Life / Have many Poles had enough of one another? [198]


He asked for a personal story about Poles in Poland - not the rantings of some American who has never visited Poland.


When you work for a company that puts customer service at the very, very top of its priorities, you do everything in your power to help people. Especially those that are looking at spending 3000zl on books.

Let's be honest Des - you've never been to Poland, you don't speak Polish - you haven't got a clue what's going on here.

Tell you what though - tell us, where is one likely to find better service - Carrefour or Auchan? Anyone living in Poland can answer this - so - come on.


Add to that : never been here.


Seanus is talking about life in a major area. He lives in part of the Katowice metropolitan area - not exactly "small country town".

Incidentally, you'll find in Poland that service tends to be much worse in cities than in small towns/villages.

USA, Canada / Why are Polish restaurants not successful in the USA? [698]

Hey, I'm not fighting with anyone ;)

(the report button does make a good weapon, however)

News / Russia says: WE'LL NUKE POLAND [150]


They didn't ask tough questions - they asked stupid questions.


And you honestly think that France, the USA and UK don't have missiles pointed at Russia?

Perhaps a spot of realism wouldn't go amiss.

UK, Ireland / I need help!! (problems with my Polish coworkers) [41]


Alas, it's not your problem to deal with.

Tell your boss that it's an uncomfortable working environment, but there's not much you can do if your boss won't sort it out.

USA, Canada / Why are Polish restaurants not successful in the USA? [698]


yelp.com/c/la/british

Do be quiet.


Ah, I love your crusade against the mods. Hint : you won't win.

UK, Ireland / Is moving to UK now a good idea? - antipolish prejudice of the Brits [231]


Actually - the situation should resolve itself in 20-30 years time - all the leeches will be dead, and Poland will be left with a workforce that earns a lot of money while having to pay pensions for relatively few.

The real crisis is coming in the next few years - not enough people are paying not enough social taxes to fund all those lazy people on early retirement.

Life / Have many Poles had enough of one another? [198]


Even more reason to call if you ask me - all those cushy maternity provisions would be lost if she was fired.


Sorry, but those of us living in Poland know that most of them are the exact opposite of "dignified".

Then again, you've never been here, so how would you know?

News / Russia says: WE'LL NUKE POLAND [150]


Hahaha. I love the source - such a credible bastion of journalism!

Mods : what about editing the title to give a more accurate view of things? Perhaps "RUSSIAN GENERAL IN 2008 SAID THAT THEY WILL AIM NUKES AT POLAND IF THE MISSILE SHIELD IS INSTALLED".

Or perhaps more simply - "MediaWatch has Russians on the brain"

Law / How do you get your Polish passport if you live in Poland? [17]


Be warned that flying into the Schengen zone (but not Poland) is no guarantee that you won't be checked - the last four border crossings I've made have all been monitored by police who were pulling in cars at random. Again - if you attempt to use a non-Polish document to identify a child that can be claimed as Polish, you might very well have unnecessary trouble on your hands.

Save yourself the hassle and travel into Poland on a Polish document.

Life / Have many Poles had enough of one another? [198]


Indeed. I got someone fired not so long ago for their behaviour - I was shopping for books, when I got some incredibly nasty service. Unfortunately for the stupid cow working there, I was an contractor of the bookshop (as they also run a school) - and it was reported straight to my boss there.

Et voila.

News / Nigel Farage voice of reason for Poland and EU? [79]


They represent one damned good thing - the existence of the European dream.

You're in America, you wouldn't understand. But for those of us living here, we value the ability to drive to Germany to do some shopping, free from pesky border guards interrogating us and searching our cars.

Heck, I'm just about to place an order for circa 20k Euro worth of goods. No stress, no worry - even though they're coming from Germany. If I ordered them from America, I'd have to deal with Customs and all sorts of tedious headaches involving the importation. And *that* is what the EU has done for us.

Life / Have many Poles had enough of one another? [198]


That's just how it was in Communist Poland - people just accepted it. However, nowadays, the norm is to complain about this rather than just accepting it.

Only Communists are harking back to such days of miserable service.


You know the rules.

Life / Have many Poles had enough of one another? [198]


Expecting cheerful servility is exactly what your country, America, expects from shopkeepers.

Life / Have many Poles had enough of one another? [198]

He doesn't know it - he claims to be "Polish-American", yet doesn't speak Polish, has never been here and sympathises with the Communists.

Life / Have many Poles had enough of one another? [198]


Marks & Spencer have it bang on - I've never had a bad experience there. But from what my spies tell me - they were told quite clearly at the very beginning that the stores have to operate to a UK level of professionalism - which probably explains a lot ;)


Alma is another company that's a complete joke - high prices, but utterly poor customer service. Again - go there and enquire about a food product, and you're treated as a pest.

I'm 100% convinced it's to do with bad management and nothing to do with culture.

Life / Have many Poles had enough of one another? [198]


When was the last time you were in Poland, huh?

Ah...that's right - never.

When you actually bother to come here (not that we want you here) - then perhaps, you can share us with your insights into Polish customer service - or lack of. Until then? Get lost.

Law / Can I come to Poland with my girlfriend on the student visa as a dependent? [40]


You can work as much as you want, and you can earn at least 10 euro per hour in Poland.

Poland is a great place for people who need to find jobs, especially those from Asia.

(with apologies to grubas)

Real Estate / How bad was it? '' a 'luxury' apartment with electricity and heating" [21]


Definitely weird - I wonder if it was adapted from a Russian textbook?

I know the USSR had huge problems with housing at one point. I was reading one maniacal story about how a new block caretaker refused to hook the lift up to the electricity until everyone had moved in - just because they might damage the lift with furniture!


No, quite the opposite - in Poznan, Rataje and Piatkowo were both built during those times. In fact, the 80's saw quite a lot of construction despite the dire economic situation.

Real Estate / Prices of agricultural land in Poland [39]


The reason for that is partially because of the vast amount of protectionism in Switzerland - farmers of meat, especially beef are guaranteed a very high standard of living due to the immense taxes on imported mat.

(and of course, the lack of supply)

Life / Poznaniak = Tightwad? [8]


No way, quite the opposite - Warsaw is by far the worst.

Real Estate / Prices of agricultural land in Poland [39]

Different story. To the ordinary person in the street, not so easy.

Law / How do you get your Polish passport if you live in Poland? [17]


No - the rules are still in place - if the person is Polish by law, then you must use a Polish document to enter/leave Poland.

However - as I understand it - the 'red flag' is if the person has a Polish name. A name like John Kowalski wouldn't matter, but a name like Jan Kowalski would set off alarm bells.

Real Estate / Prices of agricultural land in Poland [39]


Because - you can't.

There are a load of restrictions on buying such land in Ukraine, similar to Poland. A non-Ukrainian simply won't be able to buy anything worth buying.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


I saw their hooligans cause some trouble in L'viv last year - the night of the game against Borussia Dortmund. Was good fun watching how the Ukrainian police dealt with them - no nonsense, all weapons.

Law / Divorce legal adviser in Poland? [7]

There's no such thing as "cheap divorce lawyer" in Poland, unfortunately.

What are the circumstances? Do you just want the marriage to be over, or is there property/money involved?

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]

No offence, but the vast majority of Poles in Poland think that a Polish guy who doesn't pay taxes in Poland and who doesn't live here doesn't really deserve any sort of say.

When you pay taxes here, perhaps we'll listen. Until then, people like "pip" will enjoy far more influence.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


They have a very nice pub in the brewery, too.

And nice taxi drivers who wait outside and take you back to your hotel (along with 4 others in a taxi for 3..) and even give you a fair price :o

News / Nigel Farage voice of reason for Poland and EU? [79]


Why not? If it stops another war in Europe, I'm quite happy to go ahead.

Incidentally - they aren't unelected. They're chosen by the leaders of the EU countries - who are elected by the people of the countries. Not 'unelected' at all.


As I said - they were elected. We, as Europeans, voted for people who then voted for them. I hope that in time, we'll see a directly-elected European President to represent the EU - but this is a first step.

For what it's worth - Van Rompuy at least seems to be doing a pretty decent job of coordinating a common European position. That's good, right?

News / HIV infected Nigerian has bitten bus ticket's controler in Cracow! [56]


That's all I'm aware of - I don't pay much attention to the news in other cities. However - that's the one case that was filmed and brought to the attention of the media. Given the crap I see on public transport - it's likely that there are much, much more incidents.


Hahaha, and you think Poles are so honourable to get involved?

They'll protect their own, but Poles are not exactly keen to help others. Bear in mind that many users of public transport also would be quite happy to see a black guy roughed up.

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]

The certificate expires, but the residency itself doesn't - at least, that's how I understand it.