The Honesty Policy

Germany, as you might imagine, is a very organized and efficient place. This is apparent from several angles. It’s a rich, industrialized, prosperous Western democracy. It’s the largest economy in Europe. The world’s top exporter. Founding member of the European Community and present-day backbone of the European Union. If we do word associations and I say “German engineering,” the following probably come to mind: Precision. Quality. Audi. Mercedes. BMW. Reliability. High performance. Luxury. For a western European country, Germany definitely stands apart from its peers. Playing on common stereotypes when it comes to business – but remembering that some truth exists in every joke – the Spanish are notorious for their “siesta” culture of two hour lunches and lazy afternoons; the French are affixed with a socialist reputation that leads to a labor strike on every other day that ends in a “y”; and the Italians certainly carry a dodgy aura of corrupt business stemming from the Sicilian Cosa Nostra to just two weeks ago when the Prime Minister, again on trial for bribery, told reporters that he had spent millions of euros in his life on “judges” before correcting himself to say “lawyers.” But when you think German business you probably think of a very polished blond-haired, blue-eyed guy in a three piece suite and thick rimmed glasses named “Helmut” or “Dieter.” Even the German language is very direct. It doesn’t charm or lull you like Spanish, Italian, or French. Rather, it is sharp, choppy, unromantic, straight to the point and has an “all business” tone of efficiency and organization.

I often observe the little things about German culture that put this organized structure in place and make the system go round. In noticeable ways, there is a huge sense of trust, honesty, and courtesy that permeates everyday life. The metro as a basic example of honesty. In every German city with a subway, metro, or lightrail (which is most of them) not a one “requires” you to buy a ticket before getting on board. Of course, the rule is you have to buy a ticket. But there is no turnstile to swipe a card and pass through in order to board a train. New York, DC, Spain and France, yes. In Germany anyone can take the escalator down and board the train without paying. If a conductor passes thru the metro asking for tickets and you don’t have one, well, you’re out of luck. Rarely do conductors pass thru looking for tickets, however, based on what I observe and gather from my conversations with Germans, even rarer are the instances when people board without buying a ticket. It’s an honesty policy to abide by the system. And one that works.

The German autobahn is a great example of social trust and courtesy, in several ways. (I have pleeeeeenty of time to think this through given all the road travel involved with work.) The first example is an obedience to speed limits. As mentioned in my last post, there are many many posted speed limits on the autobahn because of highway construction, tunnels, sinuous bridges, etc. On all the other stretches you go as fast as your heart and motor desire. Everyone…and I mean everyone….strictly abides by the speed limit when it is posted. Drivers here don’t just take a posted speed limit to mean a general warning to slow down. When the speed limit drops from unlimited to 80 km/hr , everyone’s speedometers will drop to exactly 80 and you’ll notice the same distance in your mirror between you and the car behind you when you first entered the 80 km/hr zone. In the US there’s always that 10-15 mph leeway (depending on your driving philosophy) of how much over the speed limit you can go and still not worry about getting ticketed. Plus with radars and a sharp eye for cop cars, speed limits these days in the US are really just a recommendation for most people as long as you’re not going forty over. In Germany there are no highway patrol cars monitoring speed. They don’t exist. Speed is enforced by cameras and there are even signs on the road telling WHERE cameras are. So you figure that when there is a speed limit, most people would only slow down where there is a camera present. Definitely not the case. The sign says 80, everyone goes 80 regardless of whether or not there is a speed camera. I see it as a reciprocity and trust between the authorities and the drivers. The roads are set so that drivers can go as fast as they want. Drivers appreciate that freedom and in turn, pay it back by strictly abiding to speed limits when they appear.

The second example is a collective warning system for speed safety. Construction can obviously cause bottlnecks and long stretches of traffic which abruptly jump out at you when you’re racing at 120 miles per hour. Whenever there is a line of traffic immediately following a long, unposted speed limit stretch, it’s autobahn courtesy to put your hazard lights on to warn drivers behind you of the abrupt speed change. Simple, courteous, and completely sensible. But when does that gesture happen in the US where most people have in their mind “go ahead, hit me from behind and I’ll sue you” mentality?

Third is an organized etiquette for highway driving. The autobahn is like one big orchestra of cars. Every car/instrument does its own thing, but everyone harmoniously blends together to establish a common rhythm. You will never see anyone not just overtaking on the right side, but passing and driving faster on the right side than someone on the left. If you are driving on a 3 lane autobahn in the right lane and see in the faint distance a car up ahead in the middle lane that you eventually catch up to, you will never pass the middle lane car even if you have both been in different lanes for long stretches. Instead, you will go all the way to the left lane to pass the car in the middle lane. Forget about overtaking on the right side. That would never occur. There is probably a lot gets lost in the description of this. It’s much better to see it in action. But if you aren’t coming to Germany anytime soon then the next tine you are on a highway in the US, keep a look out for how many times you see a car passing (not overtaking) another car from the right side. It’s a steadfast and organized obedience to the system here, again, which I see as a respect for the freedom that drivers have to go as fast as they want.

Finally, deviating from the autobahn, I went to a really really cool bar in Berlin last weekend. It is a wine bar in a yuppie neighborhood with a cozy and inviting lounge atmosphere that reminded me of Tryst in Adams Morgan for the DC people. Sounds normal right? But the twist of the bar is that, other than the 2 euros you pay for a glass, it is an open bar (quality wines too I might add) and when you leave you put the money that you think you owe into a big pot. There is even a food buffet! This goes on every night of the week, every week of the month. Game over. Done. Have a good night. The place is gonna go out of business because it’s gonna attract so many freeloaders looking for a free place to drink, right? Not quite. I don’t know how long the bar has been around but they’re in business (and doing well) because that pot looked quite happy throughout the night. That stems from a character of honesty and trust that it is typical in Germany. The bar trusts its customers to pay a respectable price, the customers respect that trust, and it gets channeled into a sense of duty to uphold it. Of course, it also helps that real estate is very cheap in Berlin so bars aren’t forced to mark up prices super high. So they can settle for a lower gross margin per customer because the place has less bills to pay. I wonder such a place would work in New York, DC, LA, or Chicago – places where happy hour goers scour the internet for the cheapest drinks and if lucky, stumble upon the one hour on Wednesday evenings from 9-10 when there is an open bar and are sure to be on line by 8:30 since there will be too many people afterwards.

It’s through these stories that I see Germany in a nutshell and the societal characteristics it has in place that drive many of its collective successes as a country. Trust breeds honesty and courtesy. Honesty and courtesy generate organization and efficiency.

And for those who of course know me to be a frequent Embassy Suites Manager’s Happy Hour patron, I ended up paying a very generous bill at the end of the night.