Complaints Procedure — Great Gardeners

Great Gardeners welcomes feedback and is committed to resolving concerns about our gardening services promptly and fairly. This complaints procedure explains how issues raised about any aspect of our work are handled by our garden maintenance teams and groundscare staff. It applies across our service area and is designed to be clear for customers, contractors and community partners who rely on a reliable garden maintenance provider.

Purpose and scope

We aim to provide excellent horticultural and landscape services. The purpose of this policy is to make sure that every complaint is treated with respect, documented, and resolved where possible. The scope covers routine garden maintenance, planting schemes, turf care, pruning, and scheduled works carried out by our gardening company in residential and small commercial sites.

What counts as a complaint?

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, an action or lack of action by our team, or the behaviour of a representative of Great Gardeners. It is not a guide, and it excludes testimonials and general praise. Complaints can relate to scheduling, workmanship, damage, health and safety concerns, or failure to follow agreed instructions.

Principles of our approach

Our complaints handling is guided by the following core principles:

• Accessibility — complainants should find it easy to raise concerns.
• Impartiality — all issues are considered objectively and without bias.
• Proportionality — the response will fit the seriousness of the complaint.
• Transparency — we explain the steps we take and the likely timescales.

We keep records of complaints to ensure consistent outcomes and to identify trends. Records may influence training, quality control, and how we allocate teams across our gardening service area. Our aim is continuous improvement rather than punishment.

How to raise a concern

You may raise a complaint verbally during a site visit or in writing. When making a complaint, please provide: the date and location of the work, the nature of your concern, names of any staff involved if known, and what outcome you are seeking. We do not publish contact details in this policy page, but information on how to submit concerns is available through routine service communications.

On receipt of a complaint we will acknowledge it promptly and log it in our central complaints register. An initial acknowledgement will confirm who is handling the matter and provide a realistic timeframe for the first substantive response. Typical acknowledgement and first response times are stated in our service commitments.

To ensure a fair investigation, we may need to inspect the work, speak with employees or subcontractors, and review job records and photographic evidence. Investigations are undertaken by suitably experienced staff who understand horticulture and the practical constraints of outdoor works.

During an investigation we will consider what went wrong, whether industry standards were met, and whether any action is required to remedy the situation. Possible remedies include redoing work to an acceptable standard, partial refunds where appropriate, or offering a goodwill gesture where a fault did not cause major harm but fell short of expectations. Remedies do not imply admission of liability in every case.

If a quick resolution is possible (for example, a missed cut or an obvious defect in planting), we will seek to resolve the matter within a short period. More complex disputes that require replacement plant stock, major remedial work, or specialist input may take longer and will be subject to agreed timescales.

Where a complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome, they may ask for an internal review. This is escalated to a senior manager who was not involved in the original decision. The review will look at the completeness of the investigation, the appropriateness of the remedy, and any additional information provided by the complainant.

In some circumstances an independent review or mediation by a mutually agreed third party may be suggested to reach a fair outcome. This is not always required, but is an option where disagreement persists despite thorough internal review. Our gardening company will cooperate with appropriate independent processes, while protecting staff and customer confidentiality.

Timescales and expectations — we are committed to clear timeframes. Acknowledgement occurs promptly, an initial investigation is typically completed within a stated period, and any remedial action is scheduled according to urgency and weather conditions that affect outdoor works. We aim to keep complainants informed at each step.

Record-keeping and improvement

Great Gardeners maintains a secure complaints log to track outcomes and identify recurring issues. This information is used to adjust training, refine operational procedures across the service area, and improve scheduling practices. We view complaints as valuable inputs to raising service standards and ensuring that our gardening services meet the expectations of those we serve.

Final notes

Our commitment is to treat every concern with respect, to investigate objectively, and to learn from outcomes. This complaints procedure is part of how Great Gardeners aims to deliver consistent, high-quality gardening and landscaping services across its coverage area. Where practical improvements are identified, we will act to prevent recurrence and to enhance the reliability of our teams.

We encourage anyone with a concern about the quality of work, plant health, safety or conduct to use the channels described in our routine communications so that issues can be addressed efficiently. Restorative action is often possible, and many concerns can be resolved quickly when raised at the earliest opportunity.

Thank you for taking the time to read our complaints procedure. By raising concerns you help Great Gardeners improve service delivery for all customers and the communities we serve.