Intrepid upgrade CCTV for London’s oldest wine bar!
Inside Gordon’s Wine Bar
“From the first contact we had with Intrepid Security I was impressed by the speed and efficiency with which they worked…”
Speaking with manager Amanda Whiteside, it is easy to understand why Gordon’s Wine Bar has become a favoured hotspot for locals and tourists alike. Her passion for excellence is palpable…
Gordon’s is reputedly the oldest wine bar in London. It has become a favourite haunt for city executives during the day and a destination bar for first dates, group reunions and tourists seeking out great food and wine, beautifully curated.
Whereas some institutions can become staid, relying upon former glories to entice the punters, Gordon’s offering continually evolves to respond to changing customer tastes. And it is this dynamism, this passion for their business as Amanda explains, that is so obviously the driving force behind a successful enterprise.
“Criminal targeting of customers could have had a deleterious effect upon the bar business, if left unchecked”
Within risk management circles, Gordon’s is also very well known for its links with Simon Gordon, the CEO and Founder of Facewatch. Simon has been operating the bar for many years. Indeed, it was a pernicious growth in low-level, mostly opportunistic crime committed in the bar by recidivist organised crime gangs, at a time where police resources seemed to be focussed elsewhere, that led Simon to an initiative that would become Facewatch. Clearly the criminal targeting of customers could have had a deleterious effect upon the bar business, if left unchecked.
Outside Gordon’s Wine Bar
The bar had been operating the same CCTV since first installing a system, to support the development of Facewatch, some 14 years ago. And whilst the system had served the business well, the passage of time meant that the technology was becoming both old and expensive to maintain.
Amanda explained that she was given recommendations of several CCTV companies to try. Intrepid were quick to respond. They understood the brief, were quick to survey and provided a very competitive quotation.
“From the first contact we had with Intrepid Security I was impressed by the speed and efficiency with which they worked. We asked them to upgrade our existing camera system as well as to add to it. The quote was produced very quickly and was significantly better value than relicensing my old tech. I felt confident that we had made the right choice in placing the business with Intrepid.”
As it turns out doing so was a timely move, because almost immediately the existing CCTV system malfunctioned!
“Intrepid installed the new system in about half the time we expected” says Amanda. “Avoiding opening times so as not to disturb trade, they worked early in the morning with phenomenal speed. They were efficient, intuitive and smart in handling cabling and installing cameras. And the amount of disruption to the business was virtually nothing.”
Amanda is very happy with the new system too.
“I am delighted with our new system. It is so much better than what we had before. And Intrepid were very clever in the way they used as much of our existing infrastructure as possible whilst getting more performance out of it. And the post installation training and support has been excellent too. They haven’t just installed a system and left us to figure out how to use it!”
When asked if she would recommend Intrepid, Amanda is unequivocal…
“Intrepid Security provided excellent value, a terrific product and most of all a level of expertise and customer service that one rarely sees these days. I would recommend them wholeheartedly.”
“They were efficient, intuitive and smart and the amount of disruption to the business was virtually nothing”