"...I want someone who’s 100% reliable and the guys at Climate Cooling are that and more."

Climate Cooling help Warren House to deliver a five star service

Head Chef, Paul Bellingham sums up his thoughts on Climate Cooling

“If any of our refrigeration units fail it can make my life very difficult, especially if we’re catering for a major conference or wedding. Timing is everything. The guys at Climate Cooling understand our situation perfectly. If there’s a problem, they’ll bend over backwards to work in with our timetable. There’s never any fuss, no matter what time I call them - they get on with it and get it sorted. They know all the units we have and that makes a big difference.

From my point of view, I want someone who’s 100% reliable and the guys at Climate Cooling are that and more.” 

Background

Warren House, in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey is one of the finest, dedicated conference, training and meeting venues in Britain. It creatively combines the splendour of grand late Victorian architecture with cutting edge technology, ‘five star’ facilities and a level of customer service that is unequalled by any other meeting venue.

Warren House sets a very high standard, one that must be reflected in every area of the business. The Warren House experience generates repeat business from existing clients and powers the marketing drive for new business. Integral to this ‘five star’ image are the expectations clients have of the cuisine and the comfort of the meeting rooms and the restaurant. In these two areas the task fell to Climate Cooling to meet the challenge.

The Challenge

Chef, Paul Bellingham, joined Warren House in 2000 and heads the kitchen team of eight chefs. His domain includes under counter refrigerators, under counter freezers, four chest refrigerators, chillers, double fridge and single fridge plus an ice cream and sorbet maker. As might be expected all these units were acquired at different times and each has developed its own history of problems and reliability.

Servicing and repair were done on an ‘ad hoc’ basis, which inevitably meant response times were often days (not hours) and solutions were left to the experience and expertise of whichever engineer responded to the call.  Some equipment needed upgrading and professional advice was required to guide Warren House through this process.

Head Chef, Paul, took the view that a relationship with a refrigeration supplier needed to be developed which echoed that established with his suppliers of fresh food and provisions – one that was founded on anticipation, trust, flexibility and confidence.

Climate Cooling responds to the challenge

Warren House were pleased with the service they’d received from Climate Cooling on callouts and wanted them to quote for a full maintenance contract.

Climate Cooling responded by recording a detailed inventory of the refrigeration equipment including the known history of breakdowns and problems. From this they were able to anticipate areas where preventative maintenance would bring immediate and cost effective benefits. This proactive approach would minimise emergency callouts and allow the Climate Cooling team to carry out work with minimal disruption to the kitchen routine.

Innovative Cost Control

Climate Cooling are renowned for their innovative solutions, particularly when faced with situations where replacing equipment might be the easiest but not the most cost effective solution. At Warren House freezer doors, damaged by kitchen traffic, were able to be repaired and refurbished saving the client thousands of pounds.

Similar practical thinking solved a problem with an under counter freezer unit which was prone to corrosion. As corrosion was a recurring problem and no new replacement model could be found to fit the space available, Climate Cooling purchased and refurbished a second hand model to use as a back-up unit whilst the original underwent an extensive overhaul. This unit is now held in stock for use whenever a unit needs to be repaired.

Air Conditioning adds to the challenge

As part of Warren House’s investment programme, air conditioning has been installed in the kitchen. The greatest challenge has been installing sophisticated Fujitsu air-con units to selected meeting rooms, the restaurant and some bedrooms. As a Grade II listed building, the restrictions are severe and working closely with Warren House, Climate Cooling have successfully completed the first phase of the project so that the internal units are stylishly blended into the elegant décor with the refrigeration management centre located out of site and away from the main building.