Hello. In about a month, we will start building a new single-family house. Other houses in the development are being constructed by the same general contractor. We recently visited the site where some of the others have already started building. I was a bit confused when I tried to talk to two construction workers, but they didn’t understand a word. Now I wonder how our site manager (general contractor) plans to communicate with them. What have your experiences been when the craftsmen have no German language skills? If the builder goes bankrupt, I also imagine it would be difficult to hold subcontractors based in Ukraine or elsewhere accountable for defects. Or am I overthinking this?
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Leon1305118 Mar 2019 17:07The question is, at what point can someone be considered a craftsman? If I lay two tiles, I am not yet a tiler, am I?
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HilfeHilfe18 Mar 2019 18:10Leon13051 schrieb:
The question is: at what point are you considered a tradesperson? If I lay two tiles, I’m not yet a tiler, right? My friend is Polish. Everything was demolished and now he is a sought-after tradesman. He does everything conscientiously and has a pragmatic solution for every problem.
My mother, may she rest in peace, was from Poland. I’m really sensitive about this, especially since a lot of the negative talk about Poland comes from people with no personal experience and who have never actually been there. And regarding language, many Germans should first take a hard look at themselves. They can’t say a word of Spanish in Mallorca and barely manage a sentence in English. When more foreigners start vacationing in tourist areas, waiters or shop assistants often quickly run out of patience. But they’re quick to speak up if a Polish construction worker doesn’t speak fluent German. Disgusting. Karsten
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HilfeHilfe19 Mar 2019 06:14Nordlys schrieb:
My mother, may she rest in peace, was from Poland. I’m really sensitive about this, especially since this Poland-bashing talk usually comes without any personal experience, and the people who say these ignorant things have never even been to Poland. And regarding language, many Germans should take a good look at themselves first—they can’t speak a word of Spanish in Mallorca and barely manage a sentence in English. When more foreigners start vacationing in tourist areas, the waiter or the shop assistant is often quickly at a loss, yet they’re quick to speak up if a Polish construction worker can’t speak perfect German. Ugh. KarstenH
HilfeHilfe19 Mar 2019 06:15Leon13051 schrieb:
The question is, at what point do you become a tradesperson? If I lay two tiles, I’m still not a tiler, right?Broken German??
I have nothing negative to say about Polish construction workers.
We had our wooden staircase, garage door, sliding gate, and pedestrian gate made in Poland... According to my research, the price was almost half as much as in Germany. In my opinion, the quality is also excellent!
Scheduling appointments worked smoothly, and they were always on site. If they were delayed, they would call and inform us.
With my German contractors, sometimes no one showed up on site for a whole week despite a tight schedule. There was no explanation or information given... or the excuses were so poor that even I, as a non-expert, could only shake my head.
We had our wooden staircase, garage door, sliding gate, and pedestrian gate made in Poland... According to my research, the price was almost half as much as in Germany. In my opinion, the quality is also excellent!
Scheduling appointments worked smoothly, and they were always on site. If they were delayed, they would call and inform us.
With my German contractors, sometimes no one showed up on site for a whole week despite a tight schedule. There was no explanation or information given... or the excuses were so poor that even I, as a non-expert, could only shake my head.