I can tell you that not speaking german was really a burden (again in the long term).
Everyone below 40 speaks english, but as soon as you have to deal with the administration, or just even the doctor, it really was a PITA.
Also, Even the tech support (e.g. for Internet) wasn't allowed to speaks English on phone.
I'm pretty sure the same "issues" apply to any country.
My point wasn't that it's not a problem in the long term, but that in some countries it's also a problem in the short term.
In Poland I really felt unwelcomed on many occasions. The fact that they're extremely nationalistic doesn't help, I guess. I was surprised that even 18-year-olds wouldn't speak English to me. I'm now learning Polish.
Also, you might just have gotten lucky (or me unlucky).
Generalizing is difficult (of course, it's impossible talking about these things without generalizing).
When you have to provide service in German, French and Italian, adding English doesn't require a huge effort :)
My foreign friends would complain mostly about real-estate agents (it's a sellers market, they make no effort).