Being an expat in Bratislava it’s fair to guess you’re working in the tertiary sector and the Slovaks you encounter are bright, young, Westernised things. They probably will have a degree (at the least), they almost certainly will speak some English and there’s a fair chance they speak it better than you.
The workers of Bratislava are a different breed, more rugged looking and apparently untouched by the rampant capitalism of the city. You’ve probably seen them in supermarkets buying large quantities of treska (that strange fish salad that no expat has ever eaten) or on trams on your way home from work. They’re easy to spot as they’re most likely to be wearing their blue or green overalls and carrying a small bag of bread rolls in one hand and a 1.5l plastic bottle of Corgon in the other.
If you need the services of one of these chaps (you’ll certainly never find a female in any of these industries) then certain things are in your favour. Slovakia is a highly regulated country so, while there are cowboys out there, you’re quite well protected. On completion of a job a worker is obliged to give you an acceptance letter, which you sign to say you are happy with the work. If you don’t want to sign you don’t have to pay. They then can remove the work they’ve done, but it could be worse. Try refusing to pay a builder in Britain and you’d probably end up with a brick through your window or excrement on your doorstep.
Some people work for companies, and they will always need the acceptance letter so they get paid themselves. Self employed workers may not offer you one, as with anywhere in the world there a tax advantages to keeping some of their income off the books, so press for it if you need to. Many standard jobs (like unblocking a sink) will be paid for at a set fee, anything else by the hour. And one last thing, you always have to pay cash. Personal cheques don’t exist here and it’s extremely unlikely that anyone will take cards.
We’re doing our best to compile a list of plumbers, electricians and other workers who can speak English. But after hours with the yellow pages we’re not quite there yet. We’re still working on it, but in the meantime here are some useful phrases:
Plumber - inštalatér in-shtal-at-air
Electrician - elektrikár el-ek-tree-kar
Locksmith - zámočník zar-moch-nik
Carpenter - tesár te-sar
Mechanic - mechanic mek-an-eek
Builder - murár moor-ar
I have a problem with... Potrebujem pomôcťs... prot-reb-oo-yem po-mwots
Can you fix... Potrebujem opraviť… prot-reb-oo-yem o-praa-vit
My sink – umývadlo um-ee-vad-lo
My drains – odtok od-tok
My lights – svetlo svet-lo
My car – auto aw-to
My toilet – toaletu twal-et-u
My TV – televízor te-le-vee-zor
My oven / stove – rúru / sporák roo-ru / spor-ark
My washing machine – práčku prach-ku
My heating – kúrenie koo-ren-i-ye
My boiler – kotol ko-tol
My fridge – chladničku hlad-nich-ku
My window – okno ok-no
How much will it cost? Koľko to bude stáť? Kol-ko bud-ey stat
When will you come? Kedy prídete? Ke-dy pree-det-yey
In 30min – za polhodinu za pol-hod-inoo
In 1h – za hodinu za hod-inoo
Morning - ráno rar-no
Before lunch – doobeda do-o-bed-a
Afternoon - poobede po-o-bed-ye
In the evening – večer vech-er
Tomorrow – zajtra zay-tra
Day after tomorrow – pozajtra po-zay-tra
This Wednesday – túto stredu / tento týždeň v stredu Too-to stred-u / ten-to teej-dyen v stred-u
Next Wednesday – budúcu stredu / na budúci týždeň v stredu Bud-oot-su stred-u / na bud-oot-si teej-dyen v stred-u
Can I have a receipt/invoice? - Môžete mi vystaviť faktúru? Mwo-jet-yey me vist-a-vit fak-too-ru?
I have lost my keys. - Stratil som kľúče. Stra-til som kloo-chey.
I have locked myself out. - Vymkol som sa v byte. Vim-kol som sa vbeet-e.
I blew a fuse. - Vyrazil(a) som poistky. Vi-ra-zil som poyst-ky.
I need a cab taxi... - Potrebujem taxik na... po-tre-bu-yem tax-ik na...
I don't understand. - Nerozumiem. Ne-roz-oo-mi-em.
Please repeat. - Zopakujte to prosím. Zo-pak-oo-tyay to pro-sim.
Once more - Ešte raz. Esh-tey raz.
Please speak slowly. - Hovorite prosím pomaly. Hov-or-ee-tyay pro-sim pom-al-ee.
