German efficiency

The Germans have a global reputation for being correct, on time, and just generally efficient (sometimes even irritatingly so). A friend was telling me a German colleague of hers arrived literally one minute late for a meeting and apologised for being late. If only we could have this mentality in Africa...

A German student ordered a book from us the other day and was visibly surprised when it arrived the very next day. He said: "In Germany this is normal, but this never happens in South Africa!". Well of course. We wouldn't expect anything less from the efficient Germans.

When my aunt brought me my favourite board game from Germany I was very surprised to find some of the pieces missing. As soon as I noticed, I went to their website and emailed my complaint. I was mildly surprised that they took a week to reply, but impressed when they finally did to inform me that the missing pieces were on their way. I waited excitedly, and, as I expected, the pieces were waiting for me at the post office 2 weeks later. I ripped open the package to find, to my dismay, the WRONG pieces! Instead of little houses, roads and cities, I ended up with funny looking knights and castles. I was utterly aghast. This was just not what I had come to expect from the Germans. How could they make such a gross error? And to top it all off, they had addressed the package to "Mr" instead of "Mrs"...!!

I went back disappointed and angry the next day and emailed them again. I had clearly stated which pieces I wanted. I received a speedy reply this time, assuring me that they would send the right pieces (I got no apology, however). Another 2 weeks went by and this time when the package arrived it was addressed to "Mrs" and had the correct pieces in.

Just as my trust in German efficiency and correctness was starting to be restored, I received another package in the mail. In their infinite correctness and efficiency, they had sent the same package again. I guess communication is not top on the Germans' priority list...