Who cares about a smiling clerk. Just get me what i need and I'm out of there!
I have to agree that most service workers in Poland do not smile and appear quite grim - they also have a lot to learn about customer service !
I was born in England, but speak Polish fluently due to parents/grandparents being Polish, so I don't believe it's anything to do with anyone not being able to speak Polish properly.
recently when I was purchasing numerous items in Carrefour supermarket, the check-out girl was scanning all the items until she came across a dvd that wouldn't scan - instead of calling a colleague for assistance, she threw the dvd away. I said I wanted to purchase that dvd, to which she replied "go get one that scans properly then"!
This could be an age related behaviour, because I have noticed that the younger generation and those working in better class shops do have better customer service skills.