Raising the bar

Caterer Middle East met with a select group of the region’s top beverage professionals at Fairmont Dubai’s Cin Cin bar for a frank discussion on the highs and lows of the region’s burgeoning bar scene — the staff, the service and the beverage community.

What are the main challenges facing the Middle East bar industry today?

Sasha Milovanovic: There are quite a few challenges actually. Firstly, there’s the problem that there is no proper bar association.

In my opinion that is a major issue, because there’s no opportunity for those working in the industry to sit down and share opinions and discuss the latest trends and challenges and so on. And this basically means that everything is micro-managed.

We cannot get together and get more of the big picture — which is really how an industry grows.

Felix Hartmann: I do run the Dubai Bartender Club, but that’s really me doing it in my leisure time, so I cannot really dedicate the hours a project like this requires. It was started a year ago, but it’s not really serious, because there’s not the time.

Tihomir Gergov: I think live events can be one way round this, of getting the bar community together. We have done quite a few events in conjunction with MMI.

And in fact we have recently been talking about setting up some kind of association here, and have checked with the IBA (International Bartenders Association) regarding what the possibility of that is.

But Felix’s group has really laid the ground work and shown there is a call for such an association, so in my view, the first step is done. The second step is to set up a regional chapter and find people who can take care of things at least part time, because it is a very tough job.

Milovanovic: But is that legally possible?

Gergov: I am checking that; right now I am assessing whether we can look at it more from an industry forum point of view, rather than from the alcohol standpoint.

Then if you then want to do something in terms of alcohol, you team up with MMI or A+E, and they can maybe do a master-class on the side of the meeting.

Hartmann: But for an association, you do need to have proof for two years of meetings — so minutes for every monthly meeting; that’s all part of the package you have to submit to the IBA to become a member. So it’s a big undertaking.

Gergov: The real problem is that here there are not that many people working in the industry who are planning to stay around for the long term and who can therefore build an association. A handful of us have been around a while, but there’s not a huge number of people who would stay here and oversee this chapter.

Nick Hancock: I came to Dubai at the end of last year and I did feel there was something lacking compared to the rest of the world, precisely because there isn’t anything like the IBA.

Recently I’ve had a lot of western bar professionals, really top bartenders, asking me about coming out here to work. But it’s difficult explaining to them that it’s different in this region — you just don’t earn the kind of money that you do in Las Vegas or London or wherever.

Simon Hopman: I’d agree with that; you can’t just rely on bringing top people in. You definitely do need to train them internally, which is why our beverage programme is one of the most extensive in Dubai. The experience bartenders might have elsewhere you don’t really find here, so you do need to train them yourself.

Rebecca Sturt: From what I have seen working within these huge co-operations, a lot of people do not seem to have the time to train their staff.

A beverage or bars manager is generally tied down to operational duties rather than spending time training — which is good for us, as it keeps us busy, but it does mean new staff go behind the bar without proper training, which makes them vulnerable.

One of the other big factors is payment structure. In bars in London, New York or Paris, bartenders are well paid, they earn a lot of tips and they are rewarded for their hard work, dedication and knowledge.

Here in Dubai, F&B staff are not paid for the hours or hard work they put in. Working 12 to 15 hours a day, six days a week is very intense — but if they were paid properly to do that, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind working those extra hours.

Hartmann: In Europe, when you’re a real bar professional, it’s like you’re a celebrity. But in Dubai you’re on the same benefits and accommodation as a waiter — and you can’t attract the top people by offering that.

Quite simply, you have to put the bartenders here on a higher level. Right now, only bar managers get the high benefits; if other senior bar staff saw some additional benefits, I think it would work extremely well as a motivational tool.

Hopman: At Fairmont we do make sure we have our bartenders on a higher scale. They are at the same level as supervisors. Then there’s more prestige associated with being a bartender, so people may start as a normal bar server and aspire to moving up the ladder. That’s how we develop them and encourage them to progress within the company.

Today’s consumers are being more careful with their money as a result of the economic downturn; how has this impacted bars?

Milovanovic: Looking at our bar 1897, it was doing extremely well, showing consistent growth over the past three years.

But now we have seen a decrease in the number of covers compared to last year, due to the large number of good spenders who have just left the country. And those guests who have stayed tend to go for cheaper options.

Hancock: But I’m fairly optimistic about how things are going; recently, maybe in the last week, I think things have been picking up.

Hopman: We have a very strong presence here and a loyal customer base, however nowadays their spending is different; they are very much looking for value-for-money offers — it’s not the easy spending that it was before.

So we’ve created value-adding experiences for them such as wine and spirits tasting sessions with industry experts, so it’s an education for the guests.

Really, this whole economic situation has challenged us to be more creative in our offerings and encourage the guests to come back. I think people are still there and they are willing to spend — they’re just more cautious about what they’re spending money on.

Hancock: When I first came out here, I’m not going to mention names but there were certain places where you’d get a terrible drink and terrible service, then you’d go somewhere else and pay exactly the same price for the same product, but it would be decent service and made better.

And now, with all this competition, hopefully the standards will increase overall, so that’s good for the industry and the consumer.

Gergov: It’s true as well that some Dubai bars were overcharging people in the past; but now these places have to take care of quality and make sure they’re delivering value for the price.

Hopman: The good thing about many of the bars in Dubai though is that they are associated with five-star hotels.

There are some benefits to be taken from that — for example, we have the FAME programme, which is the Fairmont Artistic Mixology Experience, so we have that level of training that you get from corporate standards.

All our staff have gone through this training, including the servers, including the waiting staff in The Exchange Grill; you need this level of consistency in service.
 

Plus offering these training and development opportunities is a very influential factor in staff retention.

Hartmann: It is difficult though, when you commit to giving people all this training, but the passion isn’t there for them and they don’t necessarily take on board or implement what they are taught.

For some people in this industry, it is more about earning money than having any real desire to work in a bar, which of course will impact their motivation and interest.

Milovanovic: For me, it’s all about passion; money is important, but you really need a drive for this role. I would bet that more than 80% of people working in bars here are just there to make money to send home.

And you really do get frustrated when you put so much time and energy into training and it is not reciprocated. We’d love to see more staff asking us about trends, global events, competitions and so on — but not many do.

Hancock: I try to avoid that by hiring people for their personality — I don’t care how much experience they’ve got; you can always train them up.

Milovanovic: You can do that of course, but for certain hotel groups you don’t have that luxury; they have to fit them to certain corporate standards, because they still have to be ‘five-star people’.

Hopman: That’s why all of our employees on The Exchange Floor have been hired from within the company. They start in stewarding, in housekeeping or wherever, then by showing their passion, energy and commitment to the hotel, they move into these positions.

So yes we select them based on their characters, but we’re also getting people who are familiar with our brand standards.

Gergov: But I absolutely agree with Felix that if you are dedicating all your energy and passion to teaching people, you want to see them learn and grow.

Hartmann: This is a very sensitive topic, but the passion of bar staff from different areas of the world is understandably different, because there are different cultures, they have different exposure to that industry and the role of bartender is viewed in a different light.

But of course, being a great bartender doesn’t depend on where someone comes from; they simply need to demonstrate that they have a real passion for the job. And I think if we had an IBA forum here, with meetings, tastings, the sharing of information, it would help a lot.

Gergov: It’s important that we encourage the formation of such a group and get people talking as soon as possible. Everything needs time to get going, but if somebody doesn’t start it we’ll never get there.