Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Belmont Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Belmont is committed to delivering reliable, professional gardening and grounds maintenance services. We aim to resolve any concerns quickly, fairly and in a way that helps us improve our work for all customers. This complaints procedure explains how you can raise a complaint, how we will respond, and what you can expect from us at every stage.

Our Commitment To You

We take all complaints seriously, regardless of their nature or size. Whether your concern relates to the standard of gardening work, conduct of our team members, communication, scheduling, or any other part of our service, we will listen carefully and work with you to find a reasonable solution.

We will always aim to:

Listen to your concerns respectfully and without interruption.

Acknowledge your complaint promptly.

Investigate the facts thoroughly and impartially.

Keep you informed of progress.

Provide a clear and timely response with an explanation of our findings.

Use feedback to improve our services, staff training and internal procedures.

What Is A Complaint

For the purpose of this procedure, a complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our gardening or customer service that requires a response. This can include, but is not limited to:

Concerns about the quality or completeness of gardening work.

Issues with tidy up, waste handling or care of your property.

Missed or delayed appointments without reasonable explanation.

Perceived rudeness, lack of respect, or poor communication from staff.

Disputes over quotations, invoices, or changes to agreed work.

You do not need to use specific wording when raising a complaint. If you tell us you are unhappy and expect a response, we will treat it as a complaint.

How To Make A Complaint

You can raise your complaint in the way that feels most convenient for you. You may contact us in writing or by speaking with a member of our team. If you raise a concern during or immediately after a gardening visit, we will try to resolve it on the spot where possible.

When making a complaint, it is helpful if you can provide:

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

The date or dates of the work or incident you are unhappy about.

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

Any supporting information, for example photographs or job references.

What you would like to see as a reasonable resolution, where this is clear to you.

If you prefer, you may ask someone to raise a complaint on your behalf, as long as they have your permission to discuss the matter with us.

Stage One: Initial Review And Response

At the first stage, we aim to resolve your complaint quickly and informally, usually by the team member or manager responsible for the work.

We will acknowledge your complaint as soon as reasonably practical. Where your complaint is straightforward, we will usually provide a response within a short period, once we have had the opportunity to review the information and speak with any team members involved.

Our stage one response will normally include:

A summary of the issues you raised.

What we have found following our initial investigation.

Any actions we propose to put things right.

An explanation of what we will do to reduce the chance of similar issues happening again.

Where appropriate, we may offer to revisit your property to inspect the work, remedy any shortfalls, or discuss matters in person.

Stage Two: Further Investigation

If you are not satisfied with the outcome at stage one, you may request that your complaint is escalated for further review. At this stage, where possible, a senior member of the Gardeners Belmont team who has not been directly involved in the matter will carry out a more detailed investigation.

During stage two we may:

Review all relevant job records, notes and photographs.

Speak again with any staff members or contractors involved.

Ask you for additional information or clarification where needed.

Arrange a further site visit to properly assess any outstanding issues.

Once the investigation is complete, we will provide a written or clearly recorded response setting out:

The issues you raised and the steps taken to investigate them.

Our findings and any factors that affected our decision.

Any apologies, remedial work, goodwill gestures or other outcomes we consider appropriate.

Any changes we will make to our practices or staff training as a result of your complaint.

Timescales

We aim to handle complaints promptly and fairly. Actual timescales can vary depending on the complexity of your complaint, staff availability and whether we need to carry out a site visit.

While we cannot guarantee exact response times in every circumstance, we will always:

Acknowledge receipt of your complaint as soon as reasonably possible.

Keep you updated if we need more time to investigate.

Provide a full response once our investigation is completed, without unnecessary delay.

Putting Things Right

Where we find that our service has fallen short of our standards, we will look for a fair and practical remedy. Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

Correcting or completing gardening work at no additional cost.

Offering alternative solutions where original work cannot be reversed.

Providing an explanation and, where appropriate, an apology.

Reviewing and updating our working methods or supervision arrangements.

Using your feedback to improve the way we deliver services across our local area.

Unreasonable Or Vexatious Behaviour

We understand that making a complaint can be stressful and you may feel upset or frustrated. Our team will always treat you with respect and courtesy, and we ask that you treat our staff in the same way.

Where behaviour becomes abusive, threatening, or unreasonably persistent, we may limit or manage future contact. Any such decision will be considered carefully and used only where necessary to protect our staff while still seeking to address genuine concerns.

Learning From Complaints

Complaints are an important source of feedback that helps us improve our gardening services and customer experience. We regularly review complaints to identify patterns, training needs and opportunities to improve our processes, equipment and communication.

By raising your concerns, you give Gardeners Belmont the opportunity to put matters right and to deliver better services to you and other customers in the future.