Why don't Polish service workers smile?

my boyfriend didnt smile for years.. then I realised it was cos he had no teeth.

My Polish wife says that Polish people have typically looked down on those working in shops or as waiters/waitresses, hence these people expect to be treated as though they do not exist. Theredoe nor much smile about. But it is also a cultural thing as best as I can ascertain.

But once you pay the service person some individual attention, they usually warm up, at least they do for me.

I think that sounds unusual even for a shop assistant anywhere. Perhaps she had a bad day? Obviously the young generation today is not the same as previous generations of Poles and they can be quite rude. In Guildford, the poles who have already established them selves do not want contact with the new influx at all. A friend of our is Polish from Szczecin and always had a little PL sticker on the back of her car Renault Clio. She has since torn it off to hide her previous Polish identity. There are a lot of quite arrogant new Poles and we simply avoid all of them.

The first time I went to Poland, we stopped for breakfast.
The lady who served us looked like her face was so stern, it must have been made of stone.
Since then, I've seen more smiles than I can count.

It might depend on the time of year too. During Communism everybody had a job and it did not matter if you were happy with the service or not but maybe with the coming of competition they have to work and try harder!

I find the Service Workers here in Bydgoszcz to be very friendly, but then I am a friendly person. I think that people reflect back the same attitude I give them, so perhaps it is something with you, and not with them.