Noise from neighbors in Germany is a matter for the municipal Ordnungsamt, the public order office, not automatically for the police. Berlin tells residents which office owns which noise. For neighbors, parties and animals, Zuständig ist das Ordnungsamt des jeweiligen Bezirks, the public order office of the district is responsible. In Cologne, police had a locksmith open a door at 9:42 p.m. to take away dogs that had been barking for a long time. They had not contacted the city’s public order service, which could be reached until after midnight. In 2010 the administrative court of Cologne ruled the action unlawful. Only when the public order office could no longer be reached would responsibility have passed to the police. The police had to pay the locksmith themselves.
Your Contact Person
Ihr Ansprechpartner — your contact person, often printed with a name and direct line
der zuständige Sachbearbeiter — the caseworker responsible
Ich verbinde Sie mit dem zuständigen Kollegen. — I will put you through to the colleague responsible.
Dafür ist eine andere Abteilung zuständig. — Another department is responsible for that.
Unser Zeichen — our reference. German business letters print it in a block beside the address, with Ihr Zeichen, your reference, and the name and phone number of the person handling the matter. A reply that quotes it reaches the same desk.
Bookbinder Wanninger
In Karl Valentin’s sketch Buchbinder Wanninger, a bookbinder phones the construction firm Meisel & Co. He only wants to know when he may deliver the books he has bound, and whether he should send the invoice with them. He is passed from one extension to the next. Nobody feels responsible, not even Herr Meisel. When he finally reaches the right person, he is told to call again tomorrow: wir haben jetzt Büroschluss! We are closing now. His last words are Saubande, dreckate!, a Bavarian curse. A recording with Valentin and Liesl Karlstadt dates from 1940.
Words for Promising Too Much
den Mund zu voll nehmen — to fill one’s mouth too full: to promise or boast too much
große Töne spucken — to spit big tones: to talk big
viel versprechen und wenig halten — to promise much and keep little
Luftschlösser bauen — to build castles in the air
heiße Luft — hot air: empty talk
The A400M
The German armed forces ordered 53 A400M transport aircraft from Airbus. The first one arrived in December 2014, years late. In January 2015 the Airbus chief executive, Tom Enders, apologized in public: Wir haben nicht die Leistung abgeliefert, die wir uns gewünscht haben, und ich muss mich dafür entschuldigen. We did not deliver the performance we wanted, and I must apologize for it. In June 2016 Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said the armed forces had einen sehr handfesten Vertrag, a very solid contract, in which compensation was clearly set out. Wir werden auch diese Schadenersatzansprüche geltend machen. We will claim this compensation.
Delivery Fidelity
German purchasing departments measure their suppliers by Liefertreue, delivery fidelity. The business glossary Welt der BWL gives the formula: orders delivered on schedule divided by all orders. A delivery counts as on schedule only if it comes nicht verspätet oder verfrüht, neither late nor early. Liefertreue can also decide supplier awards. In 2013 the machine builder Zahoransky gave its Business Partner Award to suppliers that had proved especially reliable, insbesondere hinsichtlich Qualität, Liefertreue, Innovationskraft und Preisverhalten, especially in quality, delivery fidelity, innovation and pricing.
“Changes Must Be in Writing”
German contracts often end with a Schriftformklausel, a written-form clause: Änderungen und Ergänzungen dieses Vertrags bedürfen zu ihrer Rechtswirksamkeit der Schriftform. Changes and additions to this contract must be in writing to take effect. Many add a second sentence: the written-form requirement itself can only be lifted in writing. The law sets a limit. An individual agreement takes priority over standard terms, and a simple written-form clause can be waived without writing. In 2008 the Federal Labor Court held a doubled clause in a standard employment contract invalid, because it could mislead employees about the force of oral agreements.
The Acceptance Record
On a German building site under the VOB/B, the standard construction terms, either party can demand a formal acceptance. Eine förmliche Abnahme hat stattzufinden, wenn eine Vertragspartei es verlangt. Both sides walk through the building together. Each may bring an expert. The result is written down, including known defects and the contractor’s objections. Public clients use a standard form, Formblatt Abnahme 442, which both sides sign immediately after the walk-through.
Criticize the Work, Not the Person
Hart in der Sache, weich zum Menschen — hard on the matter, soft on the person. A common German rule for criticism. The SPD’s party school uses the variant Hart in der Sache, fair zu den Menschen, hard on the matter, fair to the people.
sachlich bleiben — to stay factual, to keep to the matter
sachliche Kritik — criticism of the matter
Kritisieren Sie immer die Verhaltensweisen — always criticize the behavior, never the traits, as a management guide for dental practices advises
The first motto is the German form of a principle from the Harvard negotiation method of Roger Fisher and William Ury, published in 1981 as Getting to Yes.
Words for Saying “I Don’t Know”
Da bin ich überfragt. — That question goes beyond what I know.
Da muss ich passen. — I have to pass. The phrase comes from card games.
Das ist nicht mein Fachgebiet. — That is not my field.
Da kenne ich mich nicht aus. — I don’t know my way around that.
Davon verstehe ich nichts. — I understand nothing about that.