A New Way To End A German Romance

A German romance is a beautiful thing. My countrymen (and women!) are wonderful people, and you could just meet your soul mate here. Whether you use one of the German dating sites I told you about in February or meet someone in your travels, it is relatively easy to start a new dating life here.

How about ending a relationship? Well, this might be challenging… I remember some of my own dating adventures and wince, but I’ll spare you all of those stories!

At times, breaking up is hard to do, that’s a given. Add in the complexities of a multi-national or multi-cultural relationship and it can be even more challenging. So what’s a German dater to do?

Well, we Germans are nothing if not innovative! We like solving difficult problems, and a man in Berlin has created a special service to help people get out of their dating relationship more easily. I didn’t believe it when I first heard about it, thinking it might be one of my country’s famous April Fool’s Day jokes, but it seems that this is a very real service!

Known as the Separation Agency (site in German), this company was founded by Bernd Dressler. Essentially, you hire the company to go to your significant other and explain to them that you don’t want to continue the relationship. Though I wouldn’t think this would be much of a business, apparently the company has been thriving for three years!

They offer four levels of service: the basic phone break up with a “Let’s still be friends,” a “Please don’t speak to me again” phone call, a break up by letter, and a personal visit from Mr. Dressler himself to announce the end of the relationship.

The cost for the services ranges from about 30 euros for the basic to over 60 euros for the door stop visit. On personal visits, Mr. Dressler can also collect items left at a soon-to-be ex’s home.

Mr. Dressler, who carries the nickname “The Terminator” thanks to his work, has reported in various media interviews that the bulk of his clients are younger women, and that business is busiest on Monday’s and after holidays. Thus, my poor fellow men, watch out for a phone call or knock on the door from a stranger after a bad weekend or lousy holiday trip!

Though I find this service amusing — especially now that I am married and out of the game (at least for the time being ;-) — I can see where it would be useful to some.

However, I wish all of you the best in love and hope you never have to experience “The Terminator” or his services yourself! ;-)

—Marcus