The Art of Leading the Guest Experience

Let me take you back to 2016. I had just started working as a waiter in a restaurant in Dubai’s buzzing DIFC district. I was new to the scene—eager to learn, soaking everything in.


One evening, our bar manager, a charismatic older woman from Venezuela, came up with a midweek wine promotion. It sounded great: a cheese platter and a free-flow of four red wines and four white wines, available for a few hours at around AED 150. Guests could try everything. A good deal, no doubt.


She was excited to run the night herself. She had a background in bartending and sommelier experience, so she took the lead. But as the evening went on, things got… messy.


I remember watching her run from table to table, holding way too many glasses, trying to explain the wines in broken English. Her Venezuelan accent didn’t help much, and the guests? They were just as confused as she was—asking to “try that one again” or “what was the third wine?” It was all over the place. There was no structure, no experience—just chaos in motion.


That’s when I decided to step in.


I didn’t know everything about wine back then, but I knew enough. So I quickly got the basic info on each wine: where it’s from, what it tastes like, how heavy or light it is. I lined them up—from lightest to boldest—and started guiding the guests through the experience step by step.




I’d welcome them to the promotion and ask, “Do you feel like starting with red or white tonight?” Once they chose, I’d walk them through each wine, starting from light-bodied, moving to medium, and finishing with the full-bodied ones. With each glass, I’d give them a quick, simple explanation—just enough to keep it interesting, not overwhelming.


Then I’d say, “Now that you’ve tried all four, pick your favorite, and I’ll keep refilling that one for the rest of the night.” Simple. Smooth. Relaxed.


And guess what? It worked like a charm.


The guests felt taken care of. There was no more confusion. The wines made sense. The night flowed. It felt more like a wine journey than a messy buffet.


That night taught me something important: you don’t need to be the most experienced person in the room to take the lead—you just need to understand people and know your product well enough to guide them with confidence.


Being a great waiter isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about reading the moment, staying calm, and turning something basic into something special. A little structure and a bit of charm go a long way.


In the end, hospitality is all about this: making people feel like they’re in good hands.

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