How reliable is the average German?

DW (English)

According to cliche, Germans are reliable. But is it true? Not necessarily! There are always the exceptions to the rule.

Transcript

00:00 Everything a bit last minute, but it should be fine.

00:04 Absolutely nothing new for you.

00:06 What do you want now?

00:08 I have a lot to do today.

00:09 Well, I'm a little German conscious and I know that when it comes to reliability, we

00:15 Germans usually do pretty well.

00:18 But, die Ausnahme bestätigt die Regel.

00:20 The exception proves the rule, as they say.

00:23 Are you saying that I'm the exception?

00:25 No.

00:26 What makes you think that?

00:28 Material for our new episode on German virtues.

00:33 This time we're talking about reliability.

00:35 Are we Germans really as reliable as we're told?

00:38 Everyone knows we are.

00:39 Yes, Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser.

00:43 Trust is good, control is better, right?

00:46 Well it depends.

00:48 Oh man, I hope everything works out today.

00:51 I have to move house and catch a plane.

00:53 I can't miss this appointment.

00:56 Come what may.

00:58 It will be fine.

00:59 Your friend is coming to help.

01:01 Hi.

01:02 Hi.

01:03 Thanks for coming.

01:04 Of course.

01:05 Versprochen ist versprochen.

01:06 Promise is promise.

01:07 Where should we start?

01:08 Just grab all the packed boxes and put them in the car.

01:14 Of course.

01:15 Thank you so much.

01:20 Can we go now?

01:21 Yeah, why don't you drive up slowly?

01:22 I have to wait for the handyman.

01:24 They were supposed to be here ages ago to do the final touches before the new tenants

01:28 move in.

01:29 But yeah, thank you.

01:30 See you.

01:31 Bye bye.

01:32 You should have listened to me.

01:34 I told you weeks ago that you should have made an appointment.

01:38 I called them a month ago.

01:39 I made four appointments but they never showed up.

01:42 Apparently you can't rely on them.

01:45 What?

01:46 I can't imagine that.

01:47 German handymen are definitely virtuous.

01:50 Most Germans find it difficult to get a tradesperson at all and almost one in two German homeowners

01:55 complain that agreements and deadlines are not properly honored.

01:58 But when they do come, they do their work properly.

02:01 Rather not.

02:02 Two thirds of German homeowners are annoyed by improper and faulty work.

02:07 But never mind, we have to leave.

02:10 It's 1-1, you can rely on friends, but when it comes to tradespeople, you need a little

02:15 flexibility.

02:16 Now let's see how reliable Germans really are in the end.

02:21 What's going on?

02:26 It's probably just a minor glitch.

02:32 And it's a German car after all.

02:34 Pure quality and the top export of the Federal Republic of Germany.

02:39 It used to be different.

02:40 Originally, the made in Germany seal was introduced in the UK in the end of the 19th century as

02:46 protection against supposedly cheap and inferior imported goods.

02:51 Yes, but according to an international study, made in Germany still enjoys a positive global

02:57 reputation.

02:58 Three out of four respondents are of the opinion that made in Germany means durability and

03:04 reliability.

03:05 Ah, what luck.

03:06 Yay.

03:07 Could you take these post-its for your neighbors, please?

03:17 All of them?

03:18 Aren't any of them home?

03:19 No.

03:20 Could you take them, please?

03:21 Okay.

03:22 Okay, if I have to.

03:23 All right, thank you.

03:24 Bye.

03:25 Typical.

03:26 Hey, hey, the post-it service in Germany is very reliable.

03:33 Well, they have to be.

03:34 In Germany, there are even regulations on when letters must reach their recipients.

03:39 Yes, and it works pretty well.

03:41 Well, unless they're left with neighbors who are gone for a while, then you can wait a

03:45 very long time.

03:47 Speaking of which, I have to get going.

03:48 My flight leaves soon.

03:49 What?

03:50 Is the new Berlin airport still not open?

03:56 Shouldn't it be operational by now?

03:58 Of course it is.

03:59 This is definitely just the wrong entrance.

04:02 The opening has been postponed six times, and when the fourth opening was canceled,

04:06 they didn't even dare to set a new one.

04:08 See?

04:09 It opened a long, long time ago.

04:12 You can rely on us Germans.

04:15 You mean that major construction projects in Germany are often delayed and end up being

04:19 much more expensive?

04:21 Yes, we can be relied on for that.

04:27 As you can see, we Germans aren't always as reliable as we say.

04:31 We just really use the worst examples, but at least between people, reliability works.

04:37 Yes, it seems that way.

04:39 Almost every German thinks it's important to have people they can rely on no matter

04:43 what, and almost everyone describes themselves as reliable.

04:47 So we can conclude, yes, we Germans are reliable, but not in every facet of life.

04:52 (upbeat music)

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