I don't have data on this, but I am willing to bet your German definition of "notoriously late" is much more stringent than an American's. (Not that you're wrong to think that: we've just gotten used to extremely low standards in America because all of our public projects are run incompetently.)
It's funny because externally Germany somehow has the reputation of perfect punctuality, I can only assume that country stereotypes tend to be outdated.
Kinda interesting how “going the extra mile” in the US is viewed as ineptitude in either planning or execution in Germany. Also how the phrase “this is unacceptable” is used very differently in the same places.
I don't know what the situation in Germany is, but as I only ever hear about those issues from the US, I assume its something ridiculously bureaucratic, which might actually be a plus in this case?
Take note of the caveat at the bottom of the article:
*"The Germans appreciate their visa-application process in comparison with America’s, but in the end, it’s still a slower process than many techies are willing to tolerate."
German bureaucracy may not be the worst in the world, but it is significantly more convoluted than the United States.
As someone that haven’t ever been to Germany or interacted with any German government, but works with different governments a lot, it has really become apparent that Germans love telling the rest of the world how bad their bureaucracy is, then go on to describe something that sounds entirely common. It’s like New Yorkers telling you how good and unique bodegas are, and it turns out they either grew up in New York City or some one-traffic-light town and just haven’t had any worldly exposure.
Your personal anecdote as another commenter pointed out says much more about your lack of consulting and general workplace experience than it does about German bureaucracy. It all sounds very typical and again what I’d expect as someone that can count on one hand the number of people in Germany I’ve talked to professionally.
I don't think that it is overdone. It's bad everywhere, and it's much worse in Berlin.
If you've experienced anything like a modern bureaucracy, Germany is infuriatingly backwards. The article is painfully accurate down to the minute detail.
Prior to this year, German consumer contracts were even worse than American ones. Three years was the normal, with three month notice periods, limited cancellation windows, no prorated refunds, and just as many dark patterns.
It's not any more bureaucratic than the US. With the significant difference that German bureaucrats usually stick to the law, while the US ones occasionally feel like making shit up. (Especially my friends at CBP.)
I lived in the US until 2014 and moved back to Germany after that - from my personal experience and those of friends and colleagues it is quite the opposite of what you are saying.
There is a certain type of person who follows all the rules and regulations to the letter, implicitly trusts the authorities, and has an undisguised attitude of scorn towards anyone who does not live and act the same way. I think the relative prevalence of this attitude is a long-standing cultural difference between Germany and the US.
Well, that is annoying. The German article mentions a larger timespan. I had hoped the english one would be equivalent, but it seems that’s rarely the case anymore :/
In Germany they are commonplace because the German system is the most intricate snake nest of paperwork and bureaucracy. Love the country, but jesus christ how could the system ever be navigated by one person, let alone a foreigner?
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