Gość: Rejonowy
IP: 207.61.17.*
01.03.02, 14:25
Land of limited options
Globe and Mail Update
Customer service? It consists largely of leaving customers completely alone.
Convenience? No real demand for more of it. Increased customer choice? They'd
rather not know what they're missing. Value-added service? What's that?
Welcome to Germany, where all the comforts North Americans have come to expect
do not exist. Most stores close by 7 p.m. through the week and by 4 p.m. on
Saturdays. Credit cards are still not widely accepted (except at large American
chain stores), even for big ticket items like kitchen appliances, computers and
televisions. And when you buy an order of fries, the ketchup or mayonaise often
costs extra.
Under those restrictive conditions (that are enforced by government), one is
tempted to assume that e-commerce would have been a boon to the German
consumer, but it hasn't been (except in the case of the many native English
speakers who are living and working here and desperate for the books, movies,
gourmet treats and music of home). For the most part, public technologies in
Germany reinforce the limits placed on consumers, especially if that technology
is employed by banks, the telecommunications monopoly or the civil service.
It currently takes two weeks to obtain a bank card in Germany and, even then,
the PIN number cannot be chosen or changed. Even more strangely, the card
number cannot be used to access telephone or Internet banking - both of which
feature prohibitive fees.
On the telecommunications front, Deutsche Telekom (DT), a monopoly so rigid and
inefficient that it makes Bell Canada look like the patron Saint of Telephony,
is a source of aggravation and disdain for all residents of Germany. Under the
auspices of DT, DSL Internet service is largely unavailable and touch tone
services - as they are called in North American - could benefit from a thorough
audit by information architects and massive usability testing. As a result,
Germans depend on the last generation of telecommunications gadgets like
answering machines and personal fax machines. The former is especially
surprising as most Germans are sincere environmentalists who would under other
circumstances, be appalled by the paper waste fax communications generate.
It is in the civil service that old-style limitations are most obvious. Even
though the end of its manufacturing era is drawing near, all German public
services are still defined by the philosophy of the assembly line. The idea
that one civil servant can complete an entire stream-lined procedure with the
support of a centralized database is unheard of. First, arrivals at a regional
office of a government agancy must explain to a receptionist why they are
there. The receptionist, if he or she determines that your reason is possible
(not necessarily accurately), will assign you a number. After your number is
called, another civil servant will check your forms and documentation and send
them off to the central office for processing. Inevitably, the documentation
won't be determined sufficient by the central office, but no one will call the
applicant or the regional office to inform them of the nature of the problem or
what is required to solve it.
The mystery, of course, is what drives the innovation of public technology in a
society that does not value customer service, convenience, or choice. So far
the answer appears to be dominated by two things: expectations of modernity and
fear of falling behind. Germans view themselves as a modern, progressive,
technically adept society. Like North Americans, they are also entrenched in
the myth of German efficiency. Business, on the other hand, feels the fear most
intensely. Right now, German technology businesses serve the needs of clients
in EU countries that are even less efficent such as Italy and Spain, while
American businesses serve the needs of German clients.
The exception to Germany's otherwise conservative adoption of new technologies
is cellular phones or handies as they are called here. Cellphone applications,
however, are defined by Japanese standards of design and usability combined
with North American standards of convenience. It is also a technology embraced
by German youth who, while numerous, have not yet achieved any power or real
stake in the existing financial institutions, telecommunications monopoly or
civil service.
The senior citizens of Germany (after Japan, Germany has the oldest population
of all industrial countries) have a loud voice in upholding the current system.
In contrast the young families, dual income familes and working mothers who
would benefit most from increased convenience, greater flexibility of service
and the time-saving benefits of streamlining processes with the support of
technology, are just a demographic blip similar to the Baby Boomers' little
brothers and sisters, the original Generation X. That means the demand for the
innovation of public technologies is still 10 to 15 years away.
That is a long time to wait while you're frightened of falling behind.
Business knows it has a problem. Their response has been to call for increased
immigration of skilled workers.
However, the current system limits the stay of foreign IT workers to five
years, denies their spouses the right to work for one to two years, and demands
that minor children of 16 and 17 years of age remain in the home countries.
While all immigrant societies are guilty of systemic racism against the workers
who assure their future stability, Germany's system is particulary harsh toward
families. As of thew close of 2001, 10,000 of a required 20,000 foreign IT
workers had accepted Germany's invitation.
So far, the term economy in decline inevitably appears to be the next chapter
in the history of Germany. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be a story
anyone is willing to re-write.
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