The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by delphiandomine  

Joined: 25 Nov 2008 / Male ♂
Warnings: 1 - Q
Last Post: 17 Feb 2021
Threads: Total: 86 / Live: 15 / Archived: 71
Posts: Total: 17813 / Live: 4639 / Archived: 13174
From: Poznań, Poland
Speaks Polish?: Yeah.
Interests: law, business

Displayed posts: 4654 / page 151 of 156
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delphiandomine   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

F-Stop has made it clear that he and his colleagues would "remember" someone who didn't bribe them appropriately.

Even more reason to never tip them - if they're malicious with their service because they didn't get a tip last time, then they're not professionals and even more should be left on minimum wage.

One thing I actually dislike is the way that many places will share the tips among everyone - why on earth should I, if I've just tipped the big breasted blonde waitress $50, see her share it among everyone? I've heard the justification that the bartender and the chef should be rewarded too - but to me, this is complete nonsense.
delphiandomine   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

People will tip much more if they feel taken care of than if you act like F-Stop.

And something that Americans fail to understand is that Europeans, by and far, will not reward over familiar service. In fact, anyone trying too hard to earn a tip will instantly find themselves without one with me - I don't want someone to pretend that they're my best friend, because they're not.

If anyone expects a tip from me, then they get none. It's that simple.
delphiandomine   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

You kidding? If you get no customers, you're going home with 8 bucks for the day.

Isn't the US Federally-mandated minimum wage set at $7.25 an hour?

dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

I'm really not getting it. There's a minimum wage, mandated at $7.25 an hour. Why should I tip in this case?

Sorry, but your attitude really comes across as terrible, especially if employees are guaranteed to go home with minimum wage. Plenty of other people earning the minimum wage aren't getting the chance of tips, so why should you get them as a right?

I can't help but think that this is more about servers thinking that they deserve good tips as a right and not as a privilege - and if so, maybe it's time they were taken down a peg or two.
delphiandomine   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

It's becoming to look like in some countries in the Middle East, tip for everything, a barber, a tour guide, everything. I'm wondering, is that a good direction?

I was hearing a shocking story about some tour company who would 'accidentally' leave your suitcases on the bus when offloading them at the airport - and the bus would drive off, with your bags. Why? Because the people in question didn't tip the tour guide enough money. That's a shocking attitude to have, and even more reason to not tip people unless the service was of a stellar quality.

What happens in America if the servers don't meet the minimum wage for their shift? I presume employers have to make it up anyway - so why bother tipping if they're going to receive minimum wage regardless?

Sorry, but anyone who acts like a tip is their God-given right is always going to receive nothing from me. Unless of course, they're French.
delphiandomine   
27 Feb 2010
Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

If you can't get it through your head that the moment you walk into a restaurant with full service, you are agreeing to subsidize the wage of your wait staff to the tune of 15% of your bill,

From what I've heard from Americans, there is no agreement whatsoever - in fact, it's a very powerful tool against poor service staff. I understand that the American culture is that you should always leave a tip - but for Europeans, tips are very much the reward for good service and shouldn't be given freely.

It isn't called a 15% salary supplement fee....or a 15% service charge....it is a TIP or GRATUITY. Are you really that dense?

Places in the UK often add on a 15% service charge to the bill - which goes towards the owners pockets. Anyone with any sense deducts that charge immediately - and gives a tip in cash, after clarifying the tipping policy with the individual.

Trying to hold the customer hostage for 15% of the bill is just going to irritate people - simple as.
delphiandomine   
26 Feb 2010
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

In some areas of the US not tenses are used at all.

A particular trait to America is the horrible way that they mix tenses in writing without rhyme or reason - and the worst thing is that it's practiced by educated people.

(Seanus, ever tried teaching Scottish English grammar to people? For some reason, it seems to make sense to Poles)
delphiandomine   
25 Feb 2010
Life / Polish Organizational Skills [83]

They can study Management, sure, but it is certain ingrained attitudes that need to be changed.

The problem is the management courses are mostly absolutely rubbish in State universities too - the content is often woefully out of touch with the demands of modern business, containing all sorts of useless modules. Thankfully, the private universities do a much better job of course content.

As for the attitudes - I think at least part of it has to be blamed on the foreign owners. Look at Tesco and how dire they are for customer service in Poland - sure, the staff have to shoulder some of the blame, but why isn't Tesco instilling British standards into the store?
delphiandomine   
25 Feb 2010
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

and this, as you have just seen Rikad, simply should not happen in language

Why not? I often argue with people over the best way to say something in English. I think you're also forgetting that language is fluid - of course people will argue about the correct way to say something. I find the way that certain English people stress words really annoying, especially people from London. Yet they would say that I'm wrong.

If you don't believe me - why does "The cat wants out" sound perfectly fine to my ears, yet terrible to an Englishman?

I am talking about simple, silly stuff that a 5 year old should have command of, yet adults often times do not because of no other reason but the inefficiency of their language.

If we want to talk about inefficiency, why do I have to say "A small couch" - three seperate words to be remebered, including an article - whereas in Polish, I can just say "kanapka". If you ask me, Polish is more efficient - much less nonsense and much more ways to vary something without having to bolt on endless words.

and for those of you touting B2 and above proficiency levels in Polish, puff your chest out all you want, but rest assured, if native speaking Poles are getting stumped on silly meaningless sentences, you can be most confident that you are subject to this happening to you 100 fold.

I'm really wondering what kind of morons that you're associating with. Of course, there's often two or more ways to say something in a language - that's absolutely normal. Let's look at the way that Americans and Brits will describe something - very often, it's completely different. That's inefficient.

Anyway, you're not qualified to comment on Polish, seeing as you're only at B1-B2 level. When you pass the State C1 exam, then we can talk.
delphiandomine   
24 Feb 2010
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

There. I win.

How old are you, 7?

Do you even have the B2 certificate from the approved Polish State examination in the Polish language? If not, then you're clearly not at B2 level either and therefore not qualified to comment by your own criteria ;)
delphiandomine   
24 Feb 2010
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

I can ask any average Englishman about some language aspect like you and I'd get a similar answer: "It's just like that" or "That's how you say it".

You could ask many well educated English speakers and they wouldn't have a clue. I can't talk for the rest of the world, but grammar isn't taught in British schools. I'm struggling to believe that the Aussie and Kiwi systems are different in this respect.

And as for the way that Americans use English - please, the vast majority of them can't even use tenses correctly!

For example, I recently asked a native Pole

I'd say that the native Pole was frankly an idiot. I've just asked two native Poles the same question and they both gave me the answer without a moment's hesitation.

Basically, Polish in my opinion is utterly inefficient.

There are quite a few examples where a Polish word can change slightly and convey quite a lot of meaning, whereas the equal in English would take a whole sentence. Most natural languages are quite inefficient in their own way - heck, look at the way that there is no such thing as Standard English as defined by academics - how inefficient is that?!

Polish grammar is utterly ridiculous.

It's difficult, but hardly ridiculous. English grammar is far more ridiculous - the lack of standards is a great example as to why, when most languages have accepted authorities on the language.

Let's not forget that all those English grammar books are all based on an interpretation of what they think English is - it's not based on any standards whatsoever. I find the American habit of barely using grammar and mixing tenses appalling; an American might very well find my use of "outwith" to be horrific. Some language!

at least most Polish people seem to agree.

Most native speakers of languages will find their own grammar ridiculous when they're forced to think about it - nothing new there!
delphiandomine   
24 Feb 2010
UK, Ireland / "Strange " English language.. [264]

I know of at least two non-English speaking natives who have an incredible level of English to the point where if I didn't see their ID card, I wouldn't believe they were foreign. Certainly, they know English far better than 99% of neds!
delphiandomine   
24 Feb 2010
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

What schools did you mean?

Schools in general, particularly those in wealthier areas.

I had a discusson once with someone involved with student support in a university - who told me that she personally detested all the dyslexia claims, but because they were backed with medical 'evidence' (which just so happened to be provided by a specialist dyslexia unit that had a vested interest in diagnosing as many people as possible) - she could do nothing but give them what they were entitled to.

(our favourite spammer is back, I see - wonder why he bothered to learn Polish and has a Polish wife if it's so dreadful?)
delphiandomine   
24 Feb 2010
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

There is a school of thought in English that dyslexia doesn't actually exist - the problem is that the dyslexia lobby is quite powerful - combined with many schools pushing the 'dyslexia' label onto virtually any person who has poor spelling abilities and you have one big mess. I believe it exists, but nowhere near on the scale that apparently exists.

Polish is no different - it's being used as an excuse to cover up failings in children. After all, if you don't meet the norms, then something must be wrong with you - and this is where the attitude problem lies.

Apparently one of the biggest social problems in schools in the UK nowadays is the fact that many "dys-something" children are in the bottom classes in school. Fine - but these children take up all the attention of the educators, meaning that genuinely poor learners are being ignored and left to rot - which is wrong!
delphiandomine   
23 Feb 2010
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

What is your opinion guys on the reason why dizortografia is a modern pandemic "disease" only in Poland and nowhere else in this world?

Hardly. It's being abused in the Western world thoroughly. If it was a real disease, why did no-one suffer from it in the 1980's?
delphiandomine   
21 Feb 2010
History / Yalta Conference and Poland [78]

The US army together ...

From how I understand it, Russian supply lines were ridiculously overstretched in the race to Berlin - compare this to the Western Allied lines which were much more stable, combine that with quite a few countries internally hostile to the Soviets (Poland and Finland immediately come to mind, but the Baltic countries could also be relied on) and a Germany humiliated (and being threatened with partition) and there may just have been an opportunity to finish off the Soviet Union. It would've almost certainly required swift, decisive action - and crucially, they would've had to nuke the Soviet Union to end communism there. Anything less would've just been suicidal.

I'm just not convinced most countries in the 'free' world had an appetite for more warfare - and as I said, quite a few countries were more than content with Germany divided and the Iron Curtain going up.
delphiandomine   
21 Feb 2010
History / Yalta Conference and Poland [78]

How about General Patton's plan, which was to keeping pushing with the Allied armies and drive the Reds out of Europe altogether?

There was absolutely no appetite on the part of the UK or France to carry on, Germany was broken and many other players had plenty of issues internally - look at how close the Communists came to taking control of several countries! Sure, the Red Army was exhausted and was there for the taking - but America would have had to do it alone. Given that at the same time, they were facing the prospect of a potential land invasion of Japan, it seems unlikely that anyone wanted to bother with the Soviet Union.

The *only* thing open to the Allies was the bomb - a clear message to the Soviet Union that they either withdraw or face immediate nuclear bombing would have worked.
delphiandomine   
20 Feb 2010
Real Estate / House prices in Poland to drop more or rise again? [228]

Do your own maths ;)

Certainly.

You can't afford to buy a property in Krakow, so in your somewhat damaged mind, you think that by spamming online about property prices falling, people might believe you and bring prices down to the point where you might be able to buy.

Or are you just bitter that you're going to be pushed out of your area as it becomes gentrified?
delphiandomine   
19 Feb 2010
Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]

They always tell me how the roads and buildings are poor and how they wanna leave because its so bad over there.

Maybe you're not too aware, but anyone can leave Poland if they want. There's only two countries out of 30 in which Poles can't work freely - Germany and Austria. Why do they stay if it's so bad?

If you don't want to be Polish, then formally renounce any Polish citizenship that you might have and change your last name. Job done.
delphiandomine   
16 Feb 2010
UK, Ireland / Warning to British people visiting Poland!! Don't get drunk and smash the place up! [453]

Rubbish. I've drunk lager at least three times a week for ten years and never been drugged, worse luck.

Compare this to the UK where drink spiking is rife. People in Poland actually leave drinks lying, unlike in the UK where you'd have to be an absolute moron to do so.

my friend for your information is not BRITISH.

American then. Or possibly Asian.

and secondly how the f*** can you not remember what has happened to you when you've only had three pints.

Strong lager will do that to a man. Three pints of Warka Strong to someone who can't handle his booze is quite a lot. Anyway, it was two pints above, now it's three - was it actually ten?

i can assure you he was stripped naked when he arrived at the clinic. they had his cloths you F***ing twat.

Well, if he was struggling, fighting the police and being an general arse, what better way to deal with him than to strip him naked and tie him to a bed? It's much better than being up in court the following morning on a drunk and disorderly charge.

My warning is to those who visit poland to be careful, it's not like the UK where you would be locked up at night and told exactly what your doing there.

True, it's not like the UK, where the police routinely beat protestors, where the police routinely harrase innocent photographers under 'terrorism' laws and all sorts of other fun things that the British police get upto. I mean, the Great British Police would never dream of putting drugs in black people's pockets when doing a search, just to bust them, would they?

Oh wait.

Futher to your half hearted reply investigations showed that he was indeed drugged.

Are you sure he wasn't taking drugs? Not uncommon for foreigners to go somewhere and to try and score drugs. Of course, blaming others is a good way to excuse your behaviour when high on drugs.

Its the way he was trreated in the clinic that discussed me. Where we come from a couple of pints is just socialising, my firend would need to be drinking for at least several hours solid before he would even show the signs of being drunk. and certainly not the type of person to cause a scene.

Right, because all foreigners in Poland are well behaved. The fact that he can fairly knock back the booze suggests at a drink problem on his part, and goes quite a long way to explain why he was taken to the drunk tank.
delphiandomine   
14 Feb 2010
Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

As far as spending such a large percentage of income on a mortgage, the Scandinavians don't do it, nor do the Germans, French...

Germany has quite a low percentage of home ownership I believe, as renting is far more common there. The French also rent, but if I remeber rightly, there's some sort of social housing scam that's universally accepted there.

Scandinavia is an odd example - unlike Brits, living in a flat there is normal and accepted practice for families. The success of commie block building there is one reason that I think property prices are quite low - as well as having far more land than they know what to do with.

In Ireland affordable housing has worked well according to my friends that have bought.

The Keyworker scheme seems to work allright in the UK too. But don't get me started on the scam that is shared ownership...

Built during communist times to a very poor standard.

Actually - I would rather put my money into some communist flats than into newbuilds. The building quality of anything post-1990 is absolutely shocking - dnz on here can tell you a rather wonderful story about the crack in his old flat, and how his new place is almost brand new and is falling to bits already.
delphiandomine   
14 Feb 2010
UK, Ireland / Warning to British people visiting Poland!! Don't get drunk and smash the place up! [453]

That clown wasn't in any clinic but in izba wytrzeźwień - the place where totally drunk clowns are broght by police and locked up until they get sober.

Gotta love the excuse... "I was drugged".

Suuuure you were.

(having said this, there was that dodgy case in Warsaw a few years back....)
delphiandomine   
14 Feb 2010
Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

You think it's a good idea to spend over 50% of your household income on a mortgage? Do you think that's sustainable?

Unfortunately, it's accepted fact for most Europeans that housing is expensive.
delphiandomine   
14 Feb 2010
UK, Ireland / Warning to British people visiting Poland!! Don't get drunk and smash the place up! [453]

He woke up in a clinic strapped to bed with a gown on. no one the clinic told him how he got there, where he was.

In other words, he got ********, decided to do something typical British like running round naked or harrassing local girls, got nicked and taken to the drying out clinic and is blaming being drugged instead? Pretty poor excuse, if you ask me. Typical though - Brits are usually ashamed of what they've done and blame someone else rather than admitting responsibility.

Is it so hard to understand that if you act like a drunken twat in Poland, you're going to be punished?

EITHER THAT OR KICK THEM OUT OF THE EU UNTIL THEY UNDERSTAND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THAT COUNTRY.

Like in the UK, where the police shoot you dead on tube trains even though you're innocent? Or what about the way that the police will happily beat you at demonstrations? And let's not forget that the UK is far, far worse than Poland when it comes to people being drugged in clubs.

Apparently they've moved to Riga, in Latvia.

Not wanted there either - I saw an interview with someone in their council who was saying that they would rather do without the money from Brits!
delphiandomine   
10 Feb 2010
Work / An Australian girl living in Poland: Residence permit, please help! [44]

It took around four months to get a response for the work permit.

Who was advising you in regards to the work permit? Two months wait for a work permit is unacceptable - and the employer should be ashamed of themselves for leaving it so long.

No ,if you leave tomorrow you won't be banned for a year, whereas if you're caught, you will be!

Not neccessarily so - they can ban you at the exit check just as well. It depends very much on the mood of the officer on the day and whether he/she can be bothered to scrutinse your passport carefully.
delphiandomine   
10 Feb 2010
Work / An Australian girl living in Poland: Residence permit, please help! [44]

It turns out that the applying 45 days beforehand thing is only applied to the residency application, not the work permit.

Something I don't understand - they are obliged to respond to a work permit application within a short period of time - I think it's two weeks? For this reason, you should've been well within the 45 days. Of course - another option would have been to leave Schengen on day 43/44 and wait for the permit to come through - you could then easily come back and apply while still within the 45 days.
delphiandomine   
10 Feb 2010
Work / An Australian girl living in Poland: Residence permit, please help! [44]

apply for a work permit the day you arrive.

If a work permit has been applied for before 45 days are up, then it should be relatively straightforward to obtain a temporary residence paper from the Foreigners Office to allow you to stay until the decision has been given.

If the general consensus here is that I've already broken the law then I'm definitely leaning towards having a long stay here now

I think because you went over 90 days without permission, you're illegal. But I'm hearing mumurings that they can (but this doesn't mean they will) legalise an illegal stay if there's exceptional circumstances - I know Germany has been doing this, but there's no guarantee that Poland will do the same thing.

Incidentally, it's a year's ban from Schengen, with formal notice to quit Schengen if you're caught. Some people are banned for longer, but where it's a clear cut case of overstay by a tourist, it's the standard punishment.