I hate when a random Swiss person says something to me, I go "'Schuldigung ich spreche nür Hochdeutsch." and they just repeat what obviously is exactly what they said before but with less of an accent. I feel so rude for not understanding it the first time 'round. Dx
@shusha That might be smart, but I also want to get better at my German (both kinds preferably, and every time someone speaks to me in Züritüütsch I get slightly better at understanding it).
@timorl haha, maybe try asking if they speak english? Many Swiss are very uncomfortable speaking standard German, but proud of their english (which of course comes with an accent too).