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ETIQUETTE

Ten things foreigners do that make Swiss people feel really uncomfortable

From oversharing to talking about your income, here are ten sure-fire ways to make the Swiss feel awkward.

A little girl hugs a less than enthused dog in the forest
Hugs can make Swiss people uncomfortable. Photo by __ drz __ on Unsplash

Switzerland is a complicated country with three major language groups and plenty of regional differences in terms of culture and values.

But while it’s hard to generalise, there are certain guaranteed ways to make the Swiss feel awkward. Here are nine things that foreigners do that make people in Switzerland uncomfortable at best – and downright annoyed at worst.

Not paying for peoples’ drinks on your birthday

In Switzerland, if you invite people out to dinner or drinks on your birthday, you are expected to pay for everyone. In fact, the very term “invite” (einladen in German, or inviter in French) carries the meaning that you will pay.

On other social occasions, if someone offers to pay for you, the done thing is to protest and say something along the lines of “No, no, I can pay”, even if the protest is just waved away.

Dinosaur toys at a kid's birthday

If it’s your birthday, you’re expected to pay for the drinks. People might get a little cross if you don’t. Photo by Joyce Adams on Unsplash

When it comes to splitting bills, this is less common in Switzerland than in somewhere like the UK. What you are very unlikely to see, though, is people fighting over a few cents here or there in terms of who pays for what.

Oversharing

The Swiss tend to take a slowly-slowly approach to making friends and can appear cold and reserved when you first get to know them (although once you have built up a friendship it could well be for life).

For this reason, telling a Swiss person everything about why you broke up with your last boy/girlfriend or all your problems with your mum/brother/best friend the very first time you meet them is more likely to result in serious levels of awkwardness than instant friendship.

Be patient: remember that you are playing a long game.

Not taking your shoes off inside

In a country where extreme cleanliness is the norm, and where snow and mud make up part of the physical environment, taking your shoes off when you enter a house or apartment makes perfect sense. But for a lot of people from other countries, the idea of removing your footwear and walking into someone’s house in your tatty socks is downright strange.

READ ALSO: 20 telltale signs you have gone native in Switzerland

If you do go into a Swiss home with your shoes on, however, be prepared for some strange looks. You may even be asked to remove your shoes and put on slippers provided by your host.

Being too polite

The Swiss are bemused (and amused) by the excessive politeness of the British with their constant use of “sorry” and “excuse me” in all sorts of situations, so expect to get sideways glances or incomprehension if you apologize for bumping into someone on a busy street.

By the same token, don’t expect someone in Switzerland to automatically say sorry to you if they bump into you on, say, a crowded train, or any similar situation where minor contact is all but unavoidable. The Swiss aren’t being rude, they just have a different concept of personal space.

Turning up fashionably late

No list about the Swiss would be complete without a mention of punctuality. While being on time for informal social occasions is perhaps not quite as critical as it was in the days before mobile phones, people in Switzerland would still rather turn up somewhere early than risk being late.

And if you get an invitation to someone’s house – especially for a meal – it is best to arrive on time, or as close to on time as you can humanly manage. There really is no such thing being fashionably late in Switzerland.

Hugging strangers

When people in Switzerland meet for the first time, they generally shake hands or – rarely – kiss each other three times on the cheek (business etiquette is another matter). What they don’t do is lean in for a big hug. Doing this is likely to startle a Swiss person.

Talking about how much you earn

The topic of salaries and incomes remains taboo for many people in Switzerland and it’s not unusual to work next to someone for years without knowing how much they earn.

Although this is slowly changing – there have even been campaigns calling for people to talk about how much they earn in a bid to increase wage transparency – you could be hit with awkward silence if you bring up this subject with a Swiss person. 

Changing your plans at the last minute

While every person is different, the Swiss are basically a nation of planners and often have social calendars that get filled several weeks in advance.

The upshot is, if you do make plans with a Swiss friend for an evening three weeks into the future, it’s probably not a good idea to call up a couple of hours beforehand and suggest postponing for a day or two because you’re feeling tired.

Complaining about church (or cow) bells

For better or worse, church bells belong to the Swiss soundscape. They also have a habit of pealing loudly at all times of day, including very early in the morning – something that plenty of foreigners in Switzerland get annoyed about.

A cow in a paddock in Mürren, Switzerland.

You got a problem with my bell, pal? Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

Incessant cow (or goat, or sheep) bells are also a fact of life in some areas, even in town and cities. But complaining about them can be met with looks of blank incomprehension or even hostility by Swiss people who might see whinging about these bells as an attack on Swiss traditions and culture.

Using du/tu all the time

It’s easy to mix up the formal and informal versions of “you” in German, French or Italian, especially when you first arrive in Switzerland.

Using Sie/vous/lei when it should be du/tu isn’t too much of a crime. It might make someone think you’re overly polite or formal, but you won’t do too much damage.

Making the mistake the other way around, however, and addressing a superior at work, or a stranger with an over familiar du/tu could definitely create some awkward situations.

If you are not sure, play safe and go with the more formal option.

Read also: 43 habits you pick up living in Switzerland

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For members

SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

Five things that are changing in Switzerland — and five that never will

It is true that old habits and traditions die hard in Switzerland — and if they do, it is only through a referendum. But some things many people thought were ‘unshakeable’ are now changing.

Five things that are changing in Switzerland — and five that never will

Many Swiss, especially the older generations, are not fond of changes.

They like things just the way they are — or at least the way they used to be — and will resist any effort to amend or modify the status quo.

Luckily for those people, things in Switzerland change at a snail’s pace:

Why are things so slow to change in Switzerland?

Nevertheless, cross-winds of change have been sweeping Switzerland for a while, in some aspects more than in others, putting the long-held values and beliefs into question.

They are:

Neutrality

Officially, Switzerland is still a neutral nation, as it has been continually since 1815.

However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a major paradigm shift in how ‘neutral’ (or not) Switzerland wants to be in the current geo-political situation.

Since February 2022, the country took some unprecedented measures, which incited comments from certain quarters that Switzerland is shedding its neutrality, at least partly.

For instance, the government departed from its policy of non-intervention in foreign affairs by adopting all EU sanctions on Russia.

But there is more: ever since the war erupted, Switzerland has been trying to get closer to NATO.
 
Earlier this month, Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd travelled to Brussels to discuss with NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg the “strengthening” of the relationship between Switzerland and the alliance.

This move too has been seen by many as a violation of the neutrality clause.

Why is Switzerland trying to get closer to NATO? 

Banks

For years, Swiss banks have had a certain reputation — perhaps not exactly for ‘cleanliness’ but certainly for reliability.

That is no longer the case.

With the fall of Credit Suisse, many in Switzerland and elsewhere have come to realise that the nation’s banks are not the ‘safe haven’ they were once thought to be.
 
Civil unrest

In the past, the mere thought of Swiss population taking to the streets to express their dissatisfaction was, well, unthinkable.

Industrial action is still relatively rare in Switzerland, but public protests are not as uncommon as before.

This change in mentality had first manifested itself during the pandemic, when thousands marched across the country against government measures aimed at reducing the spread of the disease, and claiming that the Covid certificate requirement was discriminatory and violated personal freedom.

Switzerland, is this you? Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Such anti-government actions were unheard of in recent decades.

Also, while Swiss workers have not undertaken any economy-immobilising strikes as their counterparts in neighbouring countries have in recent weeks, they have threatened to do so if their demands are not met.
 
SWISS pilots threaten an October strike action 

Punctuality

Not too long ago, Swiss trains always ran on time, and even a 10-minute delay was a big deal.

In such cases, the Swiss did what they usually do when things go wrong in Switzerland: they blamed Italian, French, and German trains for the delays.

According to Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), the German rail company Deutsche Bahn has the worst track record — no pun intended — because those tardy Germans mess up SBB’s intricate transport system.  

This may indeed be part of the problem, but not the whole picture. As it turns out, other factors are derailing train travel, the chronic shortage of train conductors in Switzerland foremost among them.

Be it as may, Swiss trains run behind schedule more often than before.

Why Swiss trains are less punctual — and what is being done about it

To be fair, however, on an European scale, Swiss trains still perform well. 

Chocolate and cheese

Who would have ever imagined a day would come when Swiss chocolate and cheese would no longer be ‘Swiss’? But that has happened.
 
The Toblerone chocolate that has been created and produced in Bern since 1908, will now be partly manufactured in Slovakia, losing, in the process, its ‘made in Switzerland’ label along with the Matterhorn logo.
 
And Gruyère cheese has lost its innate ‘Swissness’ as well.

The quintessential Swiss cheese which is produced in canton Fribourg, has been stripped of its ‘Swissness’ by a US appeals court, which recently ruled that gruyere is common label for cheese and cannot be reserved just for the kind made in Switzerland.

It used be 100 percent Swiss. Photo by ELIOT BLONDET / AFP

On the bright side, however, nobody has yet stripped the army knife, or Roger Federer, of their Swissness.
 
Cuckoo clocks and Toblerone: The ‘Swiss’ products that are not actually Swiss

Now, what about five things that will never change?
 
Ok, ‘never’ is a very long time, but let’s just say these things will remain intact — at least for the forseeable future.
 
Neutrality (again)
 
Yes, we mentioned it under the things that change, but in fact, this fits under both categories.

While the war in Ukraine has prompted Switzerland to seek closer ties with NATO, it is highly unlikely that the government will shed its neutrality altogether.
 
This would require a law change which, even if  passed in the parliament, would have to be approved by voters in the referendum.

That is even less likely as, according to surveys, 89 percent of Swiss support the principle of neutrality.

Direct democracy

The Swiss are very attached to their centuries-old system of direct democracy, which gives them, rather than elected officials, the power to to shape local and national policies.
 
While there are many controversies and contentious topics in Switzerland, nobody so far has as much as suggested that the Swiss should give up their right to vote on issues that affect their lives.
 
That, in itself, would require a referendum.

EXPLAINED: Who is in charge of running Switzerland? 
 
Attention to detail

Nobody and nothing has changed the fact that the Swiss are extremely well organised, meticulous, and detail oriented.

That is one characteristic that is not likely to change, regardless of world events or other global shifts.

This will remain, whether in the realm of rules and regulations, or the way the general infrastructure is set up.

Everything in Switzerland must be ‘just-so’. Image by Ron Porter from Pixabay

Attitude to immigrants

Here the Swiss are divided into three camps: one consists of people who believe diversity is a good thing and Switzerland benefits from this multicultural component.

The second group, while more reticent about foreigners, still recognises that they are needed for the Swiss economy to function and prosper.

The third group is against immigration and wants to revoke any laws that allow foreigners, including those from the EU, to live and work in Switzerland.
 
These divisions have been deeply entrenched in Switzerland and will likely remain thus in the future.

Feeling of superiority
 
When it comes to their perception of themselves, the Swiss believe they are far superior to their neighbours and other countries as well.

They claim their economy and general infrastructure are stronger, they are more efficient, have more political stability, and — nobody can argue with this — speak more languages than anyone else.

This kind of attitude is likely to prevail.

Why do the Swiss think they are superior to everyone else?

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