Complaints Procedure for Gardeners Bexleyheath Clients

Gardeners Bexleyheath is committed to providing reliable, high quality gardening and outdoor maintenance services. We recognise that, on occasion, customers may feel that our service has not met their expectations. This Complaints Procedure explains how you can raise a concern, how we will respond, and the steps we take to put matters right.

Our Commitment to Resolving Complaints

We take all complaints seriously and view them as an opportunity to review and improve our services. Our aims when dealing with any complaint are to listen carefully, respond promptly, investigate fairly, and reach a clear and reasonable outcome. We also aim to keep you informed at every stage of the process.

What This Procedure Covers

This procedure applies to complaints about our gardening and grounds maintenance services, including but not limited to lawn care, planting, hedge cutting, garden tidy ups, regular maintenance visits, and any associated customer service issues. It covers concerns about work quality, conduct of our team members, missed or delayed appointments, and communication problems.

When to Use This Complaints Procedure

You should use this procedure if you feel:

The standard of gardening work carried out at your property was not as agreed, the service you received did not reflect what was described at the time of booking, a member of our team behaved in a way you feel was unprofessional, your appointment was not kept without satisfactory explanation, or your previous concerns have not been addressed.

If your concern is minor and can be resolved during a visit, we encourage you to raise it with the gardener or team leader on site so it can be addressed immediately where possible. If it cannot be resolved to your satisfaction, or you prefer not to raise it at the time, you can follow the steps below.

How to Make a Complaint

You can make a complaint in writing. Please provide as much detail as possible so that we can investigate effectively. Include your full name, property address, dates and times of the work or visit, a clear description of what went wrong, and what outcome you are seeking.

Written complaints enable us to keep a clear record of your concerns and the actions we take. If you have photographs or other relevant information about the gardening work or site conditions, you may refer to them in your written description.

Timeframes for Raising a Complaint

We ask that you raise any complaint as soon as reasonably possible after the issue arises. For complaints related to specific gardening work or a particular visit, it is helpful if you contact us within 14 days, so that we can review the work while details are still clear and any plants, lawns, or features are in a similar condition.

How We Will Handle Your Complaint

Once we receive your complaint, we will follow these steps:

First, we will acknowledge your complaint. We aim to do this within five working days. In our acknowledgement, we will confirm that we have received your concerns and explain the next steps.

Second, we will investigate. This may include reviewing our records, speaking to the gardener or team who attended your property, and, where appropriate, arranging a site visit to inspect the garden or outdoor area. We may also ask you for further information or clarification.

Third, we will respond with our findings. We aim to provide a full written response within 20 working days of acknowledging your complaint. If we require more time to investigate, we will let you know and give an updated timescale.

Possible Outcomes and Remedies

Our response will explain what we have found, whether we uphold your complaint in full or in part, and what action we propose to take. Depending on the circumstances, this may include one or more of the following:

An explanation or clarification of our actions, an apology where things have gone wrong, a return visit to correct or complete gardening work, a revised maintenance plan to prevent the same issue recurring, or, in some cases, a partial or full adjustment to your invoice where appropriate.

We will always aim to reach a fair and proportionate resolution that reflects both the nature of the concern and the gardening services originally agreed.

If You Remain Dissatisfied

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may request that your complaint is reviewed by a senior member of the Gardeners Bexleyheath team who was not directly involved in the original work. They will review the complaint, the investigation, and the proposed outcome, and may decide to uphold the original decision, change the outcome, or propose an alternative resolution. We will aim to provide a final written response to this review within 15 working days.

Recording and Using Complaint Information

We keep a record of all complaints and their outcomes. This information is used to identify patterns, improve our training, refine our gardening methods, and enhance our overall customer experience. Any personal details you provide as part of your complaint will be handled in line with our data handling practices and used only for the purpose of managing and learning from complaints.

Accessibility and Support

We want our complaints process to be accessible to all customers. If you have any specific needs that make it difficult to submit a written complaint, please explain this when you first contact us so that we can discuss an alternative way to take down the details of your concern.

Continuous Improvement of Our Services

Feedback, including complaints, plays an important role in helping Gardeners Bexleyheath maintain high standards in garden maintenance and landscaping. By telling us when something has gone wrong, you give us the chance to put it right for you and to improve the services we provide to all our customers in the local area.

This Complaints Procedure is reviewed regularly to ensure that it remains clear, fair, and effective in supporting our commitment to quality gardening services and respectful customer care.