A trip to a Polish supermarket

interesting. I never ever have a problem at the markets here. Maybe I am in less of a hurry? Too much stress and anger isnt good for the health.

Believe me a trip trip to the supermarket is TAME in comparison to a trip to the POCZTA!

ha ha that is so true. the poczta ladies are ever so rude to Polish customers, i can't imagine how evil they are to foreigners...

oh yeah i had a real shutdown from the lady there. she yelled document!! at me so loud and i just started laughing. she was so mad!! I couldnt stop laughing and she couldnt stop from turning red with anger. needless to say I didnt get the package from her

It's like is my package going to make it or not! the palpatations get stronger according to the eye contact. One false move and your dead.

I remember going to the post office for the very first time here in uk... after 27 years in pl :D
what relief... hyhy

OOOoooh my god.

Ok i just read the first post and a few of the following but; Hell yes do i empathize!

When i first moved here i was so put off by the rudeness of the staff in my local supermarket i stopped going there until i had take 6 weeks of polish lessons, now im not so concerned!

WHY OH WHY OH WHY does everyone have a pointless job? i have to go to a counter and ask for someone to get my vegetables, giving them wieghts and amounts...then i have to take them to another pointless person to weigh them, eventually to the totally necessary checkout point to pay. That, i am at peace with.

once, at the aforementioned 'vegetable request station' i was pushed out of the que because she couldn't understand me when i was asking for 20 mushrooms, after standing asside and being publicly humiliated in front of the rest of the shop, i was then asked again, gruffly 'co?' where upon i repeated myself and was given 5. Handy when making a mushroom risotto..

The same with meat and fish. In British supermarkets you can generally get round and pick anything you need off the shelf and leave in a timely manor unless you want to get something at a deli etc. and the thing about the change. That drives me nuts. Now days i just give them the exact change just to avoid being in the shop any longer than necessary.

And i have been followed by security guards. I dont know where they think im going to hide my pilferings when im wearing a sheer coctail dress with no pockets. That would be highly skilled...and uncomfortable.

My solution: shop at a nice supermarket like Bomi where you get great food and service and a little understanding if you mispronounce something.

katie/kasia

It is idiotic to get annoyed by such things. Why? Just leaf through a Newsweek or Fakty near the counter. And when it is your time to psy.. put the magazine back in its place and proceed. What is the problem here? You had to wait like 3-4 minutes? What kind of life-deciding event happened in these 4 minutes?

Taken from a Closed circuit TV in the local post office...

The clerk looks remarkably like Clint Eastwood. Not the prettiest of Polish Women.

exactly if people get bad service somewhere why oh why do they continue to go there? do they really expect something else?

katie:
my story is from Kaufland / Gdynia Obluze, so beware! ;)

Sobieski:
it's not about queue or waiting, it's how rude was the cashier. And it's like this in poland, doesnt change at all.

Why it doesnt happen here in Morrisons? Queues are 10x longer, cashiers are REALLY busy

I guess the package did'nt make it, you know why ?
THERE WAS NO NAME ON IT.

I somehow never had any problems with my local Jaskółka or any other store in particular, occasionally there may be one of those annoying bastards who expects you to not notice a few złoty missing from your change in those privately owned stores, but nonetheless people tend to be pretty friendly if you're friendly to them or rather sometimes just neutral, but I've never been to a store where the clerk was really in anyway rude. Sure, there may be a line once in a while, but then I make casual conversation with whoever seems friendliest near me. Then again, I did live in a small little city, Augustów.

I find this nonsense of being asked "do you have ....gr?"seemingly practised by all supermarket cashiers infuriating! If I really wanted offload a pocketful of useless small coins I as the customer would proffer them, perhaps with a comment such as "Would it help you if I gave you..........?, but it is my decision to offer not theirs to practically demand!! Being rushed through the process of paying after interminable delays, caused by staff changeovers, untagged products and the occasinal bit of idiocy by customers and then be forced off the packing area by the next customer, with his one can of beer and miniature vodka does not incline me to even try to be helpful!

LOL, I can't stand shopping at Kaufland: they cheat, change prices (different on bills, different on shelfs), are rude, steal cash (didn't give my friend full rest, but she didn't want to make muddle because of 2zlotys...), they also have no smile... it makes me I don't feel like doing any shopping out there. My fav one is Biedronka! yay! ;)

Hi,
I'm moving to PL for a couple years to study... Lublin in particular, and I was wondering how hard it is to find products from other ethnicities. I've visited the city on several occasions as a kid, but have not been back for years now, and have never stayed more than a couple months.

I'm from a very asian part of California (USA) and have more or less gotten hooked on various Chinese, Vietnamese and especially Japanese foods/products. Here there are ethnic stores (where about 1/2+ is stuff imported from the country or countries in question).

I've been told by Polish contacts that there are asian sauces and food available, but ever since an aunt took me to a Chinese restaurant half a dozen years ago I've been very wary of 'asian' products in Poland. I've heard sushi is taking off but fear ever being asked to try it... Are there stores where such actual asian food stuffs, etc can be found, or is it mainly PL brand terriyaki and sweet n' sour marinades?

I've grown quite dependent on a proper rice cooker and rice vinegar (ever since room mate showed me how to freeze rice and nuke it back to steaming perfection in 3min for quick dorm food); nori, fish and housin sauces, bamboo shoots and udon noodles as well... but I fear I can't be too hopeful on those.