You’re not 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 to take the 𝗚𝗹𝘂̈𝗵𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗻 mug. But for many it’s quietly become part of the ritual.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 from 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀.

German 𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘩𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘵𝘴𝘮𝘢̈𝘳𝘬𝘵𝘦 are in full swing and if you order a mulled wine, it’ll come in a proper mug or glass. You pay 𝘗𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢 deposit which you get back if you return it.

Except…lots of people don’t.

Legally, you’re required to return it; you’ve bought the mulled wine, not the mug.

But up to 50% of mugs are estimated not to make it back.

Stallholders expect this and since the police have bigger priorities, you’re very unlikely to be arrested.

Most people who take their cup are following what they 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 the rule is or should be: the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 rule, not the law.

Which is why it’s not just souvenir-seeking tourists, it’s locals as well.

Because you’ve paid 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, it doesn’t feel like stealing. That €3-€5 Pfand becomes the permission slip.

Now there’s no obvious slippery slope here; you’re unlikely to start stealing other things. Just a socially sanctioned fudge, that’s got some interesting Compliance lessons: 

 🧠 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨: people presume it’s allowed, when actually it isn’t.

👥 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴: rationalising that ‘𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵’, even if they don’t.

🚨 𝘌𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳: no real deterrent = no consequences.

🪙 ‘𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭’ 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨: ‘I paid the deposit, so I’ve obviously bought it’

And probably most importantly:

😉 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵: when a law prevents people from doing ‘reasonable’ things, it’s usually the law that’s wrong, not the people. And if we can’t scrap the law, maybe quietly tolerating breaches is the next best thing.

You’ll find the similar dynamics in organisations, minus the mulled wine.

Ever kept your mug? Full disclosure: I may have one or two at home. For research purposes, obviously.