Complaints Process for Gardeners Bankside Clients

Gardeners Bankside aims to deliver reliable and professional gardening services for domestic and commercial outdoor spaces. We recognise that, on occasion, clients may feel that our service has not met their expectations. This complaints procedure explains how to raise a concern, how we manage it, and the standards you can expect from us throughout the process.

We welcome feedback because it helps us improve our lawn care, planting, maintenance and landscaping services. All complaints are taken seriously, handled respectfully, and used to enhance the quality and consistency of our work.

Purpose and Scope of This Procedure

This procedure applies to all clients who use Gardeners Bankside for gardening, grounds maintenance, seasonal tidy-ups, soft landscaping, or any related services. It covers complaints about the quality of work, conduct of staff, clarity of quotes and invoices, timeliness of visits, and communication before, during and after a job.

This procedure does not cover employment disputes or internal staff matters, which are handled separately through our internal policies.

What We Class As a Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about any aspect of our gardening services, customer care, or administration. You may wish to complain if, for example, you believe that:

The work carried out in your garden does not match what was agreed.

Our team has not followed site rules or has acted in an unprofessional manner.

We have not attended at the agreed time or provided reasonable notice of a change.

Our billing or quotations are unclear or do not reflect the work completed.

Your previous feedback was not acknowledged or followed up appropriately.

How to Raise a Complaint

You may raise a complaint verbally or in writing. While we will always try to resolve matters on the spot where possible, we encourage written complaints where the issue is complex or relates to multiple visits. Providing clear details helps us to investigate quickly and thoroughly.

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

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

The date or approximate dates of the work or visits concerned.

A clear description of what went wrong and how you feel we have fallen short.

Any steps you have already taken to raise the issue informally with our team on site.

What outcome you would like to see, for example a return visit, correction of work, or an explanation.

We encourage clients to raise complaints as soon as possible after the issue arises so that we can investigate while details are still fresh and the garden or outdoor area remains in a similar condition.

Stage One: Informal Resolution

In many cases, complaints about gardening work can be resolved quickly and informally. Where safe and appropriate, please discuss any concerns with the team leader or gardener on site at the time of the visit. They will listen carefully, clarify what was agreed, and try to put things right immediately or at the earliest convenient opportunity.

If your concern cannot be resolved on site, or if you prefer not to speak to the team directly, you may raise it with our office. We will log the details and pass them to the appropriate person to review.

Stage Two: Formal Complaint Review

If you are not satisfied with the informal response, or if the issue is more serious or complex, you may request that your complaint is treated as a formal complaint. At this stage, your complaint will be reviewed by a senior member of staff who has not been directly involved in the original work where this is practical.

Once your formal complaint is received, we will:

Acknowledge your complaint in writing and confirm that it is being investigated.

Review our visit records, work schedules, photographs, and any notes taken by our gardening teams.

Where necessary, contact you for further information or arrange to inspect the garden or outdoor area.

Consider whether the agreed specification, quote or maintenance plan was followed.

We aim to provide a full written response within a reasonable timeframe. If our investigation is likely to take longer, we will let you know and explain the reasons for the delay.

Outcomes and Remedies

After considering your complaint, we will write to you with the outcome of our review. Possible outcomes may include:

An explanation or clarification where there has been a misunderstanding about the scope of work.

A return visit to complete missing tasks, correct work, or carry out remedial gardening.

A revised plan for future visits to ensure your garden is maintained as expected.

Where appropriate, a goodwill gesture or partial refund within our contractual and legal obligations.

We will also explain any steps we are taking to prevent similar issues arising in future, such as additional staff training, improved scheduling, clearer job descriptions, or enhanced quality checks on gardening work.

Escalation of Your Complaint

If you remain dissatisfied after our formal written response, you may request an internal escalation. A different senior member of our team will review both your original complaint and our handling of it. They may decide to:

Uphold the original decision.

Modify the outcome and propose further remedial actions.

Request additional information from you or from the gardeners who attended.

This internal review will focus on whether your complaint was investigated fairly, thoroughly and in line with this procedure.

Our Commitment to Fair Treatment

You will not be treated unfavourably for raising a complaint in good faith. We will ensure that ongoing or future gardening services to your property are not negatively affected because you have expressed concerns about previous work.

All complaints are handled with respect and confidentiality, and only those who need to know the details to investigate and resolve the matter will have access to them.

Using Feedback to Improve Our Gardening Services

Every complaint is an opportunity for Gardeners Bankside to improve and refine our service, from routine lawn care and hedge trimming to more complex planting schemes and garden makeovers. We regularly review complaints data to identify trends, recurring issues, and areas where our teams may need additional support or guidance.

By following this complaints procedure, we aim to resolve issues fairly, protect your interests as a client, and maintain a high standard of gardening and customer care across all the outdoor spaces we maintain.