Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Downe Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Downe is committed to delivering reliable gardening and grounds care services and to dealing with any concerns in a fair, prompt and professional way. This Complaints Procedure explains how you can raise a complaint, how we will respond, and what you can expect from us at each stage of the process.

1. Purpose of this Complaints Procedure

The purpose of this procedure is to provide a clear and accessible route for clients to tell us when something has gone wrong. It covers complaints about our gardening services, our conduct while working at your property, or how we have handled your enquiry or booking.

This procedure aims to make sure that your concerns are listened to, investigated properly, and used to improve the way we work. We treat all complaints seriously and handle them in a respectful and confidential manner.

2. What We Class as a Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about the service you have received from Gardeners Downe, whether that service was provided directly by our team or by someone working on our behalf.

Examples of complaints may include:

• The quality of gardening, landscaping or maintenance work carried out at your property
• Missed or significantly delayed appointments without reasonable explanation
• Damage allegedly caused to your property while we are working
• Behaviour or attitude of our staff or contractors
• Problems with the way we have communicated with you or handled your enquiry

If you are unsure whether your concern is a complaint, please raise it with us and we will guide you through the most appropriate route.

3. How to Make a Complaint

You can raise a complaint in writing or verbally. Although we will accept verbal complaints, we encourage you to put your concerns in writing wherever possible so that we have a clear record of the issues you wish to raise.

When making a complaint, please provide the following information where you can:

• Your full name and address
• Details of the service you received and the date it took place
• A clear description of what went wrong
• Any steps already taken to resolve the issue
• What outcome you are seeking, for example a remedy or an explanation

If you require assistance in setting out your complaint, we will do our best to help you record it accurately.

4. Time Limits for Making a Complaint

We ask that you raise any complaint as soon as reasonably possible after the issue arises. This allows us to investigate while events are still fresh and any relevant evidence can be gathered.

As a general guideline, complaints should normally be made within six months of the event you are complaining about, or within six months of becoming aware that you have a reason to complain. We may still consider complaints outside these time limits if there is a good reason why the matter could not have been brought to our attention sooner.

5. How We Will Acknowledge Your Complaint

Once we receive your complaint, we will record it in our internal complaints log. We aim to acknowledge your complaint promptly and to confirm the main points we will be investigating. At this stage we may ask you for any additional details or clarification needed to help us understand the situation fully.

6. Investigation and Response

Your complaint will be reviewed by an appropriate member of the Gardeners Downe team, who was not directly responsible for the issue where practical. We will:

• Examine the information you have provided
• Review any relevant job notes, photos or schedules
• Speak with the staff involved, where appropriate
• Consider whether our usual standards and procedures were followed

Following our investigation, we will send you a written response setting out:

• A summary of your complaint
• The steps we have taken to investigate
• Our findings and any conclusions reached
• Any actions we propose to take to put things right or to prevent a similar issue in future

We aim to provide a full response within a reasonable timeframe. If our investigation is likely to take longer, we will let you know and explain the reasons for the delay.

7. Possible Outcomes

Depending on the nature of your complaint and the outcome of our investigation, we may:

• Offer an apology and explanation
• Arrange to revisit your property to correct or complete work
• Provide a partial or full refund where appropriate
• Agree service improvements or changes to our working methods
• Provide additional training or guidance to staff

We will always aim to reach an outcome that is fair and proportionate to the circumstances of the complaint.

8. If You Remain Dissatisfied

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you may request a further review. In this case, your complaint and our initial response will be reviewed by a more senior member of the Gardeners Downe team where possible.

We will reconsider the information and may request additional details or clarification from you. After this review, we will provide a final response explaining our position and any further steps we are able to take.

9. Confidentiality and Data Protection

We handle all complaints in confidence. Information you provide will only be shared within Gardeners Downe with those who need it to investigate and respond to your concerns. We will store and process any personal information in line with our data protection obligations and retain complaint records only for as long as is reasonably necessary.

10. Using Feedback to Improve Our Services

Complaints and other feedback are an important part of how we improve the gardening and maintenance services we deliver. We regularly review complaints to identify patterns, training needs and opportunities to refine our processes, from scheduling and communication to on-site standards and aftercare.

By sharing your concerns with us, you help Gardeners Downe maintain and improve the quality of our work for all clients. We welcome constructive feedback and are committed to learning from every complaint we receive.