Automation

I saw the coolest thing the other day. I believe I’ve mentioned that the German lifestyle is very efficient. They have to make the most of the little space that they have, therefore they’re forced to be organized. Everything seems to be automated.

There are companies online that you order DVD’s from and they’re mailed to you. I use this service; however, I saw a variation of this here in Germany that amazed me. You go to this particular website, reserve your movie at least an hour before you want it, then go pick it up. No big deal you say, but it is. In the next town over from mine, there’s a shop that is fully automated. You scan your membership card and the door opens. You then swipe your card and make your choices: are you selecting a movie or picking it up? You select pick up and your DVD is ejected like from an ATM machine. Way cool.

You add whatever dollar amount you want to your membership account and it’s deducted as you rent your movies. And it’s cheap. If you bring back the movie within two hours, it will only cost you one Euro. Three or more hours are two Euros ($2.63). I was quite impressed. I’ve never seen anything like this in the states, but maybe I’m just out of the loop.

Another thing that is automated and I think is pretty darn nifty is a day at the spa. At one of the spas I went to, you get this watch band type thing when you enter. You use this to lock and unlock your locker (the face scans somehow) and you charge “the extras” like tanning, massages or lunch on this thing. When you leave, everything that was scanned on it is calculated and added to your hourly rate. It also tracks your time. Pretty wild. (Spas here are a whole other wild experience another story for some other time.)

Most of the bigger nightclubs are the same deal; automated. When you enter, you are given a card which you use when purchasing drinks. Buy a drink, it’s added to your card and you pay when you leave. You swipe your card when you’re leaving and pay using the machine. I would think this practice might be kind of risky, what if a person doesn’t have the money or a credit card? You don’t leave. There’s a turnstile that will let you out when you’ve paid your debt. Not sure what happens to those who can’t pay; probably a visit from the polizei (police). Guess you’d better make sure you know how much those drinks are. There’s also the hole punch system for drinks too; anything to make things easier.

While we’re on the subject of drinking and bars, I wanted to mention one more thing. I am used to “pay as you order” when it comes to drinking in most bars that I’ve been to in the States, however, that is often not the case here in Germany or maybe it’s a European thing. I’ve experienced that you pay when you leave, not for each drink as you order it. It took me awhile to get used to that. I’m not talking about in a busy nightclub, but in a not so busy smaller pub. Maybe they’re more trustworthy. Or they figure you’ll be back.