Pots Platforms FAQ

Who is this software designed for?

This software is specifically designed for gardeners and their clients. After spending years in the industry and having spoken to thousands of gardeners and clients, we have created a service-focused platform that aims to be adaptable enough to meet everyone’s unique circumstances.

What is the goal of this platform?

Our goal is to make your life simpler and more efficient, whether you are a gardener or a garden owner/manager. We want to improve service standards while reducing your time commitments.

What is the benefit to me?

Having built the software specifically for gardeners and their clients, after spending years in the industry and speaking to thousands of gardeners and clients, we have created a service-focused platform that aims to be adaptable enough to meet everyone’s unique circumstances. Whether you are a gardener or a garden owner/manager, we are here to make your life simpler and more efficient, so that service standards go up while your time commitments go down.

Gardener Benefits:

There are some very impactful features already available on the platform, and how you use them will depend on the size and scale of your organisation. It’s best to speak to one of our onboarding teams where someone can introduce themselves, walk you through the process, and make sure you’re getting the most out of everything Pots has to offer.

In summary, here are some of the major benefits you can utilise from the software:

• Grow your business with a free public listing. You can sign up and create a profile for free, listing your company to interested clients in the area and benefiting from the thousands of pounds being spent on advertising for the platform and its users.

• Utilise our free job and staff management tools. There comes a time when a paper diary just doesn’t cut it anymore. Then there comes a time when your digital calendar isn’t bespoke enough to handle your gardening business, and in both cases, using a product fit for purpose frees up your valuable time.

• No need to pay. Monthly commitments aren’t always the way forward, especially when you’re trying something out. Alternatively, you might prefer to operate with a fixed monthly fee. We understand that everyone’s business and operation is different, so we have created two dynamic ways to use the software to suit you and your clients.

This really is just the tip of the iceberg for benefits, with autogenerated client notifications, invoices and receipts, repeat events and bookings, industry-specific discounts, and business growth mentorship all available and at your disposal.

Can I add more pictures to my profile on my Pots profile page?

This will be an added feature coming soon. However, you can showcase your work on the Pots location pages users can see a bit more about your company, with pictures and a description of what you’re all about.

How do I show that I’m fully booked on a certain date?

You can change your visibility at any time. If you go into ‘Company settings’, then ‘Booking Settings’, and set visibility to ‘Fully Booked’, this will show on your profile when anyone tries to book a new slot with you.
But if you want to set a date in the future that shows your are fully booked or unavailable, you can put an ‘Event’ in your calendar and this will show you services as ‘Busy’ on that chosen day.

Garden Owner benefits:

The benefits to you as a garden owner, property manager, or grounds maintenance manager are a little different. Despite being part of a growing community of accredited gardeners and garden lovers and benefiting from exclusive discounts with some of the best horticultural brands.

Answers to traditional pain points:

“Where is my gardener?”

It’s not uncommon for the uncontactable gardener to come and go as he pleases. We hear it time and time again. While we don’t track Pots gardeners’ every move, you can pick a time and date from their live availability. The gardeners will receive notifications to remind them to let you know if they are running late, and you will be notified when they are arriving and when they are done. Your booking event will have the option for the attachment of before-and-afters so you can see exactly where they were working, and you can have peace of mind that they will not be paid until you have confirmed the work was completed to a satisfactory standard.

“What has he done?”

It blows our minds that you can leave and not know what your gardener’s done. Our first business built its reputation on strong communication and session reporting, and we want to encourage this as a new standard in the industry.

We encourage you to leave notes on your booking event, “to-do’s,” and some before photos of the space, so the gardener knows exactly what and where they should be working (especially if you’re not in!). It might be the case you have built up the trust that this is no longer required, or you got a professional so they could, in fact, tell you what needed doing! Either way, the gardeners are encouraged to attach before-and-after photos of the work they have completed. And if you are considered about the amount of work that was done, you can raise a dispute with one of our industry specialists who can advise accordingly. The gardeners protect their own work ethic by attaching before-and-afters, and you can always request they do so in your notes.

“Why does he never answer the phone?”

 They seem to be in a world of their own, don’t they? How hard can it be to pick up the phone? Well, you shouldn’t have that concern anymore. Gardeners who cannot uphold a high standard of work and professional communication won’t last very long on our platform. You won’t need to sit around waiting for the line to cut off. All the information you will need can be found on your app. You can search for your favourite gardener, search by price, check their availability, leave job notes, review the session – it goes on and on. We hope that our clear user journey makes this a pain-free process.

If the gardener doesn’t respond to a booking request within 48 hours, we are immediately alerted and can contact them directly or recommend another provider. We understand the importance of good communication.

“I wonder how their price compares?”

Remember, you pay for what you get, but now you can easily look through all your active local gardeners in one place. Companies interested in accepting new work, proud to display their reviews, and held accountable to high standards. Compare prices, but our advice is to pick the best fit for you and your garden.

“When are you free?”

Trying to find a suitable booking date for both of you can be tricky, requiring multiple calls, changes, and ongoing back-and-forth. Our gardener’s availability is live, so you stand the best chance of selecting a time and date that suits you. There are always variables that may mean that this might change, but our re-proposal system allows you to go back and forth with your gardener so you can find a time that suits.

Booking tip!: Leave notes about why that time suits you so your gardener can consider it if re-proposing. Fill out your bookable hours on your profile to allow for automatic re-bookings if the weather decides to throw a spanner in the works.

“Will he remember the notes I gave him?”

Over the phone and even in-person communication can get muddled. Your booking event has a section dedicated to notes so that both you and your gardener can be crystal clear on any notes you gave, and they will be kept forever in your booking history in case either of you want to revisit them.

“What is their number?”

It can be tricky keeping track of your gardener’s contact details. By booking directly through the app, you will never have to worry about this again.

“Where can I see our reviews?”

If you head to your gardener’s profile, you can see all their reviews since they have been on the platform. To get on the platform in the first place, we will have gone through their other publicly available reviews as part of our onboarding process to make sure they have a good reputation.

“Do you have any qualifications?”

The gardeners have the option to display their qualifications and achievements on their profile so you can quickly make sure you have selected an individual or organization with the necessary skills to care for your garden.

“Can I see photos of your work?”

Head over to your gardener’s profile. They can upload highlights from their favourite projects, and you can easily browse through them.

“Has my gardener done enough work/has my gardener done a good job?”

You might not have been a gardener yourself and may not know what a good amount of work is or what is a good standard. If you are unsure, you can message our industry specialist who can provide advice. Everyone works at a different pace, and standards are different for everyone’s individual needs. It could take some time to communicate this clearly with your gardener, but that’s why we build strong relationships that hopefully last for a long time.

“Is it easy to change gardeners? (Am I committed?)”

Yes, it’s easy to change, and no, you’re not committed! You can browse and change gardeners whenever you like, giving you a chance to shop around. The only time you are committed to a gardener is once you have placed an order with them, in which they are entitled to go and complete the work.

How do we make money?

We have built this software from the ground up, endless hours of coding, brainstorming, planning, and everything in between have gone into making a product you love so that our industry can thrive. We need to have a revenue model, so we offer attractive jobs and living standards to our own teams but, just as importantly, so we can continue to develop! New features, new connections, offering new benefits, and becoming a more impactful company.

Booking fee

While it appears dynamic, the software is still in its infancy, and our long-term plans for the platform are incredibly exciting. We welcome you on that journey and want you to fully understand how we operate. We charge a 15% booking fee to the client when they book a gardener via the software, and you can see this difference clearly displayed in your profile. This means you can utilize the rest of our pot’s basic features free of charge to help you nurture and grow your garden or business.

Gardener notice! 

If you have taken the correct steps in setting up your profile and working with our onboarding and mentorship team to make sure your business is looking strong, primed for the future, and acting with best practice, you will have bookings coming in fast. Don’t worry, we have tons of new feature incentives designed for your clients’ fees to reduce as you grow, giving you a competitive edge as a regular Pots user.

Max booking cap COMING SOON!

We have a fixed max booking fee so that you aren’t charged the earth for large bookings.

Bulk work discounts COMING SOON!

We want to encourage you and your clients to continue making larger bookings, giving your garden more time to receive the care it deserves. The more bookings you receive, the better rate you can offer your client. The more bookings your client makes, the better rate they are given.

Commission split. COMING SOON!

We know it can be tough growing a business, and inflation, VAT, servicing costs can all mean you need to regularly change your prices, and sometimes you don’t want to pass this onto your client. While using Pots software will help you grow and become more efficient, it has the potential to increase what your clients pay. Our onboarding team can help you set your price in line with your area averages, and our new commission split feature will allow you to choose how much of the booking fee is charged to the client.

Subscription Service

Reduce fees, early feature access, premium listings; get ready for this one! COMING SOON. Contact our onboarding team to stay ahead of the curve.

Partnerships

We offer so much of our service to both parties for free. We want your life to be easier, and we want you to feel positive enough to have a wider effect on your community. We, therefore, had to look for other ways to generate income, and once again, we have tied this into a huge set of benefits to Pots users. As a Pots gardener or client, you have access to our full list of premium partners. Whether you are looking for a fresh new pair of RHS endorsed Original Muck Boots or need to pick up some specialist ericaceous plants from Reuters, our users have access to a huge range of exclusive discounts. This includes help with your accounting!

We are your one-stop-shop for the horticulture industry, and when you spend, we get a payback, which we can continue to invest in growing our organization.

Are Pots gardeners insured?

All our Pots gardeners can upload any qualifications, insurances, awards, and achievements to our admin panel. We verify these and clearly display them via a badge system on their company profile, so you can be confident in your choice. If they aren’t displaying a fully insured badge, then they might not be. Don’t worry, our team is working with all our gardeners to help them improve their own businesses.

How do I know how much time to book?

Ask your gardener via a booking:

Whether you are booking by the hour or paying per project, you might have no idea how much time is realistically required. The best thing to do is to say this in your notes and attach plenty of photos. Your gardener can then re-propose the booking to you with their recommended time & price for meeting your expectations.

Book a site visit:

Prefer for them to see it in person or have a chance to meet your gardener first? No problem. Book a visit! If your gardener offers primary visits, that will be listed on their profile, and just like making a booking, you can search their live availability to find a time that works for you both.

Speak to a Pots Industry Specialist:

Contact our team directly, and they can help give you the guidance you need to start things moving forward.

[email protected]

What happens if it rains?

Ah, rain. Love it or hate it, it can grind things to a halt. Whether the work can be completed to an adapter standard or not in poor conditions is down to your gardener unless you have specifically requested it is done in the dry. You have the option to set wet or dry weather settings when you make a booking, but your gardener might disagree, so you could find yourself being guided by them. If it rains, your gardener will need to re-propose a suitable date if automatic rebooking’s haven’t been enabled, and from there, the work can be completed as planned! You and your gardener are obligated to find a suitable date within our given rebooking deadline.

Discrepancies, complaints & appeals.

As a booking platform, we do not have total control and cannot accept total ownership for the behaviour of gardeners or clients. Our initial due diligence is strong to ensure we stand the best chance of facilitating strong positive exchanges between both parties. We do, however, have the ability to remove gardeners who are not meeting the industry standard and likewise clients who are being needlessly difficult. Using our platform is a privilege. More information can be found in our full terms and conditions, which have to be accepted in full to use our software.

“I am not happy with the work completed by my gardener.” / “My client has complained, but I think the work we completed was satisfactory.”

Misaligned expectations are the most common causes of complaints. Therefore, heading into the interaction with an open mind is important. The nature of the complaint or dispute will dictate the exact procedure, but here is our standard procedure:

If you are unhappy with the work completed, you will be given the option to appeal the work before accepting that it has been completed. If you do this, you will be asked to leave a description of why you are unhappy and provide photographic evidence where relevant. Complaints without evidence are just that. Ensure you have clearly defined notes and before & after photos so that an accurate analysis can be done. If one party can provide evidence and the other can’t, expect to lose that appeal.

Once evidence has been collected from both sides, one of our industry specialists will be in contact to suggest how we can move forward and reach an amicable solution. Our jurisdiction ends at the usage of our software. If both parties are uncooperative, we will ask you to engage in legal proceedings with each other, and neither will be permitted to re-use our platform.

Kind, honest, and understanding people are our audience.