3 ms·

Just curious if the German trait you mentioned you have witnessed first hand or hearsay?

poulsbohemian 8y ago
I experienced it first-hand, thought I admit it has been many years since I've spent any time in Germany and I fully recognize that culture changes over time so I have no idea if this is still how it's done. That's why I used the word "historically" in my original statement.
- Lutzb 8y ago
  German here. Punctuality is still valued highly. In a business context it is considered very rude not to be there exactly on time. You are seen as untrustworthy, if you can't honor a simple agreed upon time.
arendtio 8y ago
Well, as a German, I can tell you that we take timing seriously and for business meetings, there is just one time the meeting starts. Party timing is still something many of us struggle with as not every host does it the same. Some like the guests to arrive on time, others have adopted the more international habit of not expecting anybody during the first hour.
pjmlp 8y ago
Yes, but there is also a difference between using um and ab regarding punctuality, so better take care when writing invitations. :) Having lived in both countries, I would say our Swiss neighbors are even more stringent regarding punctuality.
- masklinn 8y ago
  "Mother Fucking Swiss" is a legendary post, and very reflective of experiencing swiss-german people: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/11pcs1/while_i_lived_in_an_apartment_i_kept_a_linksys/c6oqc3m/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/11pcs1/while_i_l...
  - pjmlp 8y ago
    I had a laugh. Naturally a bit stereotyped, but still. There is a relatively old Swiss movie that plays with them. Available only in French and German versions. https://en.unifrance.org/movie/24595/welcome-in-switzerland https://en.unifrance.org/movie/24595/welcome-in-switzerland
  - poulsbohemian 8y ago
    As someone of Swiss ancestry, thank you for this! My sides hurt from laughter.
  - zaarn 8y ago
    That was quite an entertaining post. My grandma used to say that the difference between a Swiss and a German is that if we'd forget to cut the lawn, the neighbor would be annoyed after a week. In Switzerland they'd call the Police on day 2. Trains are also late in Germany. A lot. I blame DB. They come up with the silliest excuses too, like that one time were they claimed that the track bed had caught fire. I would have believed it if it wasn't -10°C in the dead winter while it snowed like crazy. On the other hand I do have a punctuality tick, I have counted out the exact amount of time it takes to get to the train station and I wake up at 0600 with or without alarm clock, regardless of when I fell asleep. I also make sure that my clocks are set as exact as possible (I used to run a GPS powered NTP server just for my devices).
    - Izkata 8y ago
      > They come up with the silliest excuses too, like that one time were they claimed that the track bed had caught fire. I would have believed it if it wasn't -10°C in the dead winter while it snowed like crazy. Here in Chicago, the tracks are intentionally lit on fire in the winter (so they don't develop an ice sheet, I think). Maybe the same thing, but whoever explained it was unfamiliar with the practice?
      - zaarn 8y ago
        No I don't think they do that here, not that I observed it. The switches are heated though, since they need to move for the train. There is also a lot of different snow clearing vehicles that go around in the worst areas. We do have trainbed fires during dry summers at times (like currently) but not winter, it was just some excuse for lack of trains or otherwise produced delays.

I experienced it first-hand, thought I admit it has been many years since I've spent any time in Germany and I fully recognize that culture changes over time so I have no idea if this is still how it's done. That's why I used the word "historically" in my original statement.

Lutzb 8y ago
German here. Punctuality is still valued highly. In a business context it is considered very rude not to be there exactly on time. You are seen as untrustworthy, if you can't honor a simple agreed upon time.

arendtio 8y ago

Well, as a German, I can tell you that we take timing seriously and for business meetings, there is just one time the meeting starts. Party timing is still something many of us struggle with as not every host does it the same. Some like the guests to arrive on time, others have adopted the more international habit of not expecting anybody during the first hour.

pjmlp 8y ago

Yes, but there is also a difference between using um and ab regarding punctuality, so better take care when writing invitations. :) Having lived in both countries, I would say our Swiss neighbors are even more stringent regarding punctuality.

masklinn 8y ago
"Mother Fucking Swiss" is a legendary post, and very reflective of experiencing swiss-german people: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/11pcs1/while_i_lived_in_an_apartment_i_kept_a_linksys/c6oqc3m/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/11pcs1/while_i_l...
- pjmlp 8y ago
  I had a laugh. Naturally a bit stereotyped, but still. There is a relatively old Swiss movie that plays with them. Available only in French and German versions. https://en.unifrance.org/movie/24595/welcome-in-switzerland https://en.unifrance.org/movie/24595/welcome-in-switzerland
- poulsbohemian 8y ago
  As someone of Swiss ancestry, thank you for this! My sides hurt from laughter.
- zaarn 8y ago
  That was quite an entertaining post. My grandma used to say that the difference between a Swiss and a German is that if we'd forget to cut the lawn, the neighbor would be annoyed after a week. In Switzerland they'd call the Police on day 2. Trains are also late in Germany. A lot. I blame DB. They come up with the silliest excuses too, like that one time were they claimed that the track bed had caught fire. I would have believed it if it wasn't -10°C in the dead winter while it snowed like crazy. On the other hand I do have a punctuality tick, I have counted out the exact amount of time it takes to get to the train station and I wake up at 0600 with or without alarm clock, regardless of when I fell asleep. I also make sure that my clocks are set as exact as possible (I used to run a GPS powered NTP server just for my devices).
  - Izkata 8y ago
    > They come up with the silliest excuses too, like that one time were they claimed that the track bed had caught fire. I would have believed it if it wasn't -10°C in the dead winter while it snowed like crazy. Here in Chicago, the tracks are intentionally lit on fire in the winter (so they don't develop an ice sheet, I think). Maybe the same thing, but whoever explained it was unfamiliar with the practice?
    - zaarn 8y ago
      No I don't think they do that here, not that I observed it. The switches are heated though, since they need to move for the train. There is also a lot of different snow clearing vehicles that go around in the worst areas. We do have trainbed fires during dry summers at times (like currently) but not winter, it was just some excuse for lack of trains or otherwise produced delays.