'German Tourists Make the Most Ridiculous Complaints' - 文化差異

轉貼新聞:'German Tourists Make the Most Ridiculous Complaints'
原始連結: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,777374,00.html

German tourists tend to use precious vacation time hunting for flaws in their
vacation packages or accomodations. With the right evidence, they hope to
score a discount or reimbursement. Tourism expert Karl Born talks to SPIEGEL
ONLINE about what makes German complaints especially unique.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Born, you once said in a presentation that 'complaints
are as much a part of any holiday as the Eiffel Tower is a part of Paris and
the Hofbrauhaus beer hall a part of Munich.' The Germans are known for being
frontrunners in global travel -- but are they also world champions at
complaining?

Born: In other countries, the complaint culture is obviously not as extreme
as in Germany -- especially when you see what Germans complain about. There
is an enormous variety of complaints, ranging from the legitimate to the
absurd. The Germans are behind a disproportionately high number of the
ridiculous complaints.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: As the head of TUI have you experienced this personally?

Born: A hotel manager from Tenerife told me that tourists from other countries
generally go about things a bit more elegantly. For instance, if they want to
upgrade to a better room, the Italians will compliment the hotel staff and
smile, while the Swiss often cite health problems as a reason for needing an
upgrade. Germans, on the other hand, don't beat around the bush and simply say,
'If you don't change this, I'm going to sue you.'

SPIEGEL ONLINE: And who has the most success?

Born: Italy, ahead of Switzerland -- and the Germans' problems are addressed
last, according to this colleague.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Perhaps the Germans know too much about their rights for
their own good?

Born: Maybe. The worst part is the famous 'Frankfurt Table...'

SPIEGEL ONLINE: ... a table that lists the percentage that may be reimbursed
for specified shortcomings in tourism and travel services.

Born: Exactly. Many Germans are convinced that this table is the law, when in
fact it's only meant to serve as a guideline for the courts when they are
presented with cases related to travel and tourism complaints. The German
newspaper Bild prints the table every year and people then take this with
them on holiday. Now tour guides are used to these people and know how to
discourage them, because many incorrectly believe that they can just add up
the individual values on the list. (eds. Note: There is a
set limit to the percentage that can be reimbursed)

SPIEGEL ONLINE: That would make for some pretty large sums. Say the area of
the hotel room is too small, there is a crack in the wall, the linen isn't
changed once and my table in the dining room isn't clean. Based on that alone,
I could add up a claim for a 50 percent reimbursement per day.

Born: Exactly. And if you've already managed to reach a 50 percent
reimbursement, then the drive kicks in to push it to 100 percent.
But those are the truly hardcore complainers -- less than one percent of
travelers take it that far. And I actually feel sorry for those people
because they ruin their own holiday constantly looking for flaws.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But from the perspective of tour operators, it's a problem
when notorious whiners are constantly reporting their negative travel
experiences to their friends.

Born: It's one of the major topics of conversation when you're at a party.
One person starts talking about his vacation with TUI, and then every person
present has his own horror story to share. Only two topics have this domino
effect -- holidays and car trouble.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Give us one tip: What should a complaint look like, if one
wants to get at least a 10 percent reimbursement from TUI?

Born: There certainly has to be truth to the complaint. TUI is a difficult
opponent because you're going up against experienced professionals. They have
processed thousands of complaints, so it's relatively unlikely that a person
can get a reimbursement for an invented complaint that lacks good evidence.
But let's say, you had construction work making noise outside of your hotel
window. Take a couple of photos and send them, along with signed testimonies
of two other hotel guests who support your
complaint. With a tactic like that, you'll likely get some money back.
I don't know if it will get you a reimbursement of ten percent, though. The
important thing is that you can back up the complaint with evidence.


SPIEGEL ONLINE: One customer won a case against TUI because he claimed that
the adventure vacation he was promised had been too normal, and that his life
had never been in danger. How can German travel law possibly support such a
ruling?

Born: It's true that the man argued in court that his life had never been in
danger -- but that's not why he got his money back. He won the case because a
certain part of the travel package, which was meant to be especially
adventurous and exciting, did not take place.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Are there any other complaints you will never forget?

Born: Once a tourist tried to pet a crocodile in West Africa. It snapped at
him but fortunately didn't hurt him. The man claimed that he should have been
explicitly warned against petting the crocodile and even went to court.
It took the judge about five minutes to throw the case out, saying that it's
common knowledge that you should not pet a crocodile. You don't need an
expert to tell you that. Another person filed a complaint last year and
received a 10 percent reimbursement as a courtesy. Later, he
said he wanted 20 percent because prices had increased.
In cases like that I really have to wonder if these people are just joking
or if they are actually crazy.

Interview by Stephan Orth. The text originally appeared in the book "Sorry,
Ihr Hotel ist abgebrannt," or "Sorry, Your Hotel Has Burned Down,"
co-authored by Orth and Antje Blinda, and published by Ullstein.


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