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The first couple of months I spent here in Germany fairly dashed some of my perceptions of both the people and the essence of the place. I expect this is true for most visitors, and certainly my “American” sense of old world charm was slightly skewed by not so much disinformation as being a product of a more chaotic environment there in the states.

At first glance the average German appears rather subdued and even boring by American standards. However, just as the average American displays traits akin to his or her upbringing, so too German people exude many attributes tied inextricably to what we consider “the old world”. This subject then begs the question; “When is a cup of coffee worth five bucks?” In the United States the answer would probably always be never, and herein lies perhaps a great lesson.

Kava from Java

Everywhere one goes in Germany; a cup of coffee is scarcely a stone’s throw away. From the doctor’s office to the use car lot, the gentility of a hot cup of Joe is a pleasant common denominator for business as well as community. Sure, there are great cafes where a person can get the most extravagant cappuccino imaginable, and this treat is made all the more enjoyable via the relaxing mood and setting. This prevailing setting reveals much more about how we used to view things in the United States, and also perhaps a point where we detoured from something very important – our valuation of people, time and what we find important.

Yesterday, I was coerced by my significant other to finally at long last have my eyes checked. We visited a nice and reputable optical franchise here in Schweich (a very small town) – Roman Wagner – which by all outward appearances seemed so like all those middle class eyeglass stores in the US. Having been basically blind for a lifetime, you can imagine that none of the accoutrements or paraphernalia of the place seemed all that foreign to me – a veteran of eye exams. I must say however, that the experience proved to be far more rewarding than I ever expected, and imminently revealing of a character no longer readily visible in my home country.

Seeing

An eye exam is a fairly mundane and even boring encounter, but I was immediately taken by the professional and even kind nature of the optician giving me my exam. A rather refined fellow, probably in his late 30’s, everything about the optician reflected both an innate caring and somehow very personal approach to what would be a clinical matter of circumstance in the States. To be direct about it, the guy actually cared about the singular task and person at hand.

The next customer, the telephone or any other of the nearby extraneous distractions were obviously of little import compared to the immediate subject here. This intrinsically interesting attitude became even more significant later on in the encounter, but I want the reader to know first that the professionalism of this person was so readily apparent as to provoke this story as well as an immediate heightened sense of professionalism in general.

What Would You Like

Outside of this “surreal” aspect of this encounter, I must say that the examination and technologies used were impressive as well. At length, the optometrist made us comfortable and offered to fetch us coffee, which was delivered humbly and unassumingly out of his own hand. I of course found this to be charming, interesting and again revealing of something so foreign to Americans (especially at an eyeglass establishment) as to be extraordinarily compelling. It should come as no surprise that this particular coffee break we so unceremoniously delivered to a “simple” customer by none other than Roman Wagner himself, the owner of a dozen or more optical stores here in Germany. I have found this to be the rule here, rather than the exception. Seeing proprietors actually investing themselves in the people on both sides of the counter is something we should all consider in our valuations of companies.

Black or With Sugar and Cream?

Perhaps you have a similar recollection either there in the states or abroad. I can remember long ago places there where the proprietor took such an interest and “claimed” every aspect of his or her business. It is of course, not a common thing anymore the states, where our Wal-Mart mentality has supplanted nearly all inference to a better way of doing things. Roman Wagner could easily have been on the golf course or at least have delegated any common task to a subordinate, but we are talking here about a person’s investment in their life’s work. Taking to task every aspect of business and in particular these connective “person to person” aspects is nearly a bygone myth where I come from. And we wonder why we are so often dissatisfied with service, products and even people. Time and money are constants in business, but I the United States we have somehow lost the ability to correctly place value. “When is a cup of coffee worth five bucks?”

Jerry McGuire Values

A cup of coffee is worth a thousand dollars when the person behind making and serving it offers it with an old world and gentile respect for the person across the table. We need to reevaluate what we see as “a good deal” in my view. If we could all value proprietors who really care by helping them grow their businesses and supporting the best, then we would realize true excellence once again. If every Wal-Mart shopper would save 3 weeks shopping and just wait and look for true value, then perhaps the essence of true excellence could be relived where it is now subdued. I also had a cup of cappuccino yesterday at a café. It was of course 5 bucks, but sitting there on the square in Trier, calmly watching the passersby and enjoying the aromas and sounds, was far beyond any Starbucks experience – well worth 3 Euros.

All too often we are fooled into thinking that imitations are real, but every time I ever think of refined excellence my thoughts travel to professionals who truly believe that “less is more”. I believe that most Americans have been subjugated into a sort of “moo cow” mentality where a customer is worth about 5 minutes (or less). As human beings and even customers, we really only want mutual respect and in a real way, the gentle attention we all deserve. Would you trade all the cheap wristwatches you ever bought and threw away for a Rolex? The answer to this question may well determine the fate of a nation and perhaps the free world. I think we need to pay more rather than less, and also to expect more, as only great expectations and correctly scaled value will take us upward – and perhaps back.