish Town in our normal service area.
What We Class as a Complaint
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our services or the way we have carried out our work, whether it is justified or not. This might include, for example:
• Concerns about the quality of gardening work, such as lawn care, hedge cutting, planting, or garden clearance.
• Delays, missed appointments, or communication issues about scheduled visits.
• Behaviour or attitude of our gardeners or office staff.
• Concerns about invoices, quotations, or any aspect of our charges.
We encourage you to raise any issues as soon as possible so that we can address them quickly and effectively.
How to Make a Complaint
You can make a complaint in the way that is most convenient for you. You may contact us by telephone, in writing by post, or by using whichever direct contact method you already use with our team. When making a complaint, it is helpful if you can provide:
• Your full name and the address where the gardening work was carried out.
• The date or dates of the service you are unhappy with.
• A clear description of what went wrong and how it has affected you.
• Any supporting details, such as photographs or copies of documents, if available.
If you raise a concern informally with a member of our team, they will aim to resolve it immediately where possible. If an informal solution is not possible or you remain dissatisfied, you may request that your complaint is handled under this formal Complaints Procedure.
Stage One: Initial Review and Response
Once we receive your complaint, we will log it internally and begin an initial review. We aim to acknowledge your complaint within five working days. In this acknowledgement we will confirm that we have received your complaint and, where appropriate, may ask for any further information we require to understand the matter fully.
A member of our team will then investigate your concerns. This may include speaking to the gardeners involved, checking our schedule and records, reviewing photographs or notes, and, if needed, arranging a follow-up visit to the property.
We aim to provide a written or verbal response within fifteen working days of acknowledging your complaint. In some more complex cases we may need more time to investigate; if this happens, we will let you know and give you an updated timescale.
Stage Two: Further Review if You Are Not Satisfied
If you are not satisfied with our Stage One response, you may ask for your complaint to be reviewed again. In doing so, please explain why you are unhappy with the outcome and what you believe would be a fair resolution.
At Stage Two, your complaint will be reviewed by a more senior member of our team who was not directly involved in the original work wherever possible. They will consider the original complaint, the Stage One response, any additional information you provide, and any further evidence we hold.
We will aim to complete this further review and provide a final response within fifteen working days of receiving your request for a Stage Two review. Again, if further time is needed due to complexity, we will inform you and provide an expected timescale.
Possible Outcomes and Remedies
Depending on the nature of your complaint and the outcome of our investigation, possible remedies may include:
• An explanation and, where appropriate, an apology.
• A return visit to correct or complete gardening work, for example re-cutting a lawn, reshaping hedges, or revisiting planting work.
• A goodwill gesture, where appropriate and at our discretion.
• A review of our internal procedures, scheduling, or communication processes to reduce the likelihood of similar issues arising again.
We will always aim to reach a fair and reasonable outcome based on the facts of each case.
Our Commitment to Fairness and Confidentiality
We treat all complaints seriously and handle them in a fair, objective, and respectful manner. Raising a complaint will not affect any ongoing or future gardening services you receive from us, provided normal terms of service are met.
All information you provide will be treated in confidence and used only for the purposes of investigating and resolving your complaint, and for improving our services. We will share details internally only with those who need to know in order to deal with the matter.
Using Complaints to Improve Our Services
We view complaints as an important source of feedback that helps us maintain and improve the quality of our gardening services throughout our operating area. We regularly review complaints data to identify recurring issues and take steps to address them, such as additional staff training, changes to scheduling practices, or updates to our service standards.
Monitoring and Review of This Procedure
This Complaints Procedure is reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains clear, effective, and appropriate for the range of gardening services we provide. We may make changes from time to time to reflect best practice or to respond to feedback from customers.
If you have any suggestions about how we can make this Complaints Procedure easier to understand or more effective, you are welcome to share them with us through your usual contact method.
