Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Cowley Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Cowley is committed to providing reliable, professional gardening and grounds care services. We aim to resolve any concerns quickly and fairly, and we treat all complaints as an opportunity to improve our service. This Complaints Procedure explains how you can raise an issue, how we will respond, and what you can expect from us at each stage.

Purpose of this Complaints Procedure

The purpose of this procedure is to provide a clear, simple process for customers who are dissatisfied with any aspect of our gardening services. You can use this procedure to raise concerns about the quality of work, conduct of staff, missed visits, communication, or any other matter related to our services and administration.

This procedure applies to all domestic and commercial clients of Gardeners Cowley, including regular maintenance customers and one-off project clients.

What We Class as a Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about any part of our service. Examples include:

Work not carried out to the standard agreed.

Work not completed as scheduled without adequate notice.

Concerns about health and safety or care taken around your property or garden.

Concerns about the conduct, attitude, or behaviour of our team members.

Issues with invoices, quotations, or other administrative matters.

You do not need to use any specific language to make a complaint. If you tell us you are unhappy and you want us to put something right, we will treat it as a complaint and follow this procedure.

How to Make a Complaint

You can make a complaint verbally or in writing. Written complaints help avoid misunderstandings and allow us to respond more thoroughly, but we will accept complaints in whichever way is easiest for you.

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

Your name and the address where the gardening work was carried out.

The date or dates of the work you are unhappy with.

A clear description of the issue and what you believe went wrong.

Any relevant photographs or notes, if available.

What you would like us to do to resolve the matter.

We encourage you to raise issues as soon as possible so that we can investigate while the details are still fresh and any necessary remedial work can be arranged promptly.

Our Complaints Handling Stages

Stage 1: Initial Response and Acknowledgement

Once you contact Gardeners Cowley with a complaint, we will:

Acknowledge your complaint as soon as reasonably possible.

Record the details of your complaint in our internal system.

Confirm how we will keep in touch with you during our investigation.

Where appropriate, we may ask for further information or clarification to ensure we fully understand your concerns.

Stage 2: Investigation

Your complaint will be investigated by a person with appropriate knowledge of our gardening services and authority to act. This may include:

Reviewing visit records, schedules, and job sheets for your property.

Speaking to the gardeners or team members who attended your property.

Reviewing any photographs or notes provided.

Arranging a site visit to inspect the garden or outdoor area where work was carried out, if necessary.

We aim to complete our investigation within a reasonable time frame, depending on the complexity of the issue and access to your property.

Stage 3: Outcome and Resolution

After we have completed our investigation, we will explain our findings and any actions we propose to take. This may include:

Offering to redo part or all of the work.

Scheduling a remedial visit to address specific concerns.

Providing guidance on ongoing garden maintenance where this may have contributed to the issue.

Offering an adjustment to an invoice where appropriate.

Explaining clearly if we believe the service met the agreed specification and why.

We will always aim to reach a fair and practical resolution that reflects the nature of the complaint and the terms of our agreement with you.

If You Are Not Satisfied with the Outcome

If you are not satisfied with our response at Stage 3, you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by a more senior member of Gardeners Cowley. When requesting a review, please explain why you remain dissatisfied and what outcome you are seeking.

The senior reviewer will consider:

How the complaint was handled.

Whether the decision reached was reasonable and supported by the evidence.

Whether any further actions are appropriate.

Once the review is complete, we will inform you of our final position.

Time Limits for Complaints

We encourage customers to raise complaints as soon as possible, ideally within a short time after the work has been completed or the issue has arisen. This makes it easier for us to investigate and put things right. While we will consider complaints raised later, it may be more difficult to review work carried out many months earlier, especially in a garden environment where plants, lawns, and seasonal growth change over time.

Our Commitment to Fairness and Improvement

Gardeners Cowley takes all complaints seriously. We will handle your complaint confidentially and with respect. We will not treat you less favourably or withdraw services simply because you have raised a concern in good faith.

We regularly review complaints data to identify patterns, training needs, and opportunities for improving our gardening and grounds maintenance services. This helps us raise standards and provide a consistently reliable service to customers across our service area.

Data Protection and Confidentiality

Information you provide as part of a complaint will be used only for the purposes of investigating and resolving your complaint, training our staff, and improving our services. We will keep records securely and only share information where necessary to deal with the issue or where we are legally required to do so.

Changes to this Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Cowley may update this Complaints Procedure from time to time to reflect changes in our services, internal processes, or applicable guidance. The version in force at the time you raise your complaint will be the version we follow, and we will make the procedure available to you on request.