anglofritz; Longhorn Go Home

The Waltons' down-home brand of wage slavery not taking in Germany

This whole debacle has been rolling out for the past eight years, and now it's become something of a museum piece: Wal-Mart doesn't know how to play ball here in Germany, and are losing money by the truckload. There's more than a little schadenfreude, and not just from Germans and the savage liberals who delight in seeing a megacorp like Wal-Mart falter -- I'm mostly thinking of myself.

Wal-Mart thought they could run their game exactly -- and I mean exactly -- the way they're used to doing things back home, and not even considering the tactical genius of its rivals, such as Aldi and Globus, or why they do the things that they do. As a result, they don't have the lowest prices or the best service, and they have absolutely no sense of the German consumer. Wal-Mart Germany's offical language is English, for God's sake. They've done everything, short of trying to sell guns, to alienate their market.

The service standards are especially hilarious because Wal-Mart general policy is basically a laundry list of the differences between Americans and Germans. To wit:

- Employing grocery baggers and greeters, which Germans find threatening and bizarre -- though eventually, it seems possible these people might in some way be affiliated with Wal-Mart. But for... what... reason?
- Let's not even mention the "Ten-Foot Rule." Someone might start shouting.
- All employees must smile at customers, in a culture where an unwarranted smile basically means the person fancies you.
- Employees and supervisors can't date, and improper behavior among co-workers is to be reported. Germans take this reporting thing seriously (whereas, who actually does so in America, besides the petty and vindictive?), and so find the whole idea appalling. And if they don't have work, how are Germans ever supposed to get to know their future spouse?

An integration nightmare. Wal-Mart may pick up something of a pre-VAT appliances surge in the coming months, but it's just not looking good overall for this clash of cultures. It turns out Texas -- or at least this unswerving version of it -- is about as far away from Germany as one can get.

A comprehensive and detailed report as to why Wal-Mart doesn't cut the Senf can be found here.