Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

Cisco Culture in the 2000s: Things That Would Be Banned Today.

How things really were in early 2000. Some of the best times.

Work crazy hours, do crazy unfiltered stuff.

These would be banned today.

  • "Beer and Cookies" Friday. Each Friday at 2pm, tons of beer in TAC cafeteria.
  • 24 hour unending TAC Sev1 conference calls (big bank issues). A few crazy engineer leads would stay on the whole thing. By choice they stayed up all night; but still make it to Beer and Cookies.
  • Drag Strip Car at work. TAC engineer had non-street legal race car (chute even). Just brought it to work for burnouts in parking lot.
  • Go on vacation, get your cube moved to bathroom. Guy went on vacation, they moved his whole cube including UNIX workstation and wired ethernet, to the bathroom lobby.
  • Chickens. Manager went to vacation, upon return the group put hay, a pool, live chickens, in his office. The weekend before he returned. Ripe barnyard smell.
by Anonymous
| 2811 views | | 9 replies (last October 12, 2020) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+17m74DSF
Comment! It's anonymous!

9 replies (most recent on top)

Water gun fights in the halls. Nerf gun battles. Circular saw renovations to cubes. Applebees lunches every day for everyone. Unsubscribe alias. Race to 1000 TAC cases resolved. Those were the days.

by Anonymous
| | Reply
Post ID: @2llg+17m74DSF

I was in tac 2001 when towers fell, but was grade 6 and top in my team cherry picking, but watched many with offices packed full of stuff fill up carts of boxes and try to get them into their car they day they got LRd, we watched drinking our free soda and eating daily catered food, that day I knew that no matter what , dont trust the company, take what they give and have a plan, luckily I made a few K off options above water. feel sorry for you guys now, Maria has made it a sweat shop of horrors.

by addfed
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Post ID: @1tlu+17m74DSF

Work Hard. Play Hard. Work to make sure customers were happy.

Out sourcing TAC doesn't have the same impact.

"Reboot your router, oh that didn't work, let me escalate your case to someone who has a clue."

I remember doing our best to hand off a clean queue to SJ. Customers would wait until RTP TAC was on before opening cases, because they knew we'd solve their issues. (I know this because I was the guy on taking the calls and being told exactly that). '97 - 2000 were hard at times, but the guy in the next cube had your back, worked as a team. Good Times...

by Anonymous
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Post ID: @1awn+17m74DSF

Culture that do not support beer is doomed to fail...
~ Confucius, 551 BC

by Anonymous
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Post ID: @1dgn+17m74DSF

Server boxes as 'sleds' down stairs in RTP1, parking lot full of Lambo's, Ferrari and other exotics. Free water. Free soda.

by Anonymous
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Post ID: @1npf+17m74DSF

Joined TAC in 97. The time before the dotcom crash in 2000 was awesome. Everyone worked 14 hour days but we all had a 100k or more in stock options. I feel blessed to have been a part of it.

by Anonymous
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Post ID: @ccj+17m74DSF

"Renting out Carowinds for the day just for Cisco Families!"

Yes good times.

by Anonymous
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Post ID: @zef+17m74DSF

Renting out Carowinds for the day just for Cisco Families!

by WifeOfNewlyRetired23yearCiscoEmployee
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Post ID: @iip+17m74DSF

there were cookies too :)

i am pretty certain these things all happened in RTP and i was there. Poor TFerg :)

by Anonymous
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Post ID: @hcl+17m74DSF

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