senior operations technician

service technician

utility line locator

gas engineer

operations associate

Black-Hills-Corporation

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working was meeting new people, making changes in their lives. The pay

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Being told how to do things correctly differently. They are not on the same page when it comes to being taught. Their are favorites, they get to pick and choose who do what. The point system socks. You can only be off if someone approve your time even if you have the hours..They have work from home positions that's rarely talked about. The way they grade calls is always negative. I have never seen so many people happy to tell you what you do wrong with, rarely telling you what you do right. It's people in positions that are not qualified to be they are in the position. It is some very nice detached from the world people there most of the people that's there life revolve around Bhe. They don't have any in house help for emergencies, you will get a point when with a doctor's note..It's a very stressful place to work for with some good people

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It was work only rarely any feelings of appreciation. It was very stressful because you rarely got told how good of a job your doing. But you were told Daily how change was needed.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful and long...always glad to leave and go home

Loved working with various customers, everyday was something new. When I started with the gas company I knew basically nothing - except what a gas meter was and that it came in to furnaces and hot water heaters. I learned about gas pressure, gas mains, how to melt gas lines and regulations for natural gas. I created spreadsheets and learned what MS Excel can do for functions and formulas. I communicated and worked with 70 employees in Colorado Gas, learning and training, we were a team and friends and family - not just co-workers. The hardest part of my job was explaining to customers the laws and requirements for gas - we can't install and turn on just because they want it, you feel for people but have to follow the rules. I enjoy everyday being a challenge and bringing me something knew to learn and do. There was not a typical day in my field, we had developers wanting gas lines installed "now" but had to explain it cannot be done due to weather or extreme requests, we schedule and complete as soon as possible; talking to lonely elderly folks that need appliances serviced, taking calls for emergencies when someone smells gas in the home and explaining the safety factors to them.

Black Hills is a company that is growing very quickly and wants to continue doing so. That being said they have acquired many companies over the last 10 years, but have not streamlined their processes within each of these acquisitions. Locally that may not pose a problem but when you work for the call center taking calls for all areas, it is a nightmare. They want you to take calls quickly and handle them correctly, but they do not provide the effective tools to do so. 

They run very lean and there is little long term job security unless you work in the field or are willing to relocate to Rapid City, SD. If you are willing to relocate, there is a lot of opportunity for advancement. If you are not willing (or unable) to move, there is little you can do to advance. Their goal is to get their entire operations to run out of Rapid City, SD. as soon as they are able.

Answered customer calls and assisted up to 150 customers in  8 states for both natural gas and electric service each day .Up to a 1.2 million customer base. Promoted sales for appliance Repair and line coverage insurance for both residential accounts and Commercial accounts. Team leadership and tech line support for 16 associates. assisted new hires with systems and customer resolutions.Processed Payments, Turn on and turn off service orders. Processed Gas ans Electric Emergency call. Billing Problems and questions.Adherence to a strict time Sch. was a must. Attended Training updates and Systems updates classes.Planned and assisted with all call center associate activities,as well as local community contributions from our company . Volunteered my time and money to all our outside ,food,supply and local community actives that black hills sponsored.My Customer service API survey Score was on of the  highest in both the call centers we serviced from.

Upper management throws blame to lower level management/employees for their incompetence. 
Several projects would be presented only days before they needed to be finished, when the work would generally take weeks/months or sometimes over a year to complete. When projects couldn’t be completed within their time it fell solely on you, not their lack of communication and planning. If you work for BHC I highly recommend using email as much as possible and saving ALL communication as it will save your job, at least save it for a little while. 
Upper management somehow plays by different rules and pretty much get away with anything. Complaints to HR regarding upper management go unsearched while any complaints from upper management about lower level employees are immediately researched (research is very one-sided and only includes facts to support upper management complaints, facts from employees who were complained about don’t matter).

What is the best part of working at the company?
Good pay and benefits. Great team work from 95% of coworkers.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Too many software apps management wants techs to attend to that take away from time doing the real work that is required.
Very unequal treatment from management. It depends on who an offender is as to how serious the infraction is viewed.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Over all the team work among the techs was really great. We all tried to always have our coworkers back and help out when our work load allowed. 
Management frequently lacks in supporting their workers.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Log in to get all your assignments. Do an inspection of your truck, equipment and supplies. Travel to first order. Complete work. Gather tools, do walk around inspection of truck, complete order in system and travel to next job.

The company overall seems decent, but your experience heavily depends on the department you work in, as each operates very differently. While some teams might be manageable, others can make the job challenging. The company often expects excessive overtime and can be critical if you work less than 40 hours. They set high expectations but provide minimal support to meet them. Although they claim to offer flexible hours and to accommodate individual needs, this is far from the reality. Promises of work-life balance and flexibility feel misleading, as you're often pushed to prioritize work above all else. If you value a supportive work environment and clear boundaries, this might not be the right fit. However, if you thrive under pressure and are prepared to meet high demands with little guidance, you may find it suitable. Ultimately, your experience will hinge on which department you land in.

Retail Gas Pipeline Company in transition after acquisition of SourceGas Distribution, LLC.  Excellent pay for contract position; however, very unfair that layoffs after acquisition affected mostly older employees which was disappointing since experience and expertise was lost, and supervisors laid off.  Company expected people with non-supervisory experience to manage supervisory responsibilities without promotions or increase in salary.    Management concerned about profit and NOT concerned about employee comfort with regard to work stations, but perhaps will be more concerned once transition completed. Promotion and growth opportunities very limited.  Regular full-time employees NOT compensated in proportion to responsibilities.

I worked for BHC for over 10 years.  I was involved in a variety of duties that included developing and managing SQL Server databases, SSRS Reports, developed java applications for data integration projects, managed and debug web base java single servlet applications such as Coal Management System, Power Plant Readings, etc. The management team at BHC gave me some flexibility in developing solutions to issues. In my early period at BHC was able to attend a variety of training courses to help with my job such as SSRS, etc.  However, towards the last few years while at BHC training funds seemed to have dried out to some extent.  Overall, Black Hills Corporation was a wonderful place to work...

The management on all levels here is unqualified, uncaring, and not at all forward thinking.  It is stuck in the “good old boy” world where men are celebrated and moved up despite a lack of leadership and intelligence.  People are promoted here not because they are the best and brightest, but because they know the right people or they suck up to the hiring manager.  This company does not care about their employees, but they sure tell you how much they care all of the time.  If you work in the mother land of Rapid City, you will be treated well, but anywhere else, expect to be treated like a second class citizen and do not ever get comfortable in your position.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior operations technician 71 salaries reported	$36.74 per hour
Service technician 56 salaries reported	$35.30 per hour
Utility line locator 29 salaries reported	$24.02 per hour
Gas engineer 14 salaries reported	$127,748 per year
Operations associate 26 salaries reported	$29.01 per hour

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