Funny Memories at IBM

Every IBM office has its unique character --- and its own characters. My recollection is there were some pretty funny things that happened as we "leaped over tall buildings," pulled out all the stops to deliver, or just made it through a turbulent year. When I found this picture, I laughed right out loud, remembering one funny day, when a bunch of us put in the extra effort to respond to customers and laughed until we cried.

Where I worked, IBM was a well-known landmark in the midst of a bustling metropolitan business center. There were floors and floors of IBM. Our office had a H.U.G.E. bullpen. It was full of desks with phones ringing off the hook and salesmen with flying ties rushing in and out and IBM women with their arms full of technical manuals, day-timer calendars and a whole lot of navy blue. I'll let you guess the year.  LOL

We had a spirited receptionist who kept the whole crew on track. If anyone was looking for anything, she probably had it -- and if you asked for it too soon, she would let you know in a meaningful way --- "Look I have your proposal," she would say, "It is right here in my 'what-is-it folder' and when I figure out what-it-is, you'll get it back. Now, go sit down." She kept us all laughing.

One day, her switchboard went out early in the day. No one could come to fix it until the end of the day. So the only way to answer the phones was for her to run around to all the individual desks to take a message (imagine life before voicemail, email, cell, text messages, live chat...). We all tried to help, dashing here, then across the room, over a desk. She did have a creative flair for solving problems and was not afraid to make sure we did our part.

At lunch time, she went home and came back with three pairs of her kids shoe skates slung over her shoulder. Yes --- and three of us laced up those skates and flew from desk to desk to greet the IBM customers on the other end of the phone line.

How about you?

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Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing Author
Greater IBM Connection
Founder, President & CEO

Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
IBMer 1970 - 1991 L.A.; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco