Gardeners Soho Complaints Procedure

Gardeners Soho is committed to providing reliable, professional gardening services across our local area. We aim to deliver work that meets agreed standards and leaves clients satisfied with their outdoor spaces. If something does go wrong, we want to know about it so we can put matters right and improve our service.

This complaints procedure explains how you can raise a concern about our work or conduct, what information we need from you, how we will respond, and the steps we will take to resolve the issue as fairly and quickly as possible.

Our Approach to Complaints

We treat all complaints seriously, whether they relate to garden maintenance, one-off projects, garden clearances, planting schemes, or any other service we provide. We will handle your complaint with courtesy, respect and confidentiality, and we will use the outcome to review and improve how we work where appropriate.

Our key principles are:

To make it easy for you to tell us about a concern

To acknowledge complaints promptly and clearly

To investigate fairly and objectively

To provide a timely and transparent response

To offer practical solutions where we have made a mistake

To learn from feedback and adjust our practices when needed

What Counts as a Complaint

You may wish to make a complaint if, for example:

You are unhappy with the quality or outcome of our gardening work

Work was not completed as described in the agreed quotation or schedule

There were delays or missed appointments without reasonable explanation

You feel our staff or contractors behaved in an unprofessional manner

There has been damage to your property or garden features

There has been a misunderstanding about costs or agreed services

Concerns raised informally have not been addressed to your satisfaction

We encourage you to raise any concerns as early as possible so that we can respond promptly and limit any ongoing impact on your garden or schedule.

How to Make a Complaint

You can make a complaint to Gardeners Soho in writing or verbally. Written complaints help us understand the details clearly, but if you prefer to speak to someone first, we will still treat your concern as a formal complaint if you wish.

When submitting a complaint, please include the following information where possible:

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

Dates and times of the work or incident you are complaining about

A clear description of what happened and why you are unhappy

The name of any staff member or gardener involved, if known

Any supporting details such as photos, notes or references to previous conversations

What you would consider a fair and reasonable resolution

Informal Resolution

In many cases, concerns can be resolved quickly and informally by speaking directly to the gardener on site or to the person who arranged your booking. If you feel comfortable doing so, please raise the issue at the earliest opportunity. We will always aim to resolve straightforward issues immediately or within a short period of time.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of an informal discussion, or if the matter is more serious, you can ask for your concern to be handled as a formal complaint under this procedure.

Formal Complaint: What Happens Next

Once we receive your formal complaint, we will:

Acknowledge receipt and let you know that we are investigating

Review your account, service history and any related notes or quotations

Speak with the gardeners or team members involved, where relevant

Consider any photographs, documents or other information you provide

We aim to complete an initial investigation and provide a substantive response within a reasonable time frame. If we need longer to investigate, we will let you know and explain why.

Our Response and Possible Outcomes

When we have completed our investigation, we will contact you with our findings. Our response will usually include:

A summary of your complaint

The steps we have taken to investigate

Our conclusions based on the information available

Any proposed actions or remedies

Depending on the nature of the issue and the outcome of the investigation, we may offer one or more of the following:

A clear apology and explanation

Corrective work to your garden, such as revisiting a lawn treatment, pruning, planting or clearance task

A partial or full adjustment to charges, where appropriate

Changes to how we schedule or communicate about visits

Internal review or training for staff to reduce the risk of similar issues

If You Are Still Unhappy

If you feel your complaint has not been resolved fairly, you may request a further review. A more senior member of our team, who was not directly involved in the original work, will review both the complaint and the initial decision. They may contact you for additional details or clarification before reaching a final view.

We will then provide a final response explaining the outcome of the review and any additional actions we can reasonably take.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

All complaints and related information are handled in line with our commitment to privacy and data protection. We only share complaint details with team members who need the information to investigate and resolve the issue. We retain records of complaints for an appropriate period to help monitor our performance and identify areas for improvement.

Using Feedback to Improve Our Gardening Services

Feedback, including complaints, is an important part of how Gardeners Soho maintains and improves the services we provide to homes and businesses. We regularly review complaint patterns to identify recurring themes, and we adjust our working practices, communication methods and quality checks where needed. By raising concerns, you help us to refine our standards and deliver a more reliable and professional gardening service across our local area.