Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Mortlake Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Mortlake is committed to providing reliable, professional gardening services and to dealing fairly with any concerns that may arise. This complaints procedure explains how you can raise an issue with us, how we will respond, and the steps we will take to resolve matters promptly and transparently.

Our Commitment To You

We aim to deliver consistent standards of garden care, maintenance and customer service across all visits. When something goes wrong, we see it as an opportunity to put things right and to improve how we work. Every complaint is taken seriously and is handled respectfully and without discrimination.

We will always aim to:

Listen carefully to what has happened from your point of view, record the details accurately, investigate thoroughly and fairly, keep you informed throughout the process, and offer a clear outcome and, where appropriate, corrective action.

What Counts As A Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our gardening services, customer care, communication or conduct, where you would like a response from us. This may include issues such as the quality of garden maintenance work, reliability or punctuality of visits, behaviour or attitude of our team, standards of tidiness or care for your property, clarity of estimates, invoices or schedules, or follow-up after work has been completed.

You do not have to use specific language or refer to this procedure for your concern to be treated as a complaint. If you tell us you are unhappy with our services and would like us to look into it, we will follow the steps set out below.

How To Make A Complaint

You can raise a complaint using any reasonable method. You may speak to a member of our team in person when they are working at your property, contact our office using your usual communication method, or write to us with details of your concerns.

When making a complaint, it is helpful if you can provide your full name, the address where the gardening work was carried out, the date or approximate dates of the work or visit, a clear description of what went wrong, and any relevant photographs or notes that might help us understand the issue. Supplying these details is not mandatory, but it allows us to investigate your concerns more effectively.

Timescales For Raising A Complaint

We recommend raising any concerns as soon as reasonably possible after the issue occurs. Prompt notification helps us to review the condition of your garden and the work carried out while events are still recent and information is easier to verify.

We will normally investigate complaints about services provided within the last twelve months. However, we may, at our discretion, look into matters that took place earlier where there is good reason for the delay and we are still able to investigate fairly.

How We Handle Your Complaint

Once you have raised a complaint, the process will usually follow these stages.

Stage One: Initial Review And Acknowledgement

We will record your complaint in our internal system and, where possible, acknowledge receipt promptly. At this stage we may contact you to clarify details, request further information, or understand the outcome you are seeking. Many concerns can be resolved quickly through discussion and an early visit or phone conversation.

Stage Two: Investigation

If your complaint cannot be resolved immediately, it will be passed to an appropriate person within Gardeners Mortlake for investigation. This may involve reviewing job notes and schedules, speaking to the gardeners who attended your property, and, where necessary, arranging a site visit to inspect the garden and any specific areas of concern.

We aim to complete our investigation and provide a substantive response within a reasonable timeframe. If we anticipate any delay, we will let you know and explain the reasons.

Stage Three: Response And Outcome

After completing our investigation, we will explain our findings to you in clear, straightforward language. Where we uphold your complaint in full or in part, we will outline any corrective steps we propose to take, which may include additional work to address issues in your garden, adjustments to future visits or schedules, or revisions to our internal procedures or staff training.

If we do not uphold your complaint, we will give our reasons, based on the evidence available and the standards of service we apply across our gardening work.

If You Are Not Satisfied With The Outcome

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint at the conclusion of our internal process, you may ask us to review the matter again. In doing so, please explain which aspects of our findings or proposed resolution you disagree with and provide any additional information you feel is relevant.

A further review will normally be carried out by someone who was not involved in the original investigation, where possible. After this review, we will confirm our final position and any changes, if applicable, to the original outcome.

Reasonable Behaviour And Fair Use Of This Procedure

We understand that raising a complaint can be stressful, particularly where your home or garden is affected. Our team will always aim to remain respectful and courteous, and we ask that customers act in the same way.

We may decide to restrict the method or frequency of communication in rare cases where contact becomes unreasonably persistent, abusive or threatening. This step would only be taken after careful consideration and, where possible, after warning you in advance.

Confidentiality And Data Protection

All complaints are handled in confidence. Information relating to your complaint will only be shared within Gardeners Mortlake with those who need it in order to investigate and respond. We will retain records of complaints and outcomes in line with our data protection obligations and for the purpose of improving our services.

Using Complaints To Improve Our Gardening Services

We regularly review complaints and feedback to identify patterns, training needs and opportunities to improve the way we deliver gardening and maintenance services. By raising a concern, you not only help us resolve an issue at your property but also contribute to better service for all our customers.

Gardeners Mortlake is dedicated to maintaining well cared-for gardens and long-term customer relationships. This complaints procedure is part of that commitment, ensuring that when problems arise, they are handled in a fair, timely and constructive way.