Do you think that Polish people are rude?

There ARE cultural trends whether people want to admit them or not. Polish culture IS rude compared to what your average person in the world would expect. But of course Poles don't want to admit this because they cannot be critical of themselves.

You get scowled at in shops and offices...snapped at by clerks...bumped into in public without any attempt to say "przepraszam" before at all...and rarely after. So yes Polish people "in general" are rude in public.

Stereotypes are based in truth. Of course not ALL people within a culture are the same and not all trends are so dramatic but they ARE real.

I would hardly call them rude.

;)

Well I would. And I am clearly not the only one who thinks so.

It’s a strange thing about Poles. Meet them in private and they are nearly always courteous, generous, good-humored souls. Put them in a shop, bank, office, bus, tram or other public situation though and they mutate into grim trolls with the manners of Attila the Hun.

A favorite opening gambit of rude Poles (in shops, banks, post offices etc) is the blank stare. e.g. you approach the cloak room attendant with your bag in hand. The cloakroom attendant looks at you, saying nothing. You are forced / provoked to say “this is a cloakroom, isn’t it?” The attendant replies triumphantly / witheringly/ scornfully, depending on the mood, “We don’t accept bags.” :)

Just spend three weeks in my country. I think some Polish people can be a bit socially clumsy from time to time, but I find them rather cute and innocent compared to Dutch people in general.

;)

Polish always want to be bribed.When you see a Pole in a bad mood give him some money.

yes , poles dont say thank you.

yeah, we don't even have "thank you" in Polish.

Only spasibo.

It's "spasiba" southern.

Yes,but o at the end is pronounced a or not?Anyway you didn't learn it from Russians.But they are so sneaky as well I would never imagine I would develop nostalgy for Poland after CR and Russian experience.You have advantages folks but we always see the dark side.

Spasiba is phonetic so spasiba it is. Poles tend to be able to figure things out (kombinować) whereas the Russians tend to be wilier and full of cunning. Sly and devious tend to fit many.

Most Poles are either indifferent to me (which I don't mind, that's fine) or warm to me because I emit good vibes. Give sth good out and you'll likely get it back.

Yes,Russians are rather cunning.They understand what is going on and are oriented to power.

Megalomaniacs like Putin can easily cement their position. There is a populist sentiment in Russia, spearheaded by the likes of Kasparov, to overhaul the police state.

Anyway, that's by the by. I'd describe some Poles, usually older, as abrupt (są raptowni). A little more so than some other nations, a little less than others.

I've only met a few here but they are all very friendly!

Wow! That is what I call the "clash of civilisations". You think that the attendant is an extremely rude and arrogant person. Funny thing - I am 100% sure that he thinks exactly the same of you. :-)

unfortunately I have to agree with Bzibzi's point. I think she made a good observation. That observation can apply to any other nationality, with a different distribution of being nice and rude in different places.

According to Polish standards she shall be the one who speaks first with some greetings like "Dzień dobry Panu!". One is expected to say this every time when entering somewhere (like shop, taxi, cloak room etc)

The famous "Polish blank starring" is not meant to be rude. On the contrary - it is natural reaction of Polish to the behavior that they see as impolite. By remain silent an pretend they can't see an entering person they are try to give "this rude foreigner" some more time, a second chance to behave well.

I know that I grew up in Poland.


Fair enough, I am aware of it, but it comes across as passive - aggressive to other cultures.


Yes, I agree, but how does one expect the foreigner to know this, it is not intentional on the foreigner's part. I see it as a mere cultural difference where one behavior is perceived and decoded according the the rules from their own country. That is ALL I was saying. I personally do not like the overly friendly shop assistant stuff in Canada because they speak to me as if they knew me for years and I resent it lol. But I also understand that it is part of the culture, so I play along and after a while it became my second nature, so when I go to Poland I somehow expect the same from the store clerks and then I have to remind myself that I am in a different country. I am sure many other people can relate to it.

If I complement somebody who I don't know in Canada, they get suspicious and think that I want something from them, yet I am just being friendly. All it is is due to cultural differences.

That is what I call "the clash of the civilizations". :-)
Actually I like to collect this kind of stories. At first glance - Poland and the UK are part of the same culture and European tradition. But there are certain differences. Greetings, table manners etc.

For instance traditional British greetings: "How do you do?" "Fine and you?" transfered on the Polish soil may be seen as slightly impolite.

One of my favorites is about telephone manners in the Czech Republic (it's an Eastern European and slavic country so theoretically there shouldn't be any differences in the standards of politeness). Let's say - you are in the hotel room and the phone rings.

-Hallo?
(at this point you expect that person who just called you, shall introduce himself. Instead you hear:)
-Hallo?
(Now you think - what a bloody redneck! You are polite person therefore you decide to give him a second chance:)
-Hallo?
(Now you REALLY expect some introduction from this person. Instead - All you hear is:)
-Hallo?
Sooner or later - one side would hang up with the impression that he just encounter a VERY rude person indeed.

Explanation: In Poland - If you call someone, it is polite to introduce yourself first. In the CZ is more-or-less the same, but the person who receive the call shall introduce himself.

Culture and a good manners are funny thing sometimes :-)

that is very interesting indeed.

Eye contact is a big thing in Canada, people would avoid it at any cost and even if they look at you, they look pass you in order not to be perceived as rude. That is just part of the culture. I, on the other hand still have the observing Eastern European eye and to this day I run into trouble at times by looking directly at people.


sure enough. I have a story form Venezuela. A waiter served all but us after we decided not to be too friendly with him on his night off (well, according to his standards), so I had to apologize and we got served:).

Yes,Czechs are extremely polite.I was surprised.Czechs and English share some similarities by being both eccentric and polite.
I find the Czech way of answering to the phone by name much more smooth than the polish (and German)way of telling the caller's name which can be frightening and assertive.

Etymologically it consists of two words "spasi" (save) and "Bog" (God). So it's somewhat of "help you God". The spelling is with "o" at the end, but phonetically it sounds like "a".


Well... it's the same in Russia. One usually expects people to say "allo" back, confirming that he/she is on line. That's pretty natural, even though could look impolite. I introduce myself first only at work/when I make a call to the US/when the person I'm calling to doesn't know me. :)


That's interesting. In Russia that's probably considered too polite. :)

True enough, Poles would say 'dzień dobry, Marek z tej strony....'. Some just say 'hallo' and some prefer the brash 'no, mów (do mnie)'. I had to laugh at one guy chatting on his phone the other day. All he could say was 'kurwa' ad nauseam.

I have learned the hard way that if the person does not introduce himself, and the call is not for me, "May I ask who is calling" may be perceived as an intrusion. I don't ask any more. "Would you like to leave a message" is good enough when the intended recipient is not home. Kids!

I don't have much experience of calling but I find some are very quick to say 'do widzenia', LOL

omg , I just realized something. I call my friend in Poland and only say: hello, I can hear tension growing on the other side, because she expects me to introduce myself. Well, she is rather formal. lol. I, on the other hand, assume that she know who is calling.

Which just goes to show that it all depends on who the caller is. If they are calling in a business capacity then some formality is expected for those that aren't acquainted with each other.

'No cześć' is common for those that know each other.

This short "telephone manners" course shows only how different the politeness can be perceived in the different countries.
When I am in the foreign country, I don't apply a standards from my culture to them.

Therefore I don't believe this statement:


Simply because I believe the "World Universal Politeness Standard" do not exist.

Of course I may be angry at the Czechs, Russians or Americans that they don't behave accordingly to my own "Polish Universal Standards" - but this is rather silly attitude.


Of course she knows. But she expected you to say it anyway. Good manner are not always a logical matter.

POLISH PEOPLE ARE NICE!Really