intern

business analyst

gas station attendant

accounting coordinator

assistant general manager

Valero

Overall Valero is a good company to work for but they need to work some things out if they are to keep top talent. 

The work: The work was highly challenging and stressful but also fun, schedulers were left with a lot of decision making and problem solving which for me personally was enjoyable. Hard work though was only recognized verbally and never financially or through promotions. A good scheduler can save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars but that doesn't mean you will ever see a cent of that. The company also ran extremely lean meaning you were working at least a few nights a week and often on vacations. Most other companies have relief schedulers and rotated on call. 

Career Path: The company recently started a rotation program on the trading floor for future managers. It is a good idea in theory but not executed well.  You stay in each position for much longer than is needed to get a grasp of the job so you could get stuck in a position you really do not like. Another issue is that each desk is very different but pay remains flat.One scheduling job can require twice as much work as another one put pay is flat, so you can often get the short end of the stick. Promotions are given more on a time of service and not on performance. A associate scheduler that out performs a senior scheduler should not have to wait on a promotion because they haven't met the minimum years service requirement. This in my opinion is the way Valero has been and will continue to lose their best employees. Also note the different between an associate scheduler, scheduler and senior scheduler in terms of the work is basically nothing except senior schedulers get paid more to do the exact same job. 

Management: Overall management was good and for the most part fair. They cared for employee career development and personal lives. In that way I have been lucky but I have heard of others not being happy with management. 

Atmosphere: The work atmosphere is kind of a mixed bag especially since they are trying to make a lot of changes in terms of workforce. You have a lot of young college kids coming on as schedulers and schedulers who are later in their careers who have been at the company a long time naturally pitted against each other. There is a lot of bitterness on the floor that the younger people on the floor are getting more opportunities than they ever had and they are very vocal about it. Can say from experience though, most of the time it was because the college kids coming in really did perform at a higher level and in the long run would be a better employee for the company. Overall though there are a lot of nice people and the above mentioned are mostly growing pains of the changing workforce. Overall I liked the majority of my co workers and managers. 

Compensation: The compensation is decent for San Antonio but under market value in the industry, especially for how much work is expected and how lean Valero runs. Valero makes the most money per employee of all the other energy company yet is extremely stingy on base salary and raises. You can easily move to just about any other city and get a 20-30% bump in pay. The benefits, especially retirement benefits are great though, they do have pension. Problem with those benefits is that you have to stay with the company for a very long time to realize any of it which isn't worth the less upfront base salary. 

Living: San Antonio is ok if you have a family and want to live in a suburb, otherwise its not much to talk about. Has decent places to eat and to shop but its a massive sprawling city. Biggest downside of San Antonio is that there are not many other energy companies, certainly none the size of Valero. So you are pretty much stuck working at Valero your whole life which I am sure is part of the low base pay, they don't have much competition so don't need to pay as much. 

I gave Valero 4 stars because I think if I stayed long term I likely would of done well for myself and would of eventually been rewarded for the hard work. If you truly are a performer you will do well, it will just take longer than if you were at another company to get compensated for it.  All of the complaints above anyone would have at just about any company (everyone thinks they are underpaid). I also see the path they are trying to go on to address some of thee things and as upper management gets cycled out for new more progressive minds I hope a lot of it will correct itself.

I cannot speak for the relationship between management and employees at other facilities, but I can give my perspective of the Welcome, MN facility.

At this facility you will find some really good people, some really good friends and a career that you may want to take pride in. The good people and hard workers are unfortunately; leaving, or are being blackballed out of a job at, this facility. I believe it has everything to do with taking pride in your work. Those people that you can count on, that take pride in their work and would ultimately just like to put in an honest day’s work to earn a living, plain and simply aren't being appreciated. There is a good deal of favoritism shown to people that are truly lazy or just have poor work ethics because they know how to "schmooze" or kiss hindquarters. Alternatively, those people that show up every day on time and try to do their best seem to get no recognition at all. This has lead the Welcome facility to a point where a large number of the experienced staff are looking to move on or are being forced to move on; as they question management or are tired of being treated poorly by management because they know more about the position they hold than management themselves. They have tried and tried to move up based on merits, but this doesn’t work as the “schmoozers” are really good at being ‘Yes Men’ and not thinking for themselves. The hard working employees have tried to make improvements to the everyday work life only to have it all demolished by those that really do not care or by poor choices made by management for which they never take credit. I have witnessed such things as a member of management making changes which produced wasted product and then they knowingly let someone else take the blame for the mistake. I have witnessed certain managers turn his/her cheek on a safety issue that he/she was involved in, but others are fired for much smaller issues by comparison.
Although most people would choose to do right by the community and donate to a good cause; you will be forced to donate to the United Way and also to volunteer a certain number of hours to Valero only approved events each year. You will be badgered by the administration until you do both of these things and if you make the decision not to do either of these things your raise and bonus are threatened management and are effected by your choice not to participate.

Suffice it to say that I could go on and on about these issues, but I won't. Just keep an eye open for all of the job postings that come open over and over again and again. The amount of turnover should speak for itself.

I would not recommend applying for a job at this facility unless you have absolutely nothing in your background check and if you are the type of individual who would have nothing in your background check; you’re too good to work here and will grow frustrated very quickly because of the things I’ve mentioned above. If you do decide to apply for a position at this facility; keep in mind that if you are the sort of individual that likes to take ownership or pride in his/her work, you will be sorely disappointed here as I see no improvements being made at this facility with local or corporate management.

The manager as well as the supervisor was very bias and prejudice with people of color. The supervisor had very little knowledge of the operation, when he would make an error both the supervisor and manager would find a way to blame an employee.In addition, I was a manager of a much larger company than Valero. An employee was asking me about FMLA and I was explaining the process to him. Both the manager and supervisor came over to listen what I was telling this employee. Neither of them knew the correct information. If there was a question about the operation you had both the manager and the supervisor never knew the answer, they would go to the lead employee for the answer. It was obvious they were embarrassed and threatened by experience, that they pulled me aside. The manager sat directly in front of me and the supervisor to my right. The supervisor pointed with his finger within two inches of my face and stated that I was not the supervisor and for me not to be talking to the other employees. The manager said the same thing and also related that I was being insubordinate. I asked him how and he told me that I hated my job and that I did not like it here. That was the furthest from the truth. There was only one thing that bothered me. There were a manager and supervisor who worked day shift Mon - Fri. There was need for only one of them to work days. There was no supervision at night and no supervision during the weekend, day or night. I made a copy of the picture that the security cameras caught of the supervisor putting his finger in my face and showed it to the manager, The manager said that he did not see it and was upset that I used the camera for that purpose. He never addressed my complaint. There were other interesting incidents that happened to me during my tenure. All of these incidents lead me to resign from Valero. This did not only happen to me, there were others that got it worse. This is not written to say that Valero is a bad place to work, because it is not, it is a great place to work. Management in this case felt threatened and did what they had to do in order to keep there, "I am better that you" image. I was pushed to resign, I did not want to cause problems and see management walk around with a sad face all day. My unit really was bad, and the sad part about this is that Upper management always believes what there managers say and never give the employees an opportunity to express themselves.

I can not speak intelligently of the relationship between management and employees at other facilities, but I can give my perspective of the Linden, IN facility.

At this facility you will find some really good people, some really good friends and a career that you may want to take pride in. The good people and good friends are unfortunately starting to leave this facility and I believe it has a bit to do with taking pride in your work. You see, it appears to me that those people that you can count on, that take pride in their work and would ultimately just like to come to work to put in an honest days work to earn a living, plain and simply aren't being appreciated. There is a good deal of favoritism shown to people that are truly lazy or just have poor work ethics because they know how to "shmooze" or kiss butt. Alternatively, those people that show up everyday on time and try to do their best seem to get no recognition at all. So this has lead this facility to a point where a large number of the experienced staff are looking to move on. They have tried and tried to move up based on merits, but that doesn't seem to work. They have tried to make improvements to the everyday work life only to have it all demolished by those that really do not care or by poor choices made by management for which they never take credit. I have witnessed such things as a member of management making a change to the process which produced wasted product, but then let someone else take the responsibility of the mistake. I have witnessed the plant manager turn his cheek on a safety issue that he was involved in, but fired others for much smaller issues by comparison.

Suffice it to say that I could go on and on about these issues, but I won't. Just keep an eye open for all of the job postings that are to come soon. The amount of turnover should speak for itself. 

 I would even suggest filling out an application because I believe some day in the near future there will be changes to management which, more importantly, should create changes to the culture.

Just keep in mind that if you are the sort of individual that likes to take ownership or pride in his/her work, you will be sorely disappointed here until something changes.

As a field operator, you begin your shift with a detailed turnover briefing from your counterpart, review the day’s plan provided by your manager, and receive any essential updates from your supervisor. Throughout the shift, you remain alert to urgent issues that require immediate intervention, drawing on your expertise or the guidance of senior team members to resolve them effectively. On a typical day, you are responsible for authorizing and overseeing routine maintenance and scheduled projects, conducting periodic sample tests and reporting the findings to board operators, and performing comprehensive walkthroughs of your assigned area to ensure that all systems are functioning optimally.

The management at this site are the absolute worst. They have no personality and expect everyone to fear and respect their presence if they choose to venture into your area. Being proficient at your job is not adequate to curb petty criticism. This workplace is ideal for those who are proficient in deflecting problems to someone else on another crew. 

The balance of work between positions is abhorrent. If you get hired, you’ll have a 50% chance of being the cook operator. This position has a high turnover rate because the amount of work needed is beyond time management skills without cutting corners more than some days. The distillation operator has a consistently lighter workload and will not help you because no one expects it of them. 

Management will never recognize an above and beyond effort and you will not be rewarded for it beyond those who keep their head down. 

The hardest part of the job is dealing with a management who seems to prioritize punishment over growth. The second hardest part is learning the machine that you are working in and understanding it well enough to do your job proficiently. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is leaving. The pay is good enough to want to try but Valero has other facilities. If you make it through here for a year, look at internal job opportunities. 

Expect to be in office at 8 and be in office till 5:30 and on Friday you can leave at 3. You can go to onsite gym for an hr during lunch or before or after work. Huge campus with onsite doctor. 
Best part; company pays employee medical premiums besides other great benefits.
Career advancement: You should be best at what you do with best attitude, top communications skills(instant sense of humor or retort, great explanation of technical issues, proper scalable attitude that suits the need), ability to be in office from 8 to 6:30 or 7:30 AM to 6 PM, good health to be available, mindfullness i.e. having active participation of all the issues, charity (2.5 - 2.6%% of your salary and 30hrs of volunteering per year): If you have all these you can advance in career. Like any other company there are examples of people who advanced by being a sycophant. 

If you are best in technical skills and do not have others, you will get frustrated for not able to find the career advancement. 
Valero gives jobs to Americans; they do not oursource. 
Valero gives millions in charities; downside is you have to give 1 to 1.5% of your salary too.
Of all the companies I worked, this is the best. Why not 5 stars then? I do not have all the above skills and not finding career growth! Grrr!

Yes, they contribute to pension (a % of sal sits in money market; don't expect % of your salary). Provides best medical insurance. 
They give 401K with 100% vested on day1 challenging you to find any other best alternative employer. 
You can only go to Google or such companies to find their benefits.
Yes, we worked in office during COVID unlike other companies. Maybe we will benefit from taxes the local govts are trying to levy on remote employees!

The management is doing their best to support employees. And like any other human race or employers, they have their issues too!


I do not recommend this facility to anyone looking for a job. The local and corporate management is horrible. The employees are treated as though they do not matter and they know nothing.

I worked in the shipping and receiving department/scalhouse. We were treated as though we were at the bottom of the totem pole, any job that didn't want to be done by anyone else, had to be done by the S&R dept. The Scalehouse operators are so unimportant to the management and the department supervisor that they work 9 - 10 or more hours a day, on their feet, without breaks. The supervisor of the department takes information from confidential meetings he attends with management and tells everyone in the department and community about it then when it gets repeated by people, he throws his employees under the bus to save is own butt. He truly is the worst supervisor the department has ever had. He is very uneducated and uncaring of his employees.

The HR department is also very uncaring of the employees. The HR manager is a corporate butt kiss who thinks he's Gods gift to the company. He's the worst HR person I have ever worked for in my life.

The Office manager has been witnessed by Valero customers at a local bar talking about the employees and what is in their personnel files with the company.

The production manager has broken many  life saving rules and continues to get away with things that many employees have been fired for.

The employees are forced to volunteer at volunteer functions that are preapproved by Valero and only those functions. They are also forced to donate to United Way and if you choose not to do one or either of these things; then you are not given your yearly raise or bonus.

For anyone looking into employment with this company should seriously keep looking, it's not worth the headache or discrimination you'll face.

Days now started at 4:30 am with gas surveys first, count money cigarettes / beer. Start paper work which consist of lottery accountability, entering invoices, money orders, and ebt./counting and balancing safe and recording fuel inventory/ walking the store making sure safety regulations are met/ view video / front and face shelves/ checking and stocking coolers/delegating duties /ordering groceries/accepting vendors and counting them/working with plan-o-grams/enforcing company policies/interviewing applicants and training new hires/setting fuel prices cleaning spill buckets /making sure store , bathrooms and parking lot are cleaned./reporting damages to store and recording when they are repaired/merchandising/cost audits. Cashiering/ handling customer complaints with in company guide lines/training training training/plus selling/ stocking hot food items fountain area/keeping track of inventory/ counseling documentation
 
This company taught me accurate record keeping/and managing skills.

I have a great team, we work together and things get done. 

I enjoy the reaction from the customers when they come in and know that we are glad to see them. We are still in the same building at Calion but the atmosphere has greatly improved

Up-holding site, corporate, and OSHA safety guidelines, assisting Operations,and maintenance with LOTO, safe work permits, hot work permits, and confined space permits.Act as a subject matter expert in all site safety and health guidelines, train and mentor the entire workforce in those safety and health guidelines. Provide assistance in troubleshooting issues in several different Units within the refinery. Provide guidance in PSM to the workforce. Participate in Management Of Change or (MOC) proceedings in all areas if the refinery. Act as a liaison between hourly and management employees. Serve on the Emergency Response Teams as a Firefighter and a Hazmat Response Technician, and provide assistance in those areas of everyday operations of the refinery. What i've learned most about being a refinery worker is how to interact with various different types of people. Management in my opinion is fair and just to the employees at the refinery. Co-workers are some of the best people i've ever worked with. The hardest part of my job is the changes in the industry,and keeping up to date with those changes. The most enjoyable part of my job is making sure everyone goes home in the same shape they came in. SAFE

Reasonable pay, good benefits and 401K.  Local and corporate management alike, do everything they can to beat you down. The employees are blamed for managements poor decisions.  VERY HIGH TURNOVER, so you are always working short handed.  Management doesn't listen to the employees, moral is very low.  If you're not a YES MAN, or a PUPPET for management, you have a target on your back.  Management plays favorites!  Employees get in trouble, put on administrative leave and or fired for stupid little things, but management can break life saving rules and get away with it.  Women make less money even though they work just as hard if not harder than the men.  You could work there for years and not have a black mark on your record at all; but people who are hired after you, to do the same job you do, get paid the same or more than you get paid, and you have to train them in!  You have to work a 12 hour shift with barely a 3 minute bathroom break and you never get to eat your lunch away from your work station.  If there is a problem and you have questions on your weekend on shift and you need to call the production manager for assistance, he gets ticked off and hangs up on you.  Like I said Horrible Management!

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