The German Leistungsbeschreibung is written before quotations are sought, and a supplier who receives a vague one will say so. A client who does not yet know what he wants is not regarded as an early-stage opportunity. He is regarded as not yet ready to have the conversation.
The long relationship exception
The Federal Court of Justice has held that a customer in a long-standing supply relationship is not obliged to inspect immediately where he has received the same defect-free goods for years and the supplier changed the specification without telling him.
The duty to check relaxes in proportion to the trust earned — and the exception exists because the supplier broke the pattern silently.
The proportional inspection
German case law requires more intensive inspection the greater the potential damage. For large deliveries a sample suffices. Where there is any suspicion of a defect, further examination is required.
The standard is what could reasonably be expected of a proper merchant in that particular case — which means the buyer is expected to think about what is at stake before deciding how carefully to look.
Without culpable delay
The word unverzüglich runs through German commercial law, and it has a legal definition in § 121 BGB: without culpable hesitation. Not as soon as convenient. Not within a reasonable period. Without hesitation for which you could be blamed.
The duty to inspect
Where both parties are merchants, German commercial law requires the buyer to examine goods immediately on delivery and to report any defect immediately — § 377 HGB.
Obvious defects must be reported within a day or two. Hidden ones immediately on discovery. Miss the deadline and the goods count as approved, and the buyer loses his warranty rights entirely.
The German customer is under a legal obligation to be attentive.
Letting the specialist work
Freie Hand lassen — to leave a free hand.
Das ist Sache des Fachmanns — that is the specialist’s affair.
Da rede ich ihm nicht rein — I don’t talk into that.
Machen lassen — to let someone get on with it.
Four ordinary German expressions, all approving, all describing a client who has stepped back.
The expert works alone
Dafür haben wir Sie ja geholt — that is what we brought you in for. Said in German when a supplier asks the client how to proceed on a matter within the supplier’s own expertise. It is not impatience. It is a statement about where the responsibility went when the contract was signed.
The status report
German project practice runs on a scheduled report — monthly, fortnightly, at defined milestones — rather than on continuous contact. The client is informed regularly and is not consulted continuously. The rhythm is agreed at the start, and keeping to it is what maintains the relationship.
The named contact
German suppliers ask for one person on the client side who can answer questions and make decisions, and the arrangement is often written into the contract. The information flows through a defined channel rather than through whoever happens to be available.
Who the subcontractor tells
Under German construction practice a subcontractor directs his notice of concerns to his own main contractor, not to the building owner. Notifying only the supervising architect is unreliable unless that architect is demonstrably authorised to receive such declarations.
The chain of responsibility is precise, and the courts have ruled on who counts as the right recipient.