Job Discussion Forums

freudling1000 · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 50

How much do you combat on a daily basis? Loads for me. Country is backwards beyond reasoning. It is their mentalities coupled with people who don't have money and want to make a quick buck.

joshsweigart · Joined: 27 Feb 2005 Posts: 66

In EFL I've dealt with a lot more corruption from desperate English and American school owners than Polish owners who have always paid me on time and got me the proper paperwork etc. When not talking about EFL I find the corruption somewhat charming and amusing, a quirk of the national character. The chance to slip almost anyone a few zlotys to slide through the system is just one of the things that makes Poland more interesting than N. America.

Grrrmachine · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 265 Location: Warsaw, Poland

I must admit that aside from slipping the tram conductors something when I forget a ticket, I havent encountered any corruption whatsoever.

svenhassel · Joined: 04 Aug 2006 Posts: 188 Location: Europe

i don't think eastern central european corruption is any more a sign of backwardness than the US profit making healthcare system which is completely obscene, or spending billions on weaponary while "backward" countries don't even have decent water supplies etc

however i know that in polish hospitals a few 100 zl in the right palm can make your chances of survival much more likely as it will ensure you get closer attention instead of being left to rot in your bed because the hospitals are so understaffed.

talking of ticket inspectors, i remember once on the way back from the airport i couldn't find my ticket, i was taken off the tram and while the fine documents were being prepared i produced the ticket, the inspector told me he had to take the 70zl off me because he would have to show something for using the form, oddily enough he accepted 50zl in the end. now i never buy tickets after 8:00 pm in order to get the cash back.

has anyone seen inspectors on the trams after 8:00?

SVEN

Grrrmachine · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 265 Location: Warsaw, Poland

Sven, I tried to calculate my monthly costs of travel on the Warsaw trams - a monthly travel card is more expensive than the once-a-month (on average) visits by the conductor and the ensuing 50zl bribe. With that kind of logic, it's no surprise a lot of people dont bother with tickets.

Alex Shulgin · Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 553

Uncle Bob · Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 23 Location: wherever

couple of bottles of wodka or 2OO malboro in the boot of the car has got me out of sticky situations a number of times but took me a while to learn the lesson...

...once driving from the TC to Berlin got stopped and claimed to have no cash on me - the policeman took my passport and told me there was a cash machine in the next town, 25 kms away... strange how i found my wallet stashed under the seat just round the next corner... he was suprised as well...

Saying that, only ever bought one ticket for the train from gdansk to warszawa... just so much cheaper to slip a couple of notes... if i get asked... what i cant understand is why my polish partner gets so up tight when i suggest we just bribe local officials to get what we want... when we want it...

Anyone had any exciting encounters with polish mafioso?

freudling1000 · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 50

Josh:

I think you speak mainly with your experience of AAE. As for Polish run schools, they can be sneaky, specially in Warsaw. But schools aren't really what I am talking about.

The police and government workers are. As for riding the transit without a ticket in Warsaw, I wouldn't do it. The ticket guys are always out and about on the major routes. If you ride routes that not many people do, you will be a lot better off. But if you are like me and rely on the transit daily, buy the ticket. Although Alex may have 2 hours to spend wasting time, I don't.

Ok Alex, get blue in the face and post some ridiculously dogmatic response.

Alex Shulgin · Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 553

Grrrmachine · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 265 Location: Warsaw, Poland

And here's me possibly rubbing shoulders with you two every day on the ZTM system and not knowing about it.

cezarek · Joined: 29 Aug 2005 Posts: 149

gregoryfromcali · Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:36 pm Post subject:

Grrrmachine · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 265 Location: Warsaw, Poland

freudling1000 · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 50

The fine is 84 zlt. If you have a large bag it is 120 zlt. I have been pulled off many, many times.

Alex got blue in the face! Ha! Ok Alex, more dribble please, we all love the sound of your voice as much as you do.

Tumteetum · Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 144

The fine varies from city to city - I believe Wroclaw is 70zl. Zabrze last year was 50 zl if you paid on the spot and 60 zl if you showed ID and paid later (guess that only works with Poles).

For scammers like me you can try Alex's was and hope they speak English or you can do this: Always have a ticket on you but don't punch it. When the canaries (inspectors) come on, you're an innocent/stupid foreigner with a ticket "OH right, it goes in there". Bugger if you get the same ones twice but then you go off the tram with them and subtley give them about 20 zl (don't actually know the going rate as I've not been caught, touch wood).

If it's respect to Poland you want to show there are many better ways than buying a tram ticket. Learn the history, the language, the culture or something. I don't think Poland really gives a feck whether you buy a tram ticket or not.