Gardeners Kew Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Kew is committed to providing reliable, high quality gardening services, from regular garden maintenance to one‑off projects. We recognise that, on occasion, things may not go as planned. When this happens, we want to hear from you so that we can put matters right and improve our service for the future. This Complaints Procedure explains how you can raise a concern, how we will respond, and what you can expect at each stage.

Our Approach to Complaints

We treat every complaint seriously and handle all feedback in a fair, polite and professional manner. Our aims are to resolve issues quickly, learn from the experience and maintain a positive relationship with our customers. We welcome constructive comments about any aspect of our gardening work, including the quality of services provided, how our gardeners conduct themselves on site, or how we communicate and organise visits.

What Counts as a Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our gardening services or the way they are delivered that expects a response. This may include concerns such as work not meeting the agreed specification, appointments being missed or significantly delayed, damage alleged to have been caused during a visit, or misunderstandings about pricing, estimates or invoices.

We encourage customers to raise minor issues informally with the gardener on site whenever possible. Many matters can be resolved immediately with a simple adjustment to the work or through clarification. If an issue cannot be resolved informally, or you remain dissatisfied, you should follow the formal complaints steps below.

How to Make a Complaint

You can raise a complaint in writing or verbally. Written complaints are helpful because they create a clear record of the issue, but we understand that this is not always convenient. If you choose to complain verbally, we will make a note of the details on your behalf.

When making a complaint, please provide as much information as you can, including your name and address, the date and time of the gardening visit, a description of the work carried out, a clear explanation of what went wrong, and what you would like us to do to resolve the matter. Photographs can also be useful to show the condition of the garden or any particular area of concern.

Stage One: Initial Review and Response

At the first stage, your complaint will be reviewed by a member of the team responsible for organising our gardening work. We will acknowledge your complaint as soon as reasonably practical. We aim to complete an initial review and provide a response within a reasonable timeframe, usually within ten working days.

During this stage we may ask you for further details, request photographs or arrange a visit to your garden to inspect the issue in person. Where appropriate, we may also discuss the matter with the gardener or team that attended your property to understand what took place.

Once we have considered the information, we will explain our findings and set out any proposed solution. This may include, for example, returning to carry out additional work, making adjustments to an invoice, providing further explanation of what was done and why, or confirming where we believe the service met the agreed specification.

Stage Two: Further Review

If you are not satisfied with the outcome at Stage One, you may request a further review. This request should clearly set out why you remain dissatisfied, and what you feel has not yet been addressed. A more senior member of the team will then review your complaint, the initial findings and any further information you provide.

We will aim to complete this Stage Two review within a reasonable timeframe, typically within fifteen working days of your request. We may contact you to clarify details or to arrange another inspection visit if we think it would help to resolve matters fairly. After the review, we will provide a final written response explaining our decision and any steps we propose to take.

Possible Outcomes and Remedies

Our goal is always to reach a fair and practical resolution. Depending on the circumstances, outcomes may include repeating or correcting specific gardening tasks, agreeing a revised schedule of visits, offering a goodwill gesture or invoice adjustment where appropriate, providing a clear explanation where we consider that the service delivered was reasonable, or confirming any changes we will make to our processes or staff training.

We will always explain the reasons for our decision. If we agree to carry out additional work, we will confirm what will be done and when the visit is planned, so that you know what to expect.

Timescales and Communication

We aim to handle complaints promptly and keep you informed at each stage. If we cannot respond within the target timescales set out above, for example because we are waiting for further information or a site visit is required, we will let you know and give an updated timescale.

We will usually respond in the same way that you contacted us, unless you tell us you prefer another method. Clear and courteous communication is important to us and we expect the same from our customers during the complaints process.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

All complaints are handled in confidence. Information you provide will only be shared with team members who need it to investigate and respond to the complaint. We will treat your personal details carefully and in line with our data protection responsibilities.

Using Feedback to Improve Our Gardening Services

Feedback from complaints helps us identify where our gardening services, customer care and internal processes can be improved. We regularly review the types of issues raised, any recurring themes, and how they were resolved. Where necessary, we update our procedures, provide additional training for our gardeners, or clarify our service descriptions so that future customers have a clearer understanding of what is included.

By following this Complaints Procedure, Gardeners Kew aims to ensure that all concerns are dealt with in a consistent, fair and timely way, helping us maintain high standards across all the gardening work we carry out.