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.

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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.