Matthew Clulee opened his first hair salon in 2000 and now owns two successful shops in the centre of Oxford. The range of services he offers includes hairdressing, beauty, sports therapy massage and manicures. His team of 25 staff have won numerous awards, designed and dressed hair during Paris Fashion Week and regularly contribute to fashion shows, photo shoots, and local and national media events.
Client Comment
“I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Chris Lewis Fire & Security. Their service is exceptional. There’s always someone willing to help at the end of the phone and their engineers are very knowledgeable. More importantly they’re extremely reliable and if there’s a problem, they’re genuinely concerned and will do everything to fix it – which is just what a busy business owner like me needs!” Matthew Clulee, Owner, Matthew Clulee Hair Salons
Project Background
Matthew Clulee has a long established relationship with Chris Lewis Fire & Security. He first used the company in 2000 when he opened a hair salon in Headington, in the outskirts of Oxford. He has since commissioned fire and security installations and maintenance services for two further salons in Oxford city centre as well as using the company to protect two residential properties.
Matthew commented, “A client of mine recommended Chris Lewis Fire & Security so I asked them to quote for an intruder alarm for my first salon and the house where I was living at the time. That was over ten years ago and I’ve relied on them ever since for all my fire and security installations and ongoing maintenance services.” He added, “I always approach a number of companies for a quote, but end up going with Chris Lewis Fire & Security every time because I know I can rely on their services completely, and that they’ll always specify the best system for my needs.”
In 2003 Matthew opened his second salon in Ship Street, Oxford. The building is owned and part occupied by Jesus College. His refurbishment team had installed a fire detection system, but the College had requested for it to be integrated with its own fire system so that if a fire occurred in either premises, both alarms would be activated. Matthew was keen to comply and ensure that the fire system met health and safety standards. He also wanted an intruder alarm to protect the salon during non-trading hours.
In 2006 Matthew moved house and required a cost effective wireless intruder alarm to protect his house and garage. Then in 2009, he closed his Headington salon and opened a new Hair Studio in St Michael Street, Oxford. Once again, fire and security were high on his agenda, and Matthew decided to have an intruder alarm and fire detection system installed with ongoing maintenance for the systems.
Matthew confirmed, “It’s always been imperative that the salons’ fire detection systems are maintained to the highest standard. Not only do I want to protect my staff and customers, but any downtime caused by a fire would be devastating to the business. Replacing the shops’ interiors, air conditioning systems, stock and electrical equipment would be extremely time consuming and costly and not something I ever want to have to consider. Having a maintenance contract with Chris Lewis Fire & Security provides me with the confidence I need.”
The Solution
In 2000 we installed a Veritas 8 Multizone intruder alarm in Matthew’s Headington hair salon, and carried out annual maintenance checks over the next nine years to ensure it continued to work effectively and to pre-empt any potential failure or faults. We also installed and maintained a Veritas R8 intruder alarm at his home.
In 2003, when Matthew opened his second salon, the same Veritas R8 intruder alarm system was specified. In line with Matthew’s request to ensure that the fire detection system that his shop fitters had installed met health and safety standards, a number of improvements were made. At the same time the salon’s system was integrated with the fire alarm system at Jesus College, to enable them to monitor his premises as part of their estate.
Matthew commented, “I wasn’t convinced the fire system that the shop fitters had installed was working correctly. It was reassuring to have Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s engineers assess it. They fixed a fault on the control panel and moved a couple of the smoke detectors to make it more effective. They also successfully integrated the system with my landlord’s to provide me and the College with an integrated fire system that covers both premises.”
A Power Max Plus wireless intruder alarm was used to protect Matthew’s new home because the walls were so thick. The wireless system, comprising door contacts on external doors and internal motion sensors, also enabled straightforward integration of the detached garage into the main alarm.
In November 2009 our engineers were again asked to design and specify an integrated intruder and fire detection system for Matthew’s new salon in St Michael Street. The Galaxy G2 from Honeywell was proposed as it integrates an intruder alarm system with smoke and heat detectors. The system installed at the salon incorporated three motion detectors, three smoke detectors, four break glass points, two door contacts and a single control panel.
Results
Matthew Clulee has invested heavily on the interiors of his salons so it is important that his fire and security systems are unobtrusive and do not detract from the decor. Because our engineers have extensive product knowledge and installation experience, they have installed systems in all three salons that are extremely discreet, yet highly effective.
Matthew explained, “I didn’t want to cut costs on the number of detectors, sounders and sensors installed, but at the same time I didn’t want my fire and security equipment to stand out. Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s engineers were extremely sympathetic to my requirements. Not only is the equipment they’ve installed inconspicuous, but the engineers worked very quickly and efficiently so as not to cause any disruption to the fit-out.”
The installation of an integrated intruder and fire system at the St Michael Street salon not only minimised installation time, but has subsequently reduced Matthew’s ongoing maintenance costs.
Matthew added, “The fact Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s engineers are multi-disciplined and able to install, integrate and maintain both fire and security systems means less disruption and lower costs to my business. The system they have installed can also be integrated with other equipment, which means in the future, we can network it to any system that the occupants of the retail unit above install. This will ensure that the alarms in both premises are activated in the event of fire.”
“Our systems not only reassure me and my staff that we’re protected from fire and intruders, they’re also easy to use and provide me with the capability to reset passwords as often as necessary which, in an industry renowned for having a high turnover of staff, is very important.”
By installing a wireless intruder alarm at Matthew’s current home, installation time and disruption was limited. With a wireless system, sensors can be placed anywhere as long as they are in range of the keypad. This makes it easy to incorporate outbuildings, and because the system is highly extendable, it will be easy for Matthew to add to it in the future.