Behaviour of Polish migrant workers in the Netherlands

I am a 22 year old Dutch girl who works at a small shop in a train station in the Netherlands. In and around my city there is a lot of agriculture, and it attracts a lot of migrant workers from Eastern-Europe, pretty much exclusively from Poland. I grew up on the countryside and have only lived in this city for a few years now. Before that, I had no bad thoughts about Polish people, and probably couldn't even point the country out on a map to be honest.

But ever since I came to live in this city and started working at this store, I can't help myself from becoming low-key racist against Polish people. Over 90% of the Poles that come to the store are the most rude, disrespectful and annoying customers you will ever meet. I never receive a greeting or a 'have a nice day' back. They barely even look at you, just dump their stuff on the counter and hurry off. They also don't ask questions, but instead they command you in a very degrading tone. When I can't help them they immediately get aggressive and start shouting and cursing, and I have even been called 'racist' and 'nazi' once because I simply wasn't able to change the guy's money. They also barely speak a word of Dutch, even when they have been living here for years. It makes the communication very difficult because their English usually isn't that amazing either, and on top of all that they tend to steal a lot. Almost every week it happens that a group of Poles came in the store, and after they leave I suddenly notice that I'm missing more than one can of heineken...

What's also really bothering me is all the drinking. When I open the store at 7 am there is always a group of Poles already waiting outside the door to buy beer. Why on earth anyone would drink alcohol so early in the morning is a mystery to me, but to them it seems to be totally normal. All over the city you can find drunk Poles sitting on benches, being loud and harrasing people that walk by. They don't bother cleaning up the trash they dump on the street and even destroy stuff when they are very drunk. There is also a Polish supermarket in town which is always in the local news because of the constant fights between the completely intoxicated customers that take place in front of everyone on the street. I am also getting very tired of the drunk Poles in my store acting aggressive and making sexual comments about me. It makes me feel unsafe and scared at times, especially because I am usually working alone.

Overall you can say that they are not really making this town a better place. You can spot the Poles from far away by their unhealthy, unfriendly looking faces and those eternal ugly, dirty track suits. They neglect the houses they live in and leave trash on the street everywhere. I understand that we need migrant workers in the Netherlands and that without them we would have a big economical problem. And let me make one thing clear, it is denifitely not all Poles that act like this. I have met many friendly and well-integrated Poles as well, but as I've said before, over 90% does act like this... So can someone here tell me; who are these people??? I don't believe that my image is a good represention of the polish people, but among the migrant workers here it seems to be the norm unfortunately. Is this 'the trash' of the country? I am really hoping that someone here can clarily this situation for me.

They can`t be native Poles. Most heavy drinkers are Poles who were born in other countries, e.g., the UK. Then they travel everywhere and damage our reputation.

Did you not comprehend what the lovely young lady said ???


The detailed description she gave definitely describes a native Podunk.

Of course not.
Their English isn`t that amazing either coz they were born in the slums and didn`t go to good schools so they speak slang which isn`t understood in a cultural country like the Netherlands.

@OP,most dont speak English so they might look rude,as I have said before after Poland joined the EU lot of Poles have become over confident esp the ones from rural areas.I see them in the USA behaving like that but only in there communities,mostly never in public as if they are not citizens they will be deported or if they are citizens they will be locked up and with a criminal record on there back all there life.lol even the most obnoxious brits are behaving here.


Did you read that she said they dont speak English?How many Poles born in UK dont speak English?

these are Polish gypsies, travellers working on Dutch farms without family to domesticate them

Of course she didn`t say it. Do you have a problem with your eyes? Go to an ophthalmologist, which means an eye-doctor. :):):)

these are lowest strata of Polish society, maybe their employers dont treat them well so they drink and act out...sounds like you are dealing with

the dregs of society,,,

Schaapje, merely wondering as to how you personally would rate the attempts of those Poles to learn Dutch. Surely it's easier to converse comprehensibly in your native language:-)

lol the Dutch are killing off their elderly (euthanasia) but they are concern about farm workers manners - hilarious.
Don't get me wrong is human but on other level is just sad. Funny but sad.

Sounds like you got the poor and uneducated there, why else would you work on some farm? In Australia the dutch are know as the rudest and most arrogant people by far. You sound uneducated yourself, working in a shop and couldnt point out a large eu country so close to you on a map, that is a dead giveaway. Anyway, i dont know who would be drinking in the morning. Maybe they are buying it for after work? It doesnt suprise me they are rude, after living in one of the rudest countries on the planet......don't be shy anyway, have a go, use some of that ' dutch courage' you have in the fridge, another common saying here. All the best.

Dude just chill. Either that is a troll or someone who ranting. Not all people are well balanced, objective and intelligent.

Ignore your critics here. I trust every single word of your post and for a very simple reason: I saw it first hand in Chicago. The only people who were close to falling down from being drunk at noon were Poles.

Also, Poles find it extremely hard to construct a sentence without at least one kurwa in it. To them, "kurwa" or "kurwa mac" is like a tattoo, except verbal.

If you don't know by now what "kurwa" is, you can google it.

You made a mistake which is probably due to your hasty reading. I saw it in other threads, too - after superficial reading of the title, you pass quick judgments which are not entirely true.

So, where did you see those critics, coz I saw only one????

That's the Polish shopping experience!!!, If you go shopping in Poland you will find the shop staff much worse than the customers.

After seven years of this even I am short with shop people and just bark orders at them , there is no have a nice day here in Poland its the way it is like it or lump it.

I guess your clients are just not used to someone being polite to them.

You do it not because of your stay in Poland but because you are a natural born boor. Why do I never bark orders and treat assistants ignobly? Because I am a cutlural person who was born to a decent family and received decent education during which I learnt that we should be polite at all times when contacting people in real life, especially the ones who work in hard and stressful conditions.

You obviously weren`t and didn`t. The OP was talking about nasty guys like you - boorish drunkards. It is a shame that Poland has to host such Polack failures as you. It is really embarassing to native Poles.

@Shaapje
Newly arrived Polish workers, or those that have been long in the Netherlands but, stick to their own most likely have no knowledge or understanding of Dutch social norms.

If you treat them badly and you are negative towards them, they will mirror your behavior and give it back to you. As pointed out by other posters, they are used to being treated badly in Poland by shopkeepers.

Also, Polish society is far more hierarchical then Dutch society. Don't expect similar or identical behavior from rural Poles vs urban Poles, uneducated Poles vs educated Poles

Rural Poles can be far more conflict driven then rural Dutch is my guess, ask yourself if conflict or stable calm communication is the norm where you grew up

So the best thing the OP can do is to treat them as if they were back home I will provide a list of how to deal with a Polish customer below: If anyone wishes to chip in please do, this poor girl needs help.

1. never smile at a customer.

2. If a customer is buying a single item of alcohol or cigarettes (or it is a customer you don't like) ALWAYS refuse service unless they have exact change.

3. Never attempt to help the customer if they do not speak fluent Dutch.

4. If a customer interrupts you while chatting to a friend on your mobile sternly tell them to wait and turn your back on them and continue your conversation.

5 If a customer askes you where the something is, immediately tell the that's not your job.

6. If they complain tell them that they are in Holland not Poland now.

The above list is by no means exhaustive but may give you some help towards giving the appropriate level of customer service to your Polish clients.

You forgot to add: And when you are eating soup on the counter and the customer comes to buy sth, tell him/her that you are having a meal.


Does it often happen to you when you buy some? They know you well at your local grocer`s.

If you are having a really bad day at the checkout then literally throw the groceries rapid fire at the customer, especially if they are fragile items.

Pawian I am not going to rise to your bait on a on topic thread , I am trying not to fall into that trap anymore, please post personal derogatory remarks in random where I will read them.

What derogatory remarks? You condone and even recommend a boorish attitude to Poles, regardless where they come from, Poland or the UK, and you expect what? Praise? I would tell you what I think about you but I am a cultural person, so I will abstain.

I don't know what you mean, all I have done is describe the Polish shopping experience, pray tell me where you shop that is anything different to what I described , the wife made a couple of those points and she unlike me is not allowed to lie.

You have recommended boorish approach to Polish customers to be used by the Dutch shop assistant. And you called it help. You are really cheeky.

. Forgot? Need quotes? Get a treatment on memory, then. Drink Buerlecithin - a German syrup for better memory.

5 If a customer askes you where the something is, immediately tell the that's not your job.

1. never smile at a customer.

etc etc.

But that is exactly what you get when you shop in Poland, why shouldn't the Dutch lady treat them the same way, after all they are behaving as they would in Poland.

Just trying to be helpful, Sorry If the truth about Polish shopping upsets you.

To be honest the young lady understands Polish shoppers very well especially when she talks about the alcoholics queuing at 7am , what time do you start queuing?

I could go on about all the old grannies that push right up into your personal space and look in your wallet of purse or the ones that barge past to jump the queue.

Of 25-30 years ago.... things have gotten so much better on that front in recent years... I can't remember the last overtly rude store employee I dealt with (and you used to be able to pick up new nasty store employees stories on a weekly or daily basis)

Maybe things are still not that nice among the jumacze close to Deutschland.....

Don't get me wrong I am used to all this and its not a problem , in fact it can be entertaining.

But it is a shock for people visiting Poland, and I am not surprised that Polish migrant workers have taken these habits with them.

The only places where I have seen things get a bit better is in the major cities.

What country did you come from, did you have the same problems?

I'm as American as sweet potato casserole (aka food of the gods)... so no.

I do live in a major city so that might have something to do with the difference in service....

So you understand the difference when it comes to customers and service , where I live we depend on agro tourism (at least until covid) we have technical colleges with courses dedicated to tourism , I assume they teach people about customer service, but I can't see it filtering down to the shops.

Maybe the problem a cultural thing, but its not something you see in wider Europe, I don't see it as a big deal but I can see how it effects visitors and we can see from this young lady's experience that she has complained about Polish clients within her shop.

But I guess her clients seem not to be professionals more seasonal workers and maybe there lies the difference.

Just debating and putting forward my view of things, I don't think Polish migrants are bad people just they are from a different culture,

dare I say not really customer service focused be they customer or client.

But It could be argued that they are just being honest and don't see any need for false smiles or behaviour when it comes down to doing the shopping or dealing with clients.

1989 changed nothing, it seems.


I spent nine months in the Netherlands back in 1966 and 1967. In Maastricht, to be more specific. Where do you live? I mean what town.

Lol Schaapje, would you rather have more non-drinking Sharia compliant customers? Or perhaps more Dutch speakers from the former colonies? Please let me know as I am genuinely curious, as with the current demographic trend in the Netherlands the Dutch people themselves are fading away.

I am not trying to be sarcastic in any way, I actually love the Dutch people and I personally would consider Dutch women to be among the most beautiful in the world and would make a list in my top 5-10.

Now addressing some of your valid points: Yes I generally agree that Polish labourers abroad do not have the best behaviour at all. In fact I have noticed that their general manners and conduct goes significantly down when they are abroad. This may be linked to many factors: they are deeply dissatisfied with doing those crappy low paying jobs in the first place (hence alcohol), they probably miss their families, they kind of are 'scared' and its like their defence mechanism to not be nice (they probably don't even speak the language well enough to say anything nice to you). However, are these excuses for their behaviour? Not really, they should behave better.