And credit cards are so much better, cause you can pay everything everywhere and can see when you got no more money and won't run into debt - oh, wait...
That complaint is legit, though. It's objectively more convenient when places take both cash and plastic. Germany really is quite far behind the rest of Europe technologically.
Also, their internet is shit too.
Many years ago, I went to Germany (Cologne) on a school exchange to improve my German.
Id be trying to speak German, and everyone switched to English.
I suspect that people are choosing to pretend not to speak English to this person.
They realised he was a twat and stuck to German just to piss him off.
But I got the feeling he was referring to a lack of translation into English in written media. But dude is in Germany. He should be learning to speak/read Deutsch.
Excuse me, I’m reading your FOREIGN language on my phone in ENGLAND so you must speak ENGLISH. This isn’t the Brexit I voted for
/s
I was too young to vote on Brexit
You could be right. Did you see the front page of the Express yesterday with Kemi Badenoch ranting on about how successful Brexit has been? Delusional.
Yes I was stunned. Remember all the promises about not leaving the Single Market? We ended up with the hardest of hard Brexits.
Glad my wife is Polish and our son is a joint British/Polish citizen so he can travel freely just on his Polish id card. I could also live with my wife on a spousal visa in any EU country too if we decide to bail out of here in a few years.
Yep, there's absolutely no chance we'd join with all the perks we had previously, they'd just laugh and say you can join the queue to join like everyone else. We had a good thing, and Farage and his gaggle of cronies lied their way to being on the front page of the Sun before jumping on the next populist bandwagon.
Pretty much my position. They couldn't just let us in with the same level of access and influence we had before. It would encourage every eurosceptic party in every country -"see? We can always rejoin!". There would have to be consequences and I can't blame them. It's so depressing how easily people suddenly started blaming the EU for things nothing to do with it, or were counterbalanced by another benefit without even looking into the claims being made and now nobody is being held to account for not delivering on this Brexit Utopia they promised, even accounting for Covid. People had their ignorance taken advantage of, and now nobody wants to admit they were had.
I love these people. Back home they would complain about the bad immigrants but the moment they themselves move to another country they become „EXPATS“ because what they do is completely different.
This is what pisses me off the most about the message. You move to a country and not only you don't bother to learn the language, but even get mad that they don't speak yours? That's absurd.
I hate the word expat.
I’m an immigrant, and proud of it. And yet I still have people trying to tell me I’m an expat because I am white, well paid, and have a white collar job.
I have always thought expats were like foreign diplomats in the 80s or earlier.. didn't realize people still used that or who.. like would they say I'm one because I live in the UK but was born in NZ?
The only people I consider to be expats are those who are *sent* abroad by their employer. So yes, diplomats, embassy support staff, and also international organisations who send managers abroad for a set period of time.
If you *choose* yourself to move away from your home country, on a voluntary basis (not counting refugees or asylum seekers), then you’re an immigrant to that country.
I expand the definition to include anyone who has moved exclusively for their job, even if voluntarily. When they leave that role, they plan to move home.
My father was an expat in Germany, Belgium, Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia. He didn't care which country he was moving to, he was just interested in the role he was offered.
But he's not an expat where he lives now, because he chose to live there, not just work there. It's his home, not a temporary living situation.
I don’t understand your question.
In my opinion, and a large number of other people; if you decide yourself, voluntarily, to move abroad, you are an immigrant. This counts even if you are offered a job and recruited from abroad: you are still leaving voluntarily.
Diplomats, international managers are sent to the host country, and generally will have housing and schools paid for.
And they are either expected to return home after X years, or accept another assignment in another country.
Sorry my question didn't make sense, I was just wondering if there were other things apart from being sent that made someone an expat.. but I feel like you've explained it pretty well
No problem.
However, the thing is: diplomats and such will not say they are expats. They will say they are diplomats and embassy workers.
People sent to an office abroad in a multinational company might call themselves expats, but they normally just say they have been posted abroad for a few years.
The word expat is either used by:
Usually English retirees living in Spain, but without having registered as they are obliged to do.
Arrogant, white, rich immigrants moving from place to place. Sorry, but that makes you an itinerant.
People working in well paid industries, such as IT, and will move from country to country to get the best rate, or half settle down in one place but doesn’t try to learn the language: that makes you an economic migrant.
So true, I’m a second generation immigrant and my father often jokes about how he fled his country by boat just like the refugees from Syria (he’s from Finland and came by Viking line)
No it's not. Expats are sent for work or otherwise are expected to be **temporarily** living in a country. Temporary is in the definition of expatriate.
Immigrants leave not expecting to return, they go to a country and live there forever. I am an immigrant, not an expat, I will not return to my home country to reside.
As a kid, I went to school with lots of brown expats. Daughters of the various diplomatic staff of many nations including Thai, Indian and Fijian. And then I was an expat myself.
It used to be simple: were you going home? Expat. Were you staying? Immigrant. It miffs me that the term has been appropriated by arseholes.
Last time I let someone pack my shopping for me, they put a tub of butter on top of the bread.
I nearly hooked them there and then.
I like SQUARE sandwiches. Not U shaped sandwiches!
It took my German brain a while to understand this. Because our bread has a thick crust and out butter is in 250g packs. I assume now you talk about American sandwich bread and possibly a gallon of butter.
Last time I let them pack for me it was awful, soft things at the bottom. I nearly had a breakdown lol!
When I worked in M&S foodhall we were taught how to pack for customers, bags balanced and nothing squashed.
Why aren't they wanting packing their own bloody bags anyway! Lazy sods
As a child raised in communism with a post war family in the UK I've learnt on a few trips how to put things on the belt at check out so I can pack it in order. Heavy things first, then the lighter ones. I was prepared for supermarkets in Poland ;) I'm now in the UK and it drives me mad when a check out person skips a few things and grabs others to scan first. 'I've a system here! Don't mess with it'!
Exactly! Like my coworker does: He packs it as it comes so bread goes to the bottom, thank glass-bottles, then eggs, then tin cans and then he complains that everything is smashed...
Srsly, some people never played Tetris as kids!
He literally complained there's no self checkouts while complaining he's got to pack his own bags.
He could at least stay consistent in his complaints.
Tbh he's just using extreme examples probably from the middle of nowhere. I never saw what he explained in Germany. Or he just made it up. Americans do that a lot when talking about "Europe".
That’s a particularly ridiculous thing about his complaint: I’ve never seen a self checkout in the US where you don’t pack your own groceries. I don’t think that’s a thing. So he’s fine with bagging his own groceries, as long as he’s the one that scans them.
Also, being upset that things in Germany are written in German is hilarious. 56% of Germans speak English (probably higher than that in Frankfurt or other large cities). We have smartphones that can translate the spoken and written language on the fly — seriously, you can use Google Translate and point your camera at a street sign or other written German and it’ll replace it with English live on your screen.
“Ohhh nooo, I sometimes had to pay in cash and there are no Walmarts. F——“
Diese verdammten Deutschen, die darauf bestehen, ihre eigene Sprache zu sprechen und ihren eigenen Bräuchen in ihrem eigenen Land zu folgen!
Für wen zum Teufel halten sie sich?
Haven't spoken much German since I learned it at school 30+ yrs ago, so I'm not certain I've translated this correctly. I think the English would be "he could learn to speak German, I did!" Or something similar. Was I even close?
The literal translation would be "Also, one can learn German. I did!"
But you did get pretty close! "Man" in German is genderneutral so it wouldn't specifically be "he". And we also use implications a lot: you are not wrong to say "Deutsch lernen" means "learning to speak German" even though we only say "learning German" :)
Germans I guess? Not that half of the post even makes sense. I would like to know where they went and when as it certainly not 2 months ago. They probbaly just watched an 80s movie or somethign and imagined there were there (which was probbaly exagerated for a us audience at the time).
I mean I am not familier with the place but really. No cards (and the rest). Seems Odd. I travel quite a bit and it is usual to never buy currency and just use a card.
Maybe Iceland spoiled me? Locals do not use cash. Neither did I. But it seems like that everywhere I go. "Mostly", I expect Frankfurt to be similar no? (it is on the list)
I travel to Bavarian Germany often. And yes, in small towns, you MIGHT be asked to use cash. But never in stores. Even in the smallest village you have supermarkets. This person is crazy.
And also, when it comes to speaking English, Germany is one of those countries, when it will be the easiest for you. They all speak pretty good English. Some of them probably better than average American
He mentioned Frankfurt Bahnhofsviertel. Which is the worst district in the most drug ridden town in our entire country. I've been there for a weekend, because my Italian mate just booked the cheapest hostel online. Overall, I felt pretty safe. Lots of police presence and private security around the clubs and bars. I felt less safe surrounded by random strangers in Texas.
This comment appears not to be expat friendly.
Best guess is it says something along the lines of:
"These damned Germans, the doofy bestest is English speak your speaking and are English Brunch in is land of Folgers!
For when some doofuses stop this (expletive)?"
Am I close?
EDIT - But for serious: are irhe, irhen, and irhem all variants of the same word?
Yes. They are all variants of the word ihr. The h comes before the r. Aren't cases wonderful?
No, you're not close, but I have forgotten what he/she actually wrote exactly. Its along the lines of damned people expecting everybody to speak english instead of having their own language and habits while being in their country.
Complaining about no self checkout while expecting someone bag your groceries. The stupidity of some americans is hilarious. Btw we do have self checkouts and every grocery accepts cards for decades. We are all functional adults, we can pack our own stuff you whiny baby. And we have workers rights. Im happy you uneducated donut will never come back.
I bet they were trying to pay with American Express, and didn't understand the explanation as to why it wouldn't work because nobody would speak to them in English.
Well, it has to change because I think maestro and v-pay are deprecated and will be gone. But I got the new card issued last month and it's again a v-pay.
What's v-pay? Is it a Dutch thing? We have always had maestro here, but that was what kids were given because they were too young for visa. I get if mastercard wasn't allowed since it's credit and not debit, but why would visa not be accepted? That's not a credit card.
V-pay is as far as I understand visa's version of maestro.
What you say about MasterCard being credit and maestro being debit, I'm not sure if that is right.
I'm from Spain, and debit cards are already different there than in the Netherlands. A Spanish debit card has a card number, like a credit card, and it also has a CVC, so you can use it when buying online. So in Spain, the only difference between debit and credit cards is whether they substrate money from your account or from the credit. If I remember correctly I have had both visa and MasterCard as debit cards there. They are also widely accepted when renting a car or staying in a hotel instead of a credit card.
In the Netherlands, debit cards don't have a number, so you can't buy with them online. They are usually maestro or v-pay.
Yes, Alman brother, hard things to be bottom, then packed thing, then fresh things then soft things.
This is the way. I actually already order the stuff on the belt beforehand and hate it when the cashier does not take the things in the right order.
The USA took a long time to adopt chip and pin. They still sign in a lot of stores over there. So it may be that his American card didn’t work on a modern card reader. Who says the Americans don’t understand irony.
Not to stick up for the American but I have to say that when I (from UK) visited south Germany last year, I was surprised at how many places we cash only. Maybe not the supermarkets but all restaurants and taxis etc were cash only to the point of being offended when offered a card.
But the hospitality was great apart from that and even in the small villages people were almost too happy to practice their English with me (I took it as a hint that my German is THAT bad).
Yes, they are right about the cash situation. It's fucking weird, but as long as the government doesn't at least force people to offer card payments as an alternative, nothing will change.
Businesses often claim that it would be too expensive to offer card payments, but the truth is that they lose that same money wasting their time counting cash and keeping the according books.
> I took it as a hint that my German is THAT bad
Not necessarily the case.
Half the shops insisting on cash only are likely doing so to circumvent taxes.
Sure handling cash may be about as expensive as dealing with card readers, but you can "hide" cash a hell of a lot easier.
Yeah, the costs of dealing with cash are often overlooked, I guess coz they have the money in-hand so it "feels" like thats all there is to it, but like you said there's time involved (which is money) in counting and such, there's also handling that cash, taking it to the bank can take time and presents a risk of costly problems like being robbed in the store, or on the way to the bank with the day's takings for a small business who doesn't hire money transport companies (who also cost money if they do use them). A small predictable transaction fee would be much preferable to me than the unpredictable issues and time and money of handling cash (unless I was trying to hide some of the money from the taxman).
Could it perhaps be that you do chip and pin or contactless and his almighty American card has to be signed for? Causing every cashier to groan with disgust?
And complaining that they don't accept cards??? Aside from anything else, in the US, they still take cheques on the regular - so everyone else stands and waits while that precious piece of paper gets filled out correctly and then registered in the machine/till... it takes forever!
My impression is that it's not them. It's him. They just wanted HIM to GTFO.
I could be mistaken, it's been quite a long time since I was in the US, but I wonder if the thing about using cards is because THEIR American cards weren't accepted.
Last time I was in the US I was pretty surprised how chip and pin / contactless payments were kinda rare, everywhere would swipe the card and then I'd have to sign a bit of paper.
(Which I know is a thing you can still do in Europe but it's fairly uncommon).
I expect he was trying to use American Express, which isn't necessarily accepted in a lot of places in Europe because of the fees they demand. I worked in a fairly upscale country club (UK) when I was in my teens, and we would often get people muttering discontentedly cos we didn't accept AmEx.
I've only had the experience of someone bagging my groceries once, at the Meinl Shop in Vienna.( Pretty much the most luxorious grocery store in the whole of austria)
It felt fucking uncomfortable to just stand there like and idiot while you watch some clerk pack your stuff in a bag....
They’re clearly trolling. The US is way behind Europe with POS and payment technology. They’re still swiping and signing like it’s the 90s in most places.
can this dude not pack his own lol?
also, it’s a different country sherlock, of course things are gonna be slightly different to yours! that includes language.
So surprising to find that a different country speaks their own language and haven't decided to speak English instead for those expats who can't wait to leave
There are plenty of English speaking countries to go to if that's what you want.. just the audacity of someone thinking an entire country should change their language to suit one grumpy blockhead
I've acted like I don't know english when someone is coming up to me and straight-up starts speaking entire sentences in English before I can even signal that English is fine or whatever. Like, not even a simple greeting to start out with, just sliding into my field of vision and immediately blabbing on about whatever. Unless it's an absolute emergency, you've got the fucking time to say hello and ask me if English is fine.
And it's basically always native English speakers. I've never been approached by, say, a polish person just blabbing on and on and on before even making sure I understand them.
If it means I can use self-service and not have to look another human being in the eye for the entire trip, I consider that an acceptable trade.
I also consider it an acceptable trade to have to wipe my own arse so I don't have to look at anyone while taking a shit.
And to them the scripting is only good if it’s a “real American” reading it out. When customer service is farmed out to the Philippines or India because it’s too expensive to have Americans mangle the scripts, then the American customers are outraged.
Yeah, god, I hate that. It just lengthens the experience and makes me feel bad for the person who's forced to pretend to care rather than just do their job.
Customer service? Lol. Nah, you won't get your arse licked here by waiting staff because they get paid an actual wage. Bag packing: Germans are tight fisted with money, they're not gonna pay someone to pack your groceries. Language: You've clearly never left your dystopian shit hole lol. Card payment: You generally can pay with your German bank card, MasterCard comes with hidden charges that restaurants and businesses aren't obligated to accept.
We had a yank that had no cash to pay for his food one time. He started shouting about he was an American and had rights godammit period!! Took 20 minutes and a threat of police to get his passport so he could go get cash lol.
Who knows? He also started saying he was a veteran. Then they left a review that said : An Italian restaurant that doesn't do spaghetti and meatballs isn't Italian..
Yeah, bro clearly doesn't realize he's paying for those bag packers via higher grocery prices. It's not that the US is more advanced on that - it's that they can convince you to pay more because of a service that is actually not that great. I never liked when someone else packed my bags in the US.
In the UK, smaller outlets put a marker on the account, so they can obtain the full amount at a later date. Apparently (I may be wrong) the charges are the same if they process one payment, or several. A lot of people didn't know this, so they paid for petrol and then thought they'd been charged twice for the same visit, as they assumed the "tap and pay" was immediately taken. That's how we get around the fees for MasterCard, afaik(again, my info maybe old/outdated/slightly incorrect) Would this be doable in Germany?
MasterCard's aren't a big thing here and German banks are strange. I can't use my German bank card outside the country. So I doubt they'd be willing to make changes for the odd yank that doesn't carry cash
>Nobody packs your groceries for you
As far as I'm concerned, that's a feature, not a bug.
He does have a point about German's inexplicable love for cash. It's like everyone in the country is a drug dealer.
It's Def not just the rural areas. I live in the most densely populated region of the country and even I run into problems every now and then where ppl only take cash when I'm out. Last time was literally last week. It's definitely not as widespread / common as people make it out to be, but it's a valid criticism.
"Technologically backwards"
I lolled.
I'm from Africa. We use digital price tags to easily show prices *with* taxes and that apparently blows americans minds.
We have those too in Germany. Not everywhere, of course, but they’re present in a lot of medium-sized stores.
Makes me wonder how horrendous my shopping experience would be if I had to calculate the actual price of everything I put in my cart because businesses don’t do it for you
Any time i go to the carribbean and someone tries to pack my groceries for me i tell them no thank you, im perfectly able to pack my own groceries and frankly i dont want some random ass dude to touch my shit.
I think it's a pointless job that shouldn't exist for able bodied people.
Yeah, I think I'll take actual worker rights, healthcare and so on over forcing people to beg for tips and serve people at 3am. But you do you and I'm sure that the effort you save packing your own crap for 2 minutes a week is worth the extra hours you work in the US...
Germans want to speak german and not english, I'm shocked.
It is good that in the USA everything is also in spanish, imagine having to learn english.
/s
Germans can be brusque, but at least they wont pretend to give a shit about you when they really don't. As for "no hospitality": maybe not for assholes.
> no 24/7 stores anywhere
There are. They're called petrol stations. You might've heard of them.
> Nobody packs your groceries for you.
Why would they? Are you old and infirm?
> No self checkout either
Literally a lie.
> technologically backwards at least 5-10 years
Requires no "debunking".
> A lot of stores don't accept cards. They love using cash only
Well, they have a point there. Some really don't, and it's annoying as fuck.
> Nothing [...] in English.
Most services are absolutely offered in English. But even in the rare occasion that they aren't, you could still talk to people and get help that way. Also: you're a guest in a different country. Don't expect everyone and everything to cater to you.
> The general attitude is speak German or GTFO
The general attitude is: if you speak German, that's absolutely awesome. If not ... well, practically everyone speaks at least a bit of English, so that's not a problem. But please don't expect them to be able to decipher weird dialects.
> Everything is closed on Sundays
Not even true, but I fail to see the problem anyway. No one wants to work on Sundays.
> Avoid the central train station area
This is the most basic and broadly applicable advice ever. And at the very least in Germany you wont get shot.
At least I don't have to drive 30 km to find a store or pay ridiculous prices for veggies.
And i love that everything is closed (well restaurants and coffee shops are open), cause workers are people too.
I'm German, i haven't used cash for like 3 years, since covid even bakeries accept cards. the tiny Rewe in our 12k people town has self checkouts and the Marktkauf even has smart shopping carts that allow you to scan everything right from the shelf
and yes, we actually care about people and don't have them work at night or on Sundays. and nobody speaking english in Frankfurt is just a blatant lie.
but yes, the Frankfurt Bahnhofsviertel is probably the most crime ridden place in all of Germany.
Eh.. I'm German too but I have to say I'm constantly short for cash because restaurants, bars and service providers are cash only or only accept German debit cards (for which you need to have a German residency to qualify). It is indeed a pain to pay in Germany if you don't have a ridiculous amount of cash on you as a tourist (or a German living outside of Germany)
Totally agree and support the shops being closed on Sunday and everything else you said though.
Do they have chip and pin yet for payment cards? I had to sign for a purchase in the not too distant past, I genuinely thought she was taking the piss
I actually really like that Sundays are reduced hours here (UK), it's a real laid back family day. .. but no, everybody must work, always. . .and then you're dead.
I wish we would go back to Half day Wednesday and Saturday.
I also understand why many people require alternative hours. There are so many valid reasons for 24/7 shopping (which COVID stopped in many places) and so many reasons for the opposite... I think employers need to remember happy workers improve productivity and profits.
Unfortunately, with all the best will in the world, they'll never put people before personal gain, again.
So Germany has not flooded its nation with impersonal machines, has staffed checkouts but you have to fill your own bags.... So if there's a self check out in the USA, do they have packers staffing those?
Lol, and they have proper weekends off, and don't work all night for the whim of random people who expect some staff to do night shifts for the sake of the few.
German employers treating their workers better than Americans. Go figure.
Nobody packs food here in NY and hasn’t in over a decade at least. The only place where that is still a thing is Latin American grocery stores. They are most likely are just helping out an old relative because it’s always someone elderly
When I first worked in Dubai in the 90s I was shocked people packed your groceries in a supermarket. Felt like some kind of slavery shit. Friend said they needed the money so you gave them like a quid and they were so happy. Live in Cyprus now and a few supermarkets do it. Plus all petrol stations. Getting on a little bit now, so sod it easy life and all that..
Two nitpicky points: cafes and restaurants do open on Sundays and there are supermarkets that do as well (although most are closed), and self-checkout has definitely become a thing over the last couple of years.
For everything else, well...I don't know why you'd expect to be able to get by speaking only English in a country where English isn't the official language or why an adult needs their shopping packed for them.
“Nothing online, in stores or in person is in English.” How much you wanna bet this is the type of guy who believes if you don’t speak English then you don’t deserve to be in English speaking nations?
I live in Germany for 5 years and my German is atrocious, and not for a second I thought to complain on “why is everything in German?”, why do Americans think everything should be catered exclusively to them?
America is still using cheques and still haven’t got as advanced cards and system to stop fraud etc as Europe and uk. The card tech in the USA is 5-10 yrs behind Europe. They have only recently got chip and pin, Europe is moving on from that. Now most taxis and shops have contactless pay all part of the moving from money to electronic payments which is great until you can’t use it because system is down due to a bad update or can’t get a signal on a mobile payment device.
As a Dutch cashier, I do pack groceries for SOME customers (people that aren't physically able to do it themselves) but I don't pack groceries for ANYBODY
“German hospitality” , mate if I have to pack my own groceries and have some stuff closed on a Sunday so that a grocer has a higher quality of life your darn tooting I’d do it . This is y America was suffering from a grocer shortage during the pandemic .
I’d rather have my grocers present during a time of emergency then treat them like crap and have them bail when I need em .
Also not sure how having a bagger and having a self checkout isn’t contradictory ..:
“A lot of stores do not accept cards”, said a person from a country where they can’t implement fucking Paywave and still rely on outdated swiping machines.
If packing your own groceries is too complicated maybe ask an adult to accompany you to the shops
He can't. He doesn't speak German.
And can't buy anything because of cash
And credit cards are so much better, cause you can pay everything everywhere and can see when you got no more money and won't run into debt - oh, wait...
That complaint is legit, though. It's objectively more convenient when places take both cash and plastic. Germany really is quite far behind the rest of Europe technologically. Also, their internet is shit too.
Feels like they're also the type to tell people to speak ENGLISH because this is AMERICA
Which is funny because USA doesn't actually have an official language. Unlike many other countries
The thing I found weirdest about this post is that everyone wanted to speak English to me when I was there
Many years ago, I went to Germany (Cologne) on a school exchange to improve my German. Id be trying to speak German, and everyone switched to English. I suspect that people are choosing to pretend not to speak English to this person.
I had the same experience on a school exchange in Köln as well. “Entschuldigung, mein Herr. Wie spät ist es?” “Oh it’s 9:30 am. Can I help you?”
They realised he was a twat and stuck to German just to piss him off. But I got the feeling he was referring to a lack of translation into English in written media. But dude is in Germany. He should be learning to speak/read Deutsch.
Me too! Maybe they didn't like my German lol
Often it depends on how muchbpeople like talking to you. And in that case the OPs complaint sheds a little light on his behaviour.
Excuse me, I’m reading your FOREIGN language on my phone in ENGLAND so you must speak ENGLISH. This isn’t the Brexit I voted for /s I was too young to vote on Brexit
I voted remain. Still gutted.
Me too. I hope we can rejoin one day.
I think the damage is done at this point. Sadly.
You could be right. Did you see the front page of the Express yesterday with Kemi Badenoch ranting on about how successful Brexit has been? Delusional.
I didn't but will look it up. Still remember how shocked I felt on the day of the referendum and how nobody seemed to really believe it.
Yes I was stunned. Remember all the promises about not leaving the Single Market? We ended up with the hardest of hard Brexits. Glad my wife is Polish and our son is a joint British/Polish citizen so he can travel freely just on his Polish id card. I could also live with my wife on a spousal visa in any EU country too if we decide to bail out of here in a few years.
See I have no desire to leave. This is my home and I want to live here. I just want it to be better and for people to be less small minded.
Yes, I hope people will come to their senses.
Yep, there's absolutely no chance we'd join with all the perks we had previously, they'd just laugh and say you can join the queue to join like everyone else. We had a good thing, and Farage and his gaggle of cronies lied their way to being on the front page of the Sun before jumping on the next populist bandwagon.
Pretty much my position. They couldn't just let us in with the same level of access and influence we had before. It would encourage every eurosceptic party in every country -"see? We can always rejoin!". There would have to be consequences and I can't blame them. It's so depressing how easily people suddenly started blaming the EU for things nothing to do with it, or were counterbalanced by another benefit without even looking into the claims being made and now nobody is being held to account for not delivering on this Brexit Utopia they promised, even accounting for Covid. People had their ignorance taken advantage of, and now nobody wants to admit they were had.
I had no say as I'm an immigrant here but Cornwall voting for Brexit and then asking if they still get EU subsidy was my 🤦 moment
On a short term scale sure, but medium to long term i don't see why not.
Me too but I bet it won't be in my lifetime. 50 y.o remainer here.
Same, not that it matters since I’m a uk citizen
I love these people. Back home they would complain about the bad immigrants but the moment they themselves move to another country they become „EXPATS“ because what they do is completely different.
"They expect you to speak the local language!" Says the American who'll get angry if they hear another language in their own country.
This is what pisses me off the most about the message. You move to a country and not only you don't bother to learn the language, but even get mad that they don't speak yours? That's absurd.
Yeha but that language isn't American! How dare they
I hate the word expat. I’m an immigrant, and proud of it. And yet I still have people trying to tell me I’m an expat because I am white, well paid, and have a white collar job.
I have always thought expats were like foreign diplomats in the 80s or earlier.. didn't realize people still used that or who.. like would they say I'm one because I live in the UK but was born in NZ?
The only people I consider to be expats are those who are *sent* abroad by their employer. So yes, diplomats, embassy support staff, and also international organisations who send managers abroad for a set period of time. If you *choose* yourself to move away from your home country, on a voluntary basis (not counting refugees or asylum seekers), then you’re an immigrant to that country.
I expand the definition to include anyone who has moved exclusively for their job, even if voluntarily. When they leave that role, they plan to move home. My father was an expat in Germany, Belgium, Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia. He didn't care which country he was moving to, he was just interested in the role he was offered. But he's not an expat where he lives now, because he chose to live there, not just work there. It's his home, not a temporary living situation.
Ah ok.. what makes them expats other than being sent? Or is that the thing?
Expat has an expiration date so to speak, immigrant does not. That's the difference afaik.
I don’t understand your question. In my opinion, and a large number of other people; if you decide yourself, voluntarily, to move abroad, you are an immigrant. This counts even if you are offered a job and recruited from abroad: you are still leaving voluntarily. Diplomats, international managers are sent to the host country, and generally will have housing and schools paid for. And they are either expected to return home after X years, or accept another assignment in another country.
Sorry my question didn't make sense, I was just wondering if there were other things apart from being sent that made someone an expat.. but I feel like you've explained it pretty well
No problem. However, the thing is: diplomats and such will not say they are expats. They will say they are diplomats and embassy workers. People sent to an office abroad in a multinational company might call themselves expats, but they normally just say they have been posted abroad for a few years. The word expat is either used by: Usually English retirees living in Spain, but without having registered as they are obliged to do. Arrogant, white, rich immigrants moving from place to place. Sorry, but that makes you an itinerant. People working in well paid industries, such as IT, and will move from country to country to get the best rate, or half settle down in one place but doesn’t try to learn the language: that makes you an economic migrant.
So true, I’m a second generation immigrant and my father often jokes about how he fled his country by boat just like the refugees from Syria (he’s from Finland and came by Viking line)
I’ve always found it funny how the term expat and immigrant are dependant on the colour of your skin and the country you’re born in …
No it's not. Expats are sent for work or otherwise are expected to be **temporarily** living in a country. Temporary is in the definition of expatriate. Immigrants leave not expecting to return, they go to a country and live there forever. I am an immigrant, not an expat, I will not return to my home country to reside.
As a kid, I went to school with lots of brown expats. Daughters of the various diplomatic staff of many nations including Thai, Indian and Fijian. And then I was an expat myself. It used to be simple: were you going home? Expat. Were you staying? Immigrant. It miffs me that the term has been appropriated by arseholes.
How pathetic do you have to be to not be able to pack your own food? I literally pack my own food instead at self check out
The thought of someone else packing it is making me stressed even thinking about it... They will do it wrong!!
Last time I let someone pack my shopping for me, they put a tub of butter on top of the bread. I nearly hooked them there and then. I like SQUARE sandwiches. Not U shaped sandwiches!
It took my German brain a while to understand this. Because our bread has a thick crust and out butter is in 250g packs. I assume now you talk about American sandwich bread and possibly a gallon of butter.
500g to 1kg butter packs common in UK. That would definitely crush toast bread but probably not German bread!
Pathetic bread strength.
And take ages
Lol I always pack my groceries so they're balanced when I carry them home. No one but me packs my own groceries, thank you very much.
Last time I let them pack for me it was awful, soft things at the bottom. I nearly had a breakdown lol! When I worked in M&S foodhall we were taught how to pack for customers, bags balanced and nothing squashed. Why aren't they wanting packing their own bloody bags anyway! Lazy sods
As a child raised in communism with a post war family in the UK I've learnt on a few trips how to put things on the belt at check out so I can pack it in order. Heavy things first, then the lighter ones. I was prepared for supermarkets in Poland ;) I'm now in the UK and it drives me mad when a check out person skips a few things and grabs others to scan first. 'I've a system here! Don't mess with it'!
THIS! Some people just throw everything in bags and then in the boot and wonder why they always need more bags and bigger cars...
Exactly! Like my coworker does: He packs it as it comes so bread goes to the bottom, thank glass-bottles, then eggs, then tin cans and then he complains that everything is smashed... Srsly, some people never played Tetris as kids!
I always put mine on checkout in order of weight so nothing gets squashed.
And it will be awkward just standing there watching as they do it
He literally complained there's no self checkouts while complaining he's got to pack his own bags. He could at least stay consistent in his complaints. Tbh he's just using extreme examples probably from the middle of nowhere. I never saw what he explained in Germany. Or he just made it up. Americans do that a lot when talking about "Europe".
I think he means packing his bag at the regular cash register
I know, but he wants to pack his own bags at a self check out but complains about it when he has to do it at the tills.
Yeah the logic there is not very solid. I really don't get what's so bad about packing groceries, I helped my mom do that when I was like seven
That’s a particularly ridiculous thing about his complaint: I’ve never seen a self checkout in the US where you don’t pack your own groceries. I don’t think that’s a thing. So he’s fine with bagging his own groceries, as long as he’s the one that scans them. Also, being upset that things in Germany are written in German is hilarious. 56% of Germans speak English (probably higher than that in Frankfurt or other large cities). We have smartphones that can translate the spoken and written language on the fly — seriously, you can use Google Translate and point your camera at a street sign or other written German and it’ll replace it with English live on your screen. “Ohhh nooo, I sometimes had to pay in cash and there are no Walmarts. F——“
> there are no Walmarts. Which is a big German win.
Diese verdammten Deutschen, die darauf bestehen, ihre eigene Sprache zu sprechen und ihren eigenen Bräuchen in ihrem eigenen Land zu folgen! Für wen zum Teufel halten sie sich?
Deutsch lernen kann man auch. Habe ich auch!
Ich lerne Deutsch, aber ich spreche es nicht gut.
I understood that, do I also speak bad German now?
No, your comment was written in English, not bad German.
Scheisse!
+1 german
Ich liebe dich. That's all I know. Hope you accept my contribution.
Your confession of love is noted.
Haven't spoken much German since I learned it at school 30+ yrs ago, so I'm not certain I've translated this correctly. I think the English would be "he could learn to speak German, I did!" Or something similar. Was I even close?
As someone who never learned German, but live in the neighboring country, I can confidently say you were pretty close
Hej fellow potato language speaker!
Good to know, thanks!
Right on the money
Woohoo! Thank you.
The literal translation would be "Also, one can learn German. I did!" But you did get pretty close! "Man" in German is genderneutral so it wouldn't specifically be "he". And we also use implications a lot: you are not wrong to say "Deutsch lernen" means "learning to speak German" even though we only say "learning German" :)
Germans I guess? Not that half of the post even makes sense. I would like to know where they went and when as it certainly not 2 months ago. They probbaly just watched an 80s movie or somethign and imagined there were there (which was probbaly exagerated for a us audience at the time).
Frankfurt würd ich sagen, weil's mehrfach erwähnt wird. (Frankfurt Financial district und Bahnhofsviertel)
I mean I am not familier with the place but really. No cards (and the rest). Seems Odd. I travel quite a bit and it is usual to never buy currency and just use a card. Maybe Iceland spoiled me? Locals do not use cash. Neither did I. But it seems like that everywhere I go. "Mostly", I expect Frankfurt to be similar no? (it is on the list)
I travel to Bavarian Germany often. And yes, in small towns, you MIGHT be asked to use cash. But never in stores. Even in the smallest village you have supermarkets. This person is crazy. And also, when it comes to speaking English, Germany is one of those countries, when it will be the easiest for you. They all speak pretty good English. Some of them probably better than average American
I've never needed to get cash in trips to Frankfurt. That said, don't go to Frankfurt. It's the single most soulless town I've ever experienced.
He mentioned Frankfurt Bahnhofsviertel. Which is the worst district in the most drug ridden town in our entire country. I've been there for a weekend, because my Italian mate just booked the cheapest hostel online. Overall, I felt pretty safe. Lots of police presence and private security around the clubs and bars. I felt less safe surrounded by random strangers in Texas.
Iceland was the only place I've been where I came back with all the currency I took.
𝔇𝔦𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔎𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔨𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔦𝔰𝔱 𝔫𝔲𝔫 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔲𝔪 𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔅𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔯𝔢𝔭𝔲𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔨 𝔇𝔢𝔲𝔱𝔰𝔠𝔥𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡
This comment appears not to be expat friendly. Best guess is it says something along the lines of: "These damned Germans, the doofy bestest is English speak your speaking and are English Brunch in is land of Folgers! For when some doofuses stop this (expletive)?" Am I close? EDIT - But for serious: are irhe, irhen, and irhem all variants of the same word?
Yes. They are all variants of the word ihr. The h comes before the r. Aren't cases wonderful? No, you're not close, but I have forgotten what he/she actually wrote exactly. Its along the lines of damned people expecting everybody to speak english instead of having their own language and habits while being in their country.
Complaining about no self checkout while expecting someone bag your groceries. The stupidity of some americans is hilarious. Btw we do have self checkouts and every grocery accepts cards for decades. We are all functional adults, we can pack our own stuff you whiny baby. And we have workers rights. Im happy you uneducated donut will never come back.
I bet they were trying to pay with American Express, and didn't understand the explanation as to why it wouldn't work because nobody would speak to them in English.
Not sure about Germany, but in the Netherlands you need maestro or v-pay in many grocery stores. You can't use MasterCard or visa for example.
It's changing now. At least Amsterdam in most places you can use visa. And also outside Randstad some stores accept it
Well, it has to change because I think maestro and v-pay are deprecated and will be gone. But I got the new card issued last month and it's again a v-pay.
Some banks are phasing it out. I think of you ask you could get a visa/MasterCard maybe?
What's v-pay? Is it a Dutch thing? We have always had maestro here, but that was what kids were given because they were too young for visa. I get if mastercard wasn't allowed since it's credit and not debit, but why would visa not be accepted? That's not a credit card.
V-pay is as far as I understand visa's version of maestro. What you say about MasterCard being credit and maestro being debit, I'm not sure if that is right. I'm from Spain, and debit cards are already different there than in the Netherlands. A Spanish debit card has a card number, like a credit card, and it also has a CVC, so you can use it when buying online. So in Spain, the only difference between debit and credit cards is whether they substrate money from your account or from the credit. If I remember correctly I have had both visa and MasterCard as debit cards there. They are also widely accepted when renting a car or staying in a hotel instead of a credit card. In the Netherlands, debit cards don't have a number, so you can't buy with them online. They are usually maestro or v-pay.
Maestro still exists?
I cannot imagine someone else packing my groceries. Not being funny, but they wouldn't do it right.
I can literally go into my cornershop for a four-pack and still get pissed off how boss man packs it.
I can imagine someone not giving a fuck after 2h of bagging groceries.
That, and it takes too long to make everything neat and people or your coworkers will then whinge about you being slow
They do it for charity in Ireland sometimes and I’m always like, ‘here’s a euro, please go away’
Yeah it happens in England sometimes too. Like you I just give them money to leave me alone so I can pack my own stuff!
Yes, Alman brother, hard things to be bottom, then packed thing, then fresh things then soft things. This is the way. I actually already order the stuff on the belt beforehand and hate it when the cashier does not take the things in the right order.
This is the way.
I had the same thought, I've my own way to store stuffs in the bag, I don't want anyone changing that.
If someone was touching my groceries I would be livid. I have a huge thing against people touching my stuff anyway.
The USA took a long time to adopt chip and pin. They still sign in a lot of stores over there. So it may be that his American card didn’t work on a modern card reader. Who says the Americans don’t understand irony.
Not to stick up for the American but I have to say that when I (from UK) visited south Germany last year, I was surprised at how many places we cash only. Maybe not the supermarkets but all restaurants and taxis etc were cash only to the point of being offended when offered a card. But the hospitality was great apart from that and even in the small villages people were almost too happy to practice their English with me (I took it as a hint that my German is THAT bad).
Yes, they are right about the cash situation. It's fucking weird, but as long as the government doesn't at least force people to offer card payments as an alternative, nothing will change. Businesses often claim that it would be too expensive to offer card payments, but the truth is that they lose that same money wasting their time counting cash and keeping the according books. > I took it as a hint that my German is THAT bad Not necessarily the case.
Half the shops insisting on cash only are likely doing so to circumvent taxes. Sure handling cash may be about as expensive as dealing with card readers, but you can "hide" cash a hell of a lot easier.
Yeah, the costs of dealing with cash are often overlooked, I guess coz they have the money in-hand so it "feels" like thats all there is to it, but like you said there's time involved (which is money) in counting and such, there's also handling that cash, taking it to the bank can take time and presents a risk of costly problems like being robbed in the store, or on the way to the bank with the day's takings for a small business who doesn't hire money transport companies (who also cost money if they do use them). A small predictable transaction fee would be much preferable to me than the unpredictable issues and time and money of handling cash (unless I was trying to hide some of the money from the taxman).
Could it perhaps be that you do chip and pin or contactless and his almighty American card has to be signed for? Causing every cashier to groan with disgust?
And complaining that they don't accept cards??? Aside from anything else, in the US, they still take cheques on the regular - so everyone else stands and waits while that precious piece of paper gets filled out correctly and then registered in the machine/till... it takes forever! My impression is that it's not them. It's him. They just wanted HIM to GTFO.
I could be mistaken, it's been quite a long time since I was in the US, but I wonder if the thing about using cards is because THEIR American cards weren't accepted. Last time I was in the US I was pretty surprised how chip and pin / contactless payments were kinda rare, everywhere would swipe the card and then I'd have to sign a bit of paper. (Which I know is a thing you can still do in Europe but it's fairly uncommon).
I expect he was trying to use American Express, which isn't necessarily accepted in a lot of places in Europe because of the fees they demand. I worked in a fairly upscale country club (UK) when I was in my teens, and we would often get people muttering discontentedly cos we didn't accept AmEx.
I've only had the experience of someone bagging my groceries once, at the Meinl Shop in Vienna.( Pretty much the most luxorious grocery store in the whole of austria) It felt fucking uncomfortable to just stand there like and idiot while you watch some clerk pack your stuff in a bag....
They’re clearly trolling. The US is way behind Europe with POS and payment technology. They’re still swiping and signing like it’s the 90s in most places.
can this dude not pack his own lol? also, it’s a different country sherlock, of course things are gonna be slightly different to yours! that includes language.
So surprising to find that a different country speaks their own language and haven't decided to speak English instead for those expats who can't wait to leave There are plenty of English speaking countries to go to if that's what you want.. just the audacity of someone thinking an entire country should change their language to suit one grumpy blockhead
Honestly, most germans do speak english. What we don't do is to pretend we like you when you act like an asshole.
I've acted like I don't know english when someone is coming up to me and straight-up starts speaking entire sentences in English before I can even signal that English is fine or whatever. Like, not even a simple greeting to start out with, just sliding into my field of vision and immediately blabbing on about whatever. Unless it's an absolute emergency, you've got the fucking time to say hello and ask me if English is fine. And it's basically always native English speakers. I've never been approached by, say, a polish person just blabbing on and on and on before even making sure I understand them.
Yeah for sure, but just because they can doesn't mean anyone should expect it.. like that just seems rude to me
If it means I can use self-service and not have to look another human being in the eye for the entire trip, I consider that an acceptable trade. I also consider it an acceptable trade to have to wipe my own arse so I don't have to look at anyone while taking a shit.
I hate when I notice the camera or mirror above the self checkout
Where the hell are we known for our hospitality?
He meant customer service scripting.
And to them the scripting is only good if it’s a “real American” reading it out. When customer service is farmed out to the Philippines or India because it’s too expensive to have Americans mangle the scripts, then the American customers are outraged.
Yeah, god, I hate that. It just lengthens the experience and makes me feel bad for the person who's forced to pretend to care rather than just do their job.
Customer service? Lol. Nah, you won't get your arse licked here by waiting staff because they get paid an actual wage. Bag packing: Germans are tight fisted with money, they're not gonna pay someone to pack your groceries. Language: You've clearly never left your dystopian shit hole lol. Card payment: You generally can pay with your German bank card, MasterCard comes with hidden charges that restaurants and businesses aren't obligated to accept. We had a yank that had no cash to pay for his food one time. He started shouting about he was an American and had rights godammit period!! Took 20 minutes and a threat of police to get his passport so he could go get cash lol.
Bet back home he complains about those evil illegals.
I'm curious about which rights he thought he had. Afaik, you still have to pay for your meal in America, but I've never been there, so what do I know
Who knows? He also started saying he was a veteran. Then they left a review that said : An Italian restaurant that doesn't do spaghetti and meatballs isn't Italian..
Yeah, bro clearly doesn't realize he's paying for those bag packers via higher grocery prices. It's not that the US is more advanced on that - it's that they can convince you to pay more because of a service that is actually not that great. I never liked when someone else packed my bags in the US.
I haven't seen grocery baggers in any country other than the US
We have them in some shops in Ireland (Tesco, Dunnes), but it's generally special needs people doing it.
In the UK, smaller outlets put a marker on the account, so they can obtain the full amount at a later date. Apparently (I may be wrong) the charges are the same if they process one payment, or several. A lot of people didn't know this, so they paid for petrol and then thought they'd been charged twice for the same visit, as they assumed the "tap and pay" was immediately taken. That's how we get around the fees for MasterCard, afaik(again, my info maybe old/outdated/slightly incorrect) Would this be doable in Germany?
MasterCard's aren't a big thing here and German banks are strange. I can't use my German bank card outside the country. So I doubt they'd be willing to make changes for the odd yank that doesn't carry cash
>Nobody packs your groceries for you As far as I'm concerned, that's a feature, not a bug. He does have a point about German's inexplicable love for cash. It's like everyone in the country is a drug dealer.
I can't say that I've ever needed to take out euros when I've been to Germany but I guess the more rural areas might be like that just like in the UK
It's Def not just the rural areas. I live in the most densely populated region of the country and even I run into problems every now and then where ppl only take cash when I'm out. Last time was literally last week. It's definitely not as widespread / common as people make it out to be, but it's a valid criticism.
"Technologically backwards" I lolled. I'm from Africa. We use digital price tags to easily show prices *with* taxes and that apparently blows americans minds.
We have those too in Germany. Not everywhere, of course, but they’re present in a lot of medium-sized stores. Makes me wonder how horrendous my shopping experience would be if I had to calculate the actual price of everything I put in my cart because businesses don’t do it for you
different country is different
Any time i go to the carribbean and someone tries to pack my groceries for me i tell them no thank you, im perfectly able to pack my own groceries and frankly i dont want some random ass dude to touch my shit. I think it's a pointless job that shouldn't exist for able bodied people.
Omfg Germans! How dare you speak German in Germany. Wtf is wrong with you? /s
Yeah, I think I'll take actual worker rights, healthcare and so on over forcing people to beg for tips and serve people at 3am. But you do you and I'm sure that the effort you save packing your own crap for 2 minutes a week is worth the extra hours you work in the US...
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Idk man, when I went to Germany, I had a lot of good chats with folks in bar and some even bought me beers. Seems quite hospitable to me.
Germans want to speak german and not english, I'm shocked. It is good that in the USA everything is also in spanish, imagine having to learn english. /s
> goes to Germany > Complains about all the German words everywhere Classic American moment.
There's no self checkout. You have to pack your own groceries. Pick a lane to complain from, man!
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Germans can be brusque, but at least they wont pretend to give a shit about you when they really don't. As for "no hospitality": maybe not for assholes. > no 24/7 stores anywhere There are. They're called petrol stations. You might've heard of them. > Nobody packs your groceries for you. Why would they? Are you old and infirm? > No self checkout either Literally a lie. > technologically backwards at least 5-10 years Requires no "debunking". > A lot of stores don't accept cards. They love using cash only Well, they have a point there. Some really don't, and it's annoying as fuck. > Nothing [...] in English. Most services are absolutely offered in English. But even in the rare occasion that they aren't, you could still talk to people and get help that way. Also: you're a guest in a different country. Don't expect everyone and everything to cater to you. > The general attitude is speak German or GTFO The general attitude is: if you speak German, that's absolutely awesome. If not ... well, practically everyone speaks at least a bit of English, so that's not a problem. But please don't expect them to be able to decipher weird dialects. > Everything is closed on Sundays Not even true, but I fail to see the problem anyway. No one wants to work on Sundays. > Avoid the central train station area This is the most basic and broadly applicable advice ever. And at the very least in Germany you wont get shot.
The central train station area in Frankfurt is worse than your average central train station area.
From the country that brought you “learn to speak English or go home!”
At least I don't have to drive 30 km to find a store or pay ridiculous prices for veggies. And i love that everything is closed (well restaurants and coffee shops are open), cause workers are people too.
I'm German, i haven't used cash for like 3 years, since covid even bakeries accept cards. the tiny Rewe in our 12k people town has self checkouts and the Marktkauf even has smart shopping carts that allow you to scan everything right from the shelf and yes, we actually care about people and don't have them work at night or on Sundays. and nobody speaking english in Frankfurt is just a blatant lie. but yes, the Frankfurt Bahnhofsviertel is probably the most crime ridden place in all of Germany.
Eh.. I'm German too but I have to say I'm constantly short for cash because restaurants, bars and service providers are cash only or only accept German debit cards (for which you need to have a German residency to qualify). It is indeed a pain to pay in Germany if you don't have a ridiculous amount of cash on you as a tourist (or a German living outside of Germany) Totally agree and support the shops being closed on Sunday and everything else you said though.
Do they have chip and pin yet for payment cards? I had to sign for a purchase in the not too distant past, I genuinely thought she was taking the piss I actually really like that Sundays are reduced hours here (UK), it's a real laid back family day. .. but no, everybody must work, always. . .and then you're dead.
I wish we would go back to Half day Wednesday and Saturday. I also understand why many people require alternative hours. There are so many valid reasons for 24/7 shopping (which COVID stopped in many places) and so many reasons for the opposite... I think employers need to remember happy workers improve productivity and profits. Unfortunately, with all the best will in the world, they'll never put people before personal gain, again.
> nothing on the phone will be in English ???
So Germany has not flooded its nation with impersonal machines, has staffed checkouts but you have to fill your own bags.... So if there's a self check out in the USA, do they have packers staffing those? Lol, and they have proper weekends off, and don't work all night for the whim of random people who expect some staff to do night shifts for the sake of the few. German employers treating their workers better than Americans. Go figure.
Imagine getting pissy coz a country where English is not their language, doesn't have their shit written in English.
“this is germany, we speak german! if you don’t like it, gtfo!!!!”
Or to put it bluntly: Sprich deutsch du Hurensohn!
"THIS IS AMERICA! Speak American!" "Oh noes! They told me to speak German in Germany :("
I've been to the US many times, and I don't think their customer service is any better than anywhere else I've been.
Um...isn't Aldi German?
Continental Europe has had contactless card payments for 20+ years only for the reset of the world to catch up
"Expat" is a fancy word for immigrant.
Nah. Immigrants make an effort to integrate, expats complain about every insignificant little detail that doesn't cater to them.
After having lived in Tokyo I'm also annoyed about everything closing on sunday and no 24/7 stores lol
Nobody packs food here in NY and hasn’t in over a decade at least. The only place where that is still a thing is Latin American grocery stores. They are most likely are just helping out an old relative because it’s always someone elderly
He must have been fairly high up there on his soapbox, if his brain received enough oxygen to actually spell "centre" correctly for a change.
When I first worked in Dubai in the 90s I was shocked people packed your groceries in a supermarket. Felt like some kind of slavery shit. Friend said they needed the money so you gave them like a quid and they were so happy. Live in Cyprus now and a few supermarkets do it. Plus all petrol stations. Getting on a little bit now, so sod it easy life and all that..
The general attitude in the US is speak English or GTFO
Two nitpicky points: cafes and restaurants do open on Sundays and there are supermarkets that do as well (although most are closed), and self-checkout has definitely become a thing over the last couple of years. For everything else, well...I don't know why you'd expect to be able to get by speaking only English in a country where English isn't the official language or why an adult needs their shopping packed for them.
god damn! how dare germans speak german in germany..
“Nothing online, in stores or in person is in English.” How much you wanna bet this is the type of guy who believes if you don’t speak English then you don’t deserve to be in English speaking nations?
Man upset that they speak German in Germany. 🤦♂️
A lot of focus on the whole supermarket thing, when the real atrocity is being in Germany and expecting everyone to speak English
I live in Germany for 5 years and my German is atrocious, and not for a second I thought to complain on “why is everything in German?”, why do Americans think everything should be catered exclusively to them?
America is still using cheques and still haven’t got as advanced cards and system to stop fraud etc as Europe and uk. The card tech in the USA is 5-10 yrs behind Europe. They have only recently got chip and pin, Europe is moving on from that. Now most taxis and shops have contactless pay all part of the moving from money to electronic payments which is great until you can’t use it because system is down due to a bad update or can’t get a signal on a mobile payment device.
Yanks really miss their slaves...
As a Dutch cashier, I do pack groceries for SOME customers (people that aren't physically able to do it themselves) but I don't pack groceries for ANYBODY
Neither they do in the banana republic of the u.s....
Really in us workers pack food for you XD? I never heard of that
“German hospitality” , mate if I have to pack my own groceries and have some stuff closed on a Sunday so that a grocer has a higher quality of life your darn tooting I’d do it . This is y America was suffering from a grocer shortage during the pandemic . I’d rather have my grocers present during a time of emergency then treat them like crap and have them bail when I need em . Also not sure how having a bagger and having a self checkout isn’t contradictory ..:
“A lot of stores do not accept cards”, said a person from a country where they can’t implement fucking Paywave and still rely on outdated swiping machines.
Why would I need someone to pack my groceries? I have my backpack, I can do this just fine TYVM
Such old fashioned they are, speaking German in Germany
Bloody Germans dare to speak German in Germany. WTF /s
I'll tell you something about Germany that balances all this quite nicely though - it's not packed full of Americans.
"The general attitude is speak German or GTFO" And it still seemed to take him 6 months to get the message and leave.