I'm British in Poland and I think that it's time to go back to the UK!

True. There isn't much of a concept of customer service and I've noticed shop and restaurant staff even arguing with customers and not apologising for poor service.

Hopefully this will change with time.

I don't think so. If Walesa et al hadn't fought for their rights, you wouldn't be free now, would you? I have always, but always, get my money back if I return goods unopened within a week. The times I didn't, I stood at the door availing would be customers of the facts until the shopkeeper caved in and returned my money.

Always worked for me!
My advice would be to avoid shops that don't treat their customers right, such as the weeks' return, no questions asked. Of course, some Polish shops seem to think they can magically get away with sloppy service. Glad to disabuse them.

Online reviews may well help to end this problem.

My ability to speak both languages had not made teansition back to Poland any easier.2 years into living back in Poland after 32 years absence, the worst thing is the lack of respect for customers everywhere. I guess for full foreigners it must be a formidable challange. Communism had taught Polish people,falsly that the best way to assert themselves and gain respectful social position is by making things difficult for others. They do it in shops banks and public offices. Making someone elses life easier is equal to public humiliation. Unless you make them like you by some extra means, to start with. A Polish person rarely derives enjoyment from helping someone. Such negative attitude often makes their job (serving customers) unpleasant,.making them look pissed off and bored. Which has the effect of turning the problem into a viscious circle. Gentle humorous pointers which would work wonders in UK. or US, here dont amuse, and dont register. In spite of all that I do see the young slowly making things change for better.

Poland's problem is how to protect itself from the hordes of refugees and other scum that the UK, France, Germany, and Italy so cheerfully took in. One way is by keeping the welfare benefits lower. I am glad that it is hard for the foreigners to settle down in Poland.

How true. The ultimate case: a clinic that does not take credit cards. The restroom ladies do and so do bars if you want to get drunk. Hospitals and clinics? No way.

Actually that's greatly improved in recent years.


Or come across as rude...

Yes, thank you. No delay, no delay.

@Dougpol1
You simply ignore the fact that i've quoted the to the law that you think existed, but does not exist.

So again, its shop goodwill, not a RIGHT. However you form it for yourself, you are NOT in your right to return it in a week. Dont like it? Simply dont buy there, but buy online for example. There you always have 14 days, and if we all work this way, shops with bad service will cease to exist.

A totally brilliant post!

I got really tired of even hearing those pointless third person things like prosze pana or czy pan. While flying - trolls, I actually wasn't flying, the plane was - all I heard was prosze pana, prosze pani, czy pan, and czy pani.

How about simply you like in: chcial bys wode czy kawe?

I guess in your opinion the best would be if people in Poland just spoke English.

For me it is pointless hearing 'keep in touch' 'How are you' .....which means really nothing.

Hahahahaha. Well done on proving that you don't speak Polish ;) That's straight out of Google Translate!

That's borderline rude in polish. I guess it goes above your head that polish and english are actually different, and Usa and Poland are actually different.

I actually find it annoying that let's say 16 year old boy would talk to a 70 year old man saying, "Do you want coffee?". Sir seems to much, mister seems completely archaic. But "Do you want cofee?" That's too much.

@majkel

Czy chcialbys wode czy kawe?-

Polish person would rather says 'Zrobic ci cos do picia'? ( to friend, family member)

I too had to learn how so say stuff so that Poles wouldn't look at me as though I had two heads!

After "Chcialbym kawe z mlekiem.", I quickly stopped myself the second time following an odd glance from the waitress and said instead "Prosze o kawe...."

She then nodded with a smile of ultimate understanding and went to bring me my order:-)

I was talking about restaurant scenario, not among friends obviously. Noone says "Czego się pan napije" among friends/family :)

Register can be tricky for non-natives such as myself:-)

Once in a restaurant, I heard the waitress mutter something to the person ordering, and I could have sworn I heard "Tak, pije kawe!"
In English, it's obvious one is drinking the coffee, and not doing something else with it, thus "Yes, I'm HAVING coffee!" would be the most natural

way to ask.

Nobody here would say this. It would be would you like some coffee? Even within a family.

My beef is with that Pan and Pani, both capitalized! I am standing right in front of the person who wants to say something to me, I am the only person in the room, and, instead of ty masz, I hear this third-person Pan ma. WTF? Because ty would be offensive? If people in Poland get offended by a direct ty, they must have some deeper unresolved mental issues.

I remember when I started working at the Instytut Electrotechniki in Miedzylesie right after graduation in 1966. First, I found out that I had address people according to their degrees. How the f*** would I know anybody's degree? Then, with time, those closer to me would switch from Panie Magistrze to Panie Ryszardzie to be eventually replaced by Ryszard, which I never experienced because by September that year I was gone form the Instytut and Poland.

Languages morph. Anyone who would actually say whom instead of who, while correct and very pleasing to the English teachers, would be seen as a pompous ass faking sophistication. So, we no longer say whom. Time to drop that bs with Pan and Pani. Husaria is no longer part of the Polish military, either.

Pani Magister/Panie Magistrze - forms Polish people use only when addressing a pharmacist.
Unless they use something else at Instytut EleCtrotechniki.
A w 1966 to towarzysze i obywatele raczej, a nie burzuje-magistry. Lmao.

Ha,ha exactly 'Towarzyszu' ...or in the form like 'Wy Kowalski'- I remember from old films.

In general- every country has its cultural/language rules and it is a bit stupid coming and criticising them. I would advise some tolerance and flexibility.

Wy Mazur - też dobre!

And you're obviously not Polish. Politeness in Poland is about maintaining the proper distance. Using ty with someone you don't know is like hugging someone you don't know in America, an invasion of personal space.

So.... how did you manage to leave Poland in 1966?

And at the university!


It's painfully obvious given that he didn't mention one particular form of address in educational circles that always struck me as odd. Wonder why? Oh, he's not Polish.

edit: And I see that he doesn't know how to use "ty" correctly, as he's made the typical mistake of English speakers when writing in Polish. Painful.

Know a guy at our local Polish Consulate by his first name! By mistake, I slipped into, "Czesc, Jarku!" at a formal function.
We both nearly turned beet red with embarrassment. I then speedily chimed back in "Panie Doktorze!" (which he is, and in Inter. Relations)
and everything was just fine:-))

When in Poland it's good to make an effort to be like them. And God knows I tried until I couldn't understand what was said to me. This is when a feeling of total desperation and panic sets in. I caught myself so many times hearing or reading individual words and not understaning the core meaning, especially with the rules and regs. Those damn sentences are too long and the words used are as if to make the text as complicated, official, and lawyerly as possible. In the US, even the feds make every effort to write in simple English. Yes, trolls, it's because we are low-IQ Neanderthals.

On a Polish aircraft: Prosze Pana, czy Pan by chcial kawe? On an American plane: coffee?

Nice to know that you've just confirmed the European stereotype of Americans lacking in manners. Not sure that rudeness is anything to boast about, to be honest.

But well, nice to see you're still using Google Translate.


As a tourist? Did you walk uninvited into a court to go along with your uninvited visits to schools and hospitals?

Actually saying: Kawy? Or: Kawy czy herbaty? is just fine. A native speaker of Polish would know it.

Proszę Pana, czy Pan by chciał kawę? sounds terribly clumsy. Not to mention the mistake.

I would always use albo guess I was wrong and never corrected by mum or dad

Word 'Poland' in this sentence you can replace with any other country. If you visit any country you look around and behave the way not to offend people.

Last weekend I met Polish guy and he was saying to our friends 'You know in Poland in shops we have small plate for coins on the counter in the shop....here in UK I put coins on the counter and shop assistant looked offended' - exactly. Here it is sort of sign of anger in Poland it is just normal behaviour.

All I know is that in the Polish language and the way it's spoken there are too many noise words that add nothing to the message. In fact, all that prosze pana subtracts from it.