Germans communicate very directly and explicitly without any ‘window dressing’. Therefore, they may appear rude to some; however, this is again their way to avoid any uncertainty. They expect the same from others and hence do not easily recognise and respond to verbal subtleties such as indirect hints or messages ‘between the lines’.Read More…
It is therefore very important for German call center agents to formulate your statements directly, precisely and openly when communicating with a German. Germans are extremely organized in their business and personal life. Masters of careful planning, they know what they will be doing at a specific time on a specific day. As a consequence, they are extremely punctual and expect the same from others, something a Germany call center outsourcing company can never afford to ignore. Consistency and reliability are extremely important to German people. To avoid uncertainty, they have developed binding rules and structures in every sphere of life. This strict adherence to prescribed procedures leaves little room for flexibility, individual determination and spontaneity in German attitudes and values. As a consequence, it is important to make sure that everyone in your call center Germany strictly avoids any surprises or sudden changes in your dealings with Germans. When you make a commitment to a German, there is the little scope of not keeping it unless you want to antagonize them forever.
Business is viewed as being very serious, and Germans do not appreciate the humour in a business context. Germans exercise a strict separation between personal and professional lives. Their behaviour and the closeness of the relationship clearly varies deepening on the sphere of their life (private or business) in which they are interacting with an individual and hence German call center agents should not attempt to get over friendly with them. They may seem very remote, cold and overtly unfriendly to people from other culture but for them, such a clear demarcation is the surest way to lead a structured and ordered life. Therefore, they do not welcome being asked personal questions or an effort to develop personal rapport. When it is business, keep it strictly that. Germans are a highly individualistic, self-assured and a perfectionist society that demands the utmost respect at all times, therefore they expect highest of standards at all times. Any unethical behaviour will seriously diminish all future business prospects with them and hence it is imperative that you carefully select who handles your Germany Call Center Outsourcing company.
Germany is quite monolingual with German as its official language and with over 95% of the population speaking German as their first language . The establishment is very much based on the German language. The educational system is also quite rightly based on the German language. People in Germany don’t use English often and become sooner or later afraid of speaking it. The fact is that the German tense/aspect system is so stunted that it makes it incredibly difficult for any German speaker to ever truly get English. They just can’t, unless they have a very good ear. Numerous studies have revealed that Germans prefer buying from websites that provide content in German and provide German customer support. Providing German customer support in the native tongue of your German-speaking customers can work wonders in demonstrating mutual respect and a willingness to do business with them. That said, for global businesses it makes sense to use bilingual German call center agents who can communicate in English as well, simply because it makes training and internal communication within the company a lot easier with them.
