5 ms·

On being acquired by IBM things went downhill at the company I was working at - no kettles or coffee machines allowed and you had to buy your tea and coffee fro

by t43562 5y ago

On being acquired by IBM things went downhill at the company I was working at - no kettles or coffee machines allowed and you had to buy your tea and coffee from the company store/machines (UK - probably run by Serco or some similar awfulness). All the cool computers taken off the desks and stuck in server rooms and you had to use a managed windows PC which in my case managed to crash once or more times a day thanks to some aspect of the Rational Clearcase filesystem driver. I remember all the lectures from overconfident bullshitters with shiny shoes. A company run by salesmen. It is SO SO nice that IBM got eclipsed by the internet tech companies. Even if they are arrogant/difficult in their own way it was a victory for the technically and ethically competent. It seemed then that IBM was where software went to die.

mindcrime 5y ago
I did two separate stints at IBM, the most recent being back in 2017 or 2018 or so. I was part of the "Watson Health" <strike>organization</strike> debacle. And when I first got there one of the things I immediately noticed was that there was no longer any free coffee available. The only coffee availability was from the little embedded Starbucks stand near the lobby. Which both cost $$$ and conveniently closed well before most of us were done drinking coffee for the day. Eventually we had to resort to the time honored tradition of buying a cheap Keurig style machine, and having a "community pot" in our area to buy k-cups, those disposable creamer packets, etc. This was the point where I realized that IBM is probably in its terminal phase. Shame. I rather liked IBM at one time. Heck, my dream when I was in college was exactly go to to work for IBM and go to Boca to work on OS/2!
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- stuff4ben 5y ago
  It's funny since IBM today seems totally different than what a lot of people are used to. Now we have GE refrigerators with built-in Keurig coffee makers along with the ice/water dispenser. Free coffee brewed daily in the breakrooms along with snacks and pre-covid, fresh fruits. At least two food trucks every Wednesday since the offices opened back up several months ago and it's free (for now). They still have some draconian rules and red-tape, but what large corporation doesn't these days? I'm sure Microsoft is the same now.
  - mindcrime 5y ago
    Now we have GE refrigerators with built-in Keurig coffee makers along with the ice/water dispenser. Free coffee brewed daily in the breakrooms along with snacks and pre-covid, fresh fruits. At least two food trucks every Wednesday since the offices opened back up several months ago and it's free (for now). Wow, well that's good to hear. Maybe somebody saw the error of their ways. Or maybe it just varies by location. My experiences were all at the 500 building complex in RTP.
    - stuff4ben 5y ago
      Yep, am in the newly renovated 500 complex here in RTP. It's quite nice. They completed the reno about the time I started back in late 2019. Only got to experience it for a few months before they sent everyone home for COVID.
- deltarholamda 5y ago
  I wish I knew what the deal is with coffee and businesses. I worked at one F500 company that eliminated the coffee for cost-saving reasons. The coffee was terrible, so I didn't exactly cry, but for this company it couldn't have cost more than, maybe, a million or so a year. I mean, I wouldn't want to write the check myself, but as a budgetary line-item, it would have been a rounding error. I've worked at an office that dumped their Bunn drip machine that had worked since 1837 for a Keurig, because they didn't like the big twice-yearly bills for the coffee service. The Keurig has been replaced twice, and the cups fill the waste bin, and I guarantee they're paying more for coffee now. It's really weird how people get hung up on the Coffee Question. I assume they're all tea drinkers and are being spiteful.
  - selfmodruntime 5y ago
    What's far more likely is that compared to other common items on the budget sheets, coffee expenses are pretty transparent and seem to be exorbitantly high for being "just coffee", so it's an easy target to eliminate
    - sgerenser 5y ago
      Yep, just like the color of the bike shed is something everyone understands and is easy to argue about.
  - compiler-guy 5y ago
    Steve Blank has a great essay on this. https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-earth-%E2%80%93-soda%E2%80%99s-are-no-longer-free/ https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...
  - dsr_ 5y ago
    It's a classic problem of not considering consequences. Good coffee is barely more expensive than terrible coffee. Good tea is significantly more expensive than terrible tea, but few tea drinkers quaff it in the quantities that dedicated coffee-fiends demand. The overall cost of providing coffee, tea and a few other beverages is quite small compared to any other benefit of working in an office. The cost of not having good coffee available for cheap or free is that people take coffee breaks that last much much longer, and nobody counts that time. The secondary consequence is that they don't spend the coffee break time talking with coworkers in a convivial surrounding, so they don't cross-pollinate ideas and share information. I've worked for the same company for 18 years now, and it's not because of the excellent coffee service. The excellent coffee service is a result of being a company I like to work at.
bokchoi 5y ago
> IBM got eclipsed this made me laugh, thanks
jen729w 5y ago
IBM took away in-house coffee in Australia about 10 years ago. Cost-cutting. What's coffee, cents a day? Great. So now all your consultants spend 45 minutes every morning going out for coffee. Before I worked for IBM I asked a friend what it had been like. "Unbelievably bad", they said. "Worse than everyone had said it would be." So I thought, it can't be that bad. How could it be? And when I worked there it was worse! So when the next friend who got approached asked me I said, my god, remember how bad friend -1 said it was, well, it's worse! And that friend thought, no, it can't be that bad. And then they worked there and found it worse than even I had explained. And so it goes.
- _carbyau_ 5y ago
  It can't be that bad, maybe I should go work there... :-) Seriously though, I see people in the office talking and when someone says "Yeah, I worked at IBM for a while." There seems to be a quiet exchange of knowing looks.
gonzo 5y ago
When IBM acquired Tivoli, preserving the company-hosted Friday beer bash was part of the contract.
- Spooky23 5y ago
  I was a Tivoli admin for awhile. The old school Tivoli guys were awesome, and would always have the pearl clutching IBM dudes on edge.
theandrewbailey 5y ago
> Rational Clearcase Ugh. I worked at a place that used Clearcase. It seemed to cause more problems than just dealing with the annoyances of other source control systems. I'm pretty sure companies that use it need to hire someone just to manage the thing. I've passed on job postings and offers at the mere mention of "Clearcase experience a plus" or similar.

by t43562 5y ago

mindcrime 5y ago

I did two separate stints at IBM, the most recent being back in 2017 or 2018 or so. I was part of the "Watson Health" <strike>organization</strike> debacle. And when I first got there one of the things I immediately noticed was that there was no longer any free coffee available. The only coffee availability was from the little embedded Starbucks stand near the lobby. Which both cost $$$ and conveniently closed well before most of us were done drinking coffee for the day. Eventually we had to resort to the time honored tradition of buying a cheap Keurig style machine, and having a "community pot" in our area to buy k-cups, those disposable creamer packets, etc. This was the point where I realized that IBM is probably in its terminal phase. Shame. I rather liked IBM at one time. Heck, my dream when I was in college was exactly go to to work for IBM and go to Boca to work on OS/2!

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
stuff4ben 5y ago
It's funny since IBM today seems totally different than what a lot of people are used to. Now we have GE refrigerators with built-in Keurig coffee makers along with the ice/water dispenser. Free coffee brewed daily in the breakrooms along with snacks and pre-covid, fresh fruits. At least two food trucks every Wednesday since the offices opened back up several months ago and it's free (for now). They still have some draconian rules and red-tape, but what large corporation doesn't these days? I'm sure Microsoft is the same now.
- mindcrime 5y ago
  Now we have GE refrigerators with built-in Keurig coffee makers along with the ice/water dispenser. Free coffee brewed daily in the breakrooms along with snacks and pre-covid, fresh fruits. At least two food trucks every Wednesday since the offices opened back up several months ago and it's free (for now). Wow, well that's good to hear. Maybe somebody saw the error of their ways. Or maybe it just varies by location. My experiences were all at the 500 building complex in RTP.
  - stuff4ben 5y ago
    Yep, am in the newly renovated 500 complex here in RTP. It's quite nice. They completed the reno about the time I started back in late 2019. Only got to experience it for a few months before they sent everyone home for COVID.
deltarholamda 5y ago
I wish I knew what the deal is with coffee and businesses. I worked at one F500 company that eliminated the coffee for cost-saving reasons. The coffee was terrible, so I didn't exactly cry, but for this company it couldn't have cost more than, maybe, a million or so a year. I mean, I wouldn't want to write the check myself, but as a budgetary line-item, it would have been a rounding error. I've worked at an office that dumped their Bunn drip machine that had worked since 1837 for a Keurig, because they didn't like the big twice-yearly bills for the coffee service. The Keurig has been replaced twice, and the cups fill the waste bin, and I guarantee they're paying more for coffee now. It's really weird how people get hung up on the Coffee Question. I assume they're all tea drinkers and are being spiteful.
- selfmodruntime 5y ago
  What's far more likely is that compared to other common items on the budget sheets, coffee expenses are pretty transparent and seem to be exorbitantly high for being "just coffee", so it's an easy target to eliminate
  - sgerenser 5y ago
    Yep, just like the color of the bike shed is something everyone understands and is easy to argue about.
- compiler-guy 5y ago
  Steve Blank has a great essay on this. https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-earth-%E2%80%93-soda%E2%80%99s-are-no-longer-free/ https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...
- dsr_ 5y ago
  It's a classic problem of not considering consequences. Good coffee is barely more expensive than terrible coffee. Good tea is significantly more expensive than terrible tea, but few tea drinkers quaff it in the quantities that dedicated coffee-fiends demand. The overall cost of providing coffee, tea and a few other beverages is quite small compared to any other benefit of working in an office. The cost of not having good coffee available for cheap or free is that people take coffee breaks that last much much longer, and nobody counts that time. The secondary consequence is that they don't spend the coffee break time talking with coworkers in a convivial surrounding, so they don't cross-pollinate ideas and share information. I've worked for the same company for 18 years now, and it's not because of the excellent coffee service. The excellent coffee service is a result of being a company I like to work at.

bokchoi 5y ago

> IBM got eclipsed this made me laugh, thanks

jen729w 5y ago

IBM took away in-house coffee in Australia about 10 years ago. Cost-cutting. What's coffee, cents a day? Great. So now all your consultants spend 45 minutes every morning going out for coffee. Before I worked for IBM I asked a friend what it had been like. "Unbelievably bad", they said. "Worse than everyone had said it would be." So I thought, it can't be that bad. How could it be? And when I worked there it was worse! So when the next friend who got approached asked me I said, my god, remember how bad friend -1 said it was, well, it's worse! And that friend thought, no, it can't be that bad. And then they worked there and found it worse than even I had explained. And so it goes.

_carbyau_ 5y ago
It can't be that bad, maybe I should go work there... :-) Seriously though, I see people in the office talking and when someone says "Yeah, I worked at IBM for a while." There seems to be a quiet exchange of knowing looks.

gonzo 5y ago

When IBM acquired Tivoli, preserving the company-hosted Friday beer bash was part of the contract.

Spooky23 5y ago
I was a Tivoli admin for awhile. The old school Tivoli guys were awesome, and would always have the pearl clutching IBM dudes on edge.

theandrewbailey 5y ago

> Rational Clearcase Ugh. I worked at a place that used Clearcase. It seemed to cause more problems than just dealing with the annoyances of other source control systems. I'm pretty sure companies that use it need to hire someone just to manage the thing. I've passed on job postings and offers at the mere mention of "Clearcase experience a plus" or similar.