Why can't Germans FORM LINES (queue)???

Question

This has got to be one of the major problems I have encountered in Germany the past 22 or so years as a foreigner, and I must say I haven't seen it anywhere else. So some SERIOUS answers would be appreciated, and not the riff-raff that occasionally trickles in. My questions may sometimes be pointed, but I assure all they are seriously posed.

If one enters an establishment and there are no barriers or ropes set up to channel traffic to service people waiting on the other side of a counter, Germans will NEVER be able to form a single line in front of each cashier/teller/service person! They mill around in a mass, looking to butt in front of someone, which is both rude and hazardous to one's health where I come from. The worst are the morons who are not in any line at all, but in the MIDDLE of clearly-delineated lines waiting to pop in front of someone..talk about risky behavior. I have NEVER failed to address anyone who cut in front of me, and my "schimpfen" is not easily forgotten.

Answer 1

I like your candor and pointed questions.

(BTW---I bet you liked that last "input" on your last ???? HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA yourself.....wake up and don't shoot the messenger)

I apologize this time for not offering you the serious answers you seek, so here it goes.....

BOOT--it is all a figment of your ( & mine as well as many of the other respondees) imagination(s)....just like your personal hygiene question. No one smells on the transportation or in public here. Everyone is super friendly and always helpful. No one ever pushes,shoves or butts and thinks nothing of it. No one here simply stands on the escalator, riding down from the top, while people stand at the bottom waiting to go up---people with canes, strollers and small children----that never happens here. No one reserves their beach chair with a towel at the crack of dawn here. No one on bike attempts to roll over you while you are walking on the sidewalk. Everyone holds the door for you here....and everyone says thanks when you do... NOT! Shall I continue....you know the drill---22 years worth.

Seriously though, it happens everywhere on the planet. BUT whether others want to believe or accept this----IT DOES HAPPEN MORE IN GERMANY THAN ANY OTHER PLACE I HAVE VISITED/LIVED. The fact that it is a cultural thing does not make it any easier for some of us tolerate. We can talk about it, but it won't make a bit of difference. If it is any consolation though, I concur.

Answer 2

Take a quick glance into a German-English dictionary and you'll learn that the German word for line is Schlange. Not coincidentally, it's a word that also means "snake." And when it comes to German lines, we're not talking here about your cute little striped snake sunning itself passively on a garden path. A six-meter long python wrestling with its soon-to-be-devoured prey is a rather more fitting analogy.

For whatever reason, the famed German Ordnung -- that is "order" -- breaks down when it comes to waiting in line. Ruled as they are by some of the fattest law books in the world, Germans, rather than forming a nice orderly queue, instantly revert to the laws of the jungle. A jostling mob is often the result.
So what to do? Throwing a few elbow pads in your luggage before your trip is an option. Otherwise, pay close attention to the guide we have put together to make your German line experience a safe one. (Note to users: this guide excludes bus stops. Queuing at bus stops doesn't exist, so there's nothing to work with. Quickness and/or brute force are your best bets.)


Perhaps not alone in the world, Germans cannot stand the smell of garlic. Eat lots the night before and then breathe heavily while standing in line. Alternatively, look threatening and malevolent. It will discourage people from trying to get ahead of you.
Remain ALERT. Should you, for example, be next in line in the rail ticket office when a new counter opens up, make a dash for it. If you don't, you can be sure those behind you will. (And you were wondering why everyone walks around in Pumas and Adidas training shoes here....) DO NOT expect anyone to politely point out that a new counter has opened. The same holds true at the grocery store and post office.
Another little trick to watch out for is the tendency for people not to stand directly behind you in line, but slightly to your side. As the line progresses, they will gradually advance until they are beside you and then, before you can say Überschallgeschwindigkeit, actually ahead of you. A polite Entschuldigung ("excuse me") may resolve the issue, though throwing a tantrum helps too.
Finally, keep in mind that Germans have grown up with such non-lines and you need to watch out for everybody. While the worst offenders tend to be impatient middle-aged men, you also have to watch out for old ladies who can be quite shameless in their queue-jumping.

Answer 3

Except for the "Guts" yarn,the remaining three were old hat.Sorry, didn't mean to be picky but then I am honest.To make up for it ,here's a yarn for you from me. There were three great swordsmen who felt that it was time to settle as to who was the best.A contest was arranged with a referee,who,to be fair,designed a move which was the same for all three.He released a fly and asked the first guy to go to it.The swordsman flashed his sword and the fly was neatly cut into two.When it was the turn of the second chap,he jumped with a cry and in a flash the fly was on the floor crawling minus its wings.Now ,when the third fellow had made his move the fly was still flying merrily.The referee and the other two asked what he did and what was great about it.The guy shyly remarked,"Ah! But the fly will reproduce no more".

Answer 4

I should have checked the questions before I asked mine! Nice to know I am not alone in my experiences. I will say that if you go to some of the smaller towns the bakeries will have lines and GERMANS will respect that. Of course when your 'Turn' comes and you can not order correctly or fast enough, well(doch) you are out of luck! ´
I have no answer to your question. I basically have the same one!

Answer 5

Also living here as a foreigner, and I must agree with you. Can't answer the question as to why though. Never figured it out. But here's a question for you: Why can't the cashiers in the stores here actually hand you your change properly? When I put out my hand to accept the change (and I am not a smelly, disgusting person), they tend to drop it next to my hand so that the coins go rolling about in all directions. What is that all about?!

Answer 6

They WON'T form lines(1)they all believe that they're next.(2)it may go back to the Holocaust days.Back then being in a line was a bad thing.

Answer 7

Hi! Germans cant form lines - as they suffer from a remorse syndrome handed down from relatives - who lined up - not just Jews - but every one who wasn't German during the World Wars - they associate " lining up " with the firing squad..

Answer 8

don't take it too hard. It's "survival training" in society. The strongest, quickest or niftiest guy gets in first :-)

On the other hand, some people are more in a hurry than others, so it's quite fair, if that one get there first :-)

Answer 9

i live in korea and it happens here too. on the odd occasion that a queue has actually formed, then you should certainly expect someone to elbow their way in front of you at some point.

actually a korean woman who visited america recently expressed her surprise to me about encountering "4-way stops" in california. she was totally blown away by the fact that people used proper ETIQUETTE while driving and politely waited for eachother to take their turn at the stop.

i think that although some people may perceive north americans to be rude and obnoxious, we have a lot better manners in organizing ourselves fairly in day-to-day life than in some other countries... like, say, germany and korea!

Answer 10

It is because they always panic!
They think they miss something ...
"What's going on there?!"
"Is that guy getting a better price / discount?"

In Germany there is no "WE" — only "ME".
Have U ever been in German traffic,
I mean esp. "auf der Autobahn" / on the highway?
Everyone drives like a maniac as if he were
the owner of the "Autobahn" and nobody wants to wait,
or to be the last ... at the traffic-light for example ...

Isn't that terrible !!!