engineer

intern

analyst

manager

senior principal

Xcel Energy

I worked as a Field Operator in high pressure gas for almost 20 years. Used to have a family type atmosphere & everyone cared!! But last five to seven years....it went down hill badly!  They started downsizing and "trimming the fat"....yet they lost perspective & trimmed in the wrong areas!! Did nothing to change....(.as a steady stream of very very experienced & talented over worked & under appreciated, amount of disrespected & disgusted employees, with years & years of experience & expertise, who had a major part in building & operating & understanding the system & the business & what makes money & what doesn't)....When other companies started offering more money with more incentives & more appreciation and less inadequacies and obstacles to overcome & more state of the art & better equipment to work with....to these employees?? And they still tried to show loyalty & respect to xcel & give them an opportunity to either match the offer or at the very least, even try offering up a little something extra...and they didnt!! Xcel has a very broken concept...that just having the pride that you work for xcel energy...should be plenty good enough!!? Thinking that, just having a job with them is good enough!! They have totally lost track of taking care of the hands that feed them....more like, make it possible for the fat cats & management, to get their big bonuses & extra encentives....only to turn around & cut more jobs!! They have gotten all the life outta the concept of doing more with less! Especially when it comes to putting money back into the system, tools, fleet, or equipment!  And if I were to go into the grade school type little head games and favoritism that goes on.......I'd probably be typing until my computer locked up!! Same goes for "the compliance hotline" where anyone can call in and say or report anything whether true unfounded or otherwise....& accuse anyone of anything....While remaining completely anonymous! ! A total chicken and back stabbing & phony & corrupt concept that can set off a witch hunt on anybody who happens to get on someone's bad side or aren't "one of the good olé boys" & have your life & career & family & everything that you hold true & just, turned completely upside down!! Next thing ya know....you're holding your last paycheck & wondering how to tell the wife & kids that their whole way of life has been ripped out from under them!!! All from someone who remains in the shadows with unfounded & ridiculous accusations!! When there are far far worse things going on...In plain site everyday!! To make it even more of a joke & preposterous. ..it's usual being done by the ones who are supposed to be leaders & setting the examples.....team leads..management. ..on up!!! So....if you plan on standing up for yourself and your integrity and you open your mouth on things that you don't think are right....and you make some waves....you'll probably be weeded out!?? No matter all the years of proud loyal service and dedication and helping the company save money.....by making a silk purse outta a sows butt!! (Making old outdated equipment work...& not have to spend any money) Anyway....All this....losing your job in that kinda manner & being a "union" employee even!!! Should help sum things up for ya!?!? So much for getting any kind of return for paying almost 20 years worth of union dues!!!!!  Take the favoritism away...reform the way the compliance line works.... (after al.... a fella should be allowed to face his accuser?) Take away the huge bonuses the fat cats get & actually put that revenue back into the system or extra incentives for the "working guys" and start hiring more than just friends & family. ..and it would be an excellent place to work!!   ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

First I will say, I have an amazing supervisor, that is a perfect example of what other leaders should be.She is the reason, why I have stayed as long as I have. Unfortunately, the other leads overshadow this and make working there a not so great experience. The company works backwards in achieving goals. The call center goal is good customer service and reduce call backs. However, we receive a large amount of call backs due to new hires and high turn over ratio. If you stay on a call too long to fix the issue, your numbers are negatively affected, if you have to place an outbound call to resolve the issue, your numbers are negatively affected, if you have to place the customer on hold to get help or call a specialist your numbers are negatively affected. Things outside of your control negatively affect your pay, your schedule and your ability to move up.If you had to go to the doctor because your child is sick, you are not excused. If you are hospitalized due to an emergency outside of your control, you are not excused. During training a girl needed emergency surgery and was hospitalized for three days, those were her only absences, she was fired. I wish I could say I am exaggerating, but I am not. You can get away with somethings depending on wether or not you are liked by your supervisor. The place is very unprofessional, there is alot of favoritism and injustice to agents who have given years of hard work to this company. There are not many longtime agents anymore as most have quit, due to the environment created when SPS was bought by Xcel Energy. The communication between departments is horrible, if a customer calls upset as to why Xcel Energy is digging in their yard, good luck finding out why! They get letters in the mail by our brilliant marketing team that do not coincide with customer usage and they call you upset asking why, you have to kindly and professionally explain what you do not know since you have no idea why it was sent, since the customer does not have high usage.If a customer hasnt been reconnected for three plus days due to another agent error or dispatch didnt get the ticket, good luck explaining that! And there isnt a rush to reconnect even if its our error. Most weekend supervisors are of no help, you ask for help and they just direct you to either call someone else or refer to "CCQR" which is a reference tool that is getting better but still difficult to navigate.  Also, I find their 10 weeks/year required on call shifts a bit unethical. You are required to be on call 10 weeks out of the year that they choose, so if there are not enough employees staffed you will be called and must be there within an hour or will be counted late. The on calls are unpaid and even if you just worked a long shift, the WILL still call you in. Why should my time be unpaid? I have to arrange my life around my job unpaid for 24 hours a day seven days a week 10 weeks out of the year. If this is a requirement and I am on standby, why is this unpaid? With all of this said, it is clear the main directer and other leads at that call center couldnt care less about employee needs. They expects certain results without adequate resources, or appreciation of work and time invested,  employees are treated as numbers and robots rather than people. The insurance is also terrible, you pay 2750/person FIRST before the insurance pays anything.  The good things about it, is better pay than the average call center and decent 401k, but Xcel Energy can do better than that and so can their employees.

Massive amounts of training which is a plus. Upon entering the job everything seems wonderful and rife with opportunities. Not so. My only absences have been due to my child being hospitalized, and my own illness of which I stayed for half the day. I was asked for doctor's notes of which I provided three for the three days I couldn't be available. When I arrived back at work, I was told that I was at three occurrences. Which that's fine, it's life when your kid ends up sick. But why bother asking for the doctor's notes when it ends up being the same outcome?  Contact Center Associates are expendable and are treated as such. They have a high flux rate of employees due to the incredible amounts of work that the contact center workers have to do. It's not worth the pay. I got a job putting bikes together that pays me 2.50 more. The benefits are great, there's no argument there. But the anxiety that comes from being micromanaged put me back on the anxiety and depression meds I worked my butt off to not need. All calls are recorded. It helps when it comes down to a caller abusing you. They don't tolerate that. BUT. They have a company that grades your calls. They grade you very harshly which is good for  learning where to improve.... But they dock points if you miss a word in their scripts. One word. Even if it's got the same meaning. I got talked to for deviating from the script I had because I was interrupted for a question. I'm not going to talk over people and be rude. The customers I spoke to and helped had made me feel so great and put a smile on my face when they'd thank me, and tell me I was very friendly and easy to talk to. Then I'd check my call evaluations and those same calls, were downgraded because of not following the script. Well, you can't always do that, these customers are not all the same, they call with different issues and questions many of which require different answers. If you want to work in a fast paced environment apply elsewhere as the combination of billing, advanced billing, credit, outages, vegetation issues, start and stopping services, gas emergencies, and pay arrangement calls are enough to make you feel like you need meds or a large amount of caffeine to keep up. On call is a whole other story. If you work at their contact centers you get an hour to make it to work. If you work from home don't consider making plans because if your plans aren't on your lawn you aren't going anywhere, you get a half hour to make it to work. You choose a schedule at the beginning that you can't change. The shifts I was given to choose from were not the same as was advertised in my interview. Oh, and if you're looking to have a team leader that hasn't done your job but critiques you on it, here's your job. If you read this xcel energy, consider breaking down all that the contacts agents do into two different departments. That way you'll be able to keep your contact center agents and they won't become bitter and overworked. I wanted this to be my dream job, I wish it would have been. The other employees that have other job titles and departments seem to love it. I wish I would have been treated the same.

I wasn't there very long and neither were 75% of the people from my training class. Let's just say there is so much wrong with this company I don't even know where to start. First off, the pay is just sad. They started us at $10.05 and they recently raised it to $10.50. Still doesn't help in the long run considering how high gas prices and everything is nowadays. When asked why they're paying us so low, they tell us it's been that rate for the last ten years. So it doesn't matter if you have tons of experience or no experience, $10.50 is what you can expect.

Our title - "Temporary" Contact Associates. We're not even good enough to be consider full employees. As temps, that means no benefits, measly pay of $10.50 stuck at 28 hours a week. When asked why they categorized us as temps if we're not working through a staffing agency, their reply was "it's basically cheaper for them to not go through a temp". C'mon, really? They try to sugar coat it but the message is clear, they don't care about the employees, only hire us for the busy season (April -Oct) when cold weather rule is not in effect. They try and use Obama's rule of benefits to limit us to 28 hours a week. Why not just hire everyone full time with benefits, then they won't have such a high turnover rate. But no, they're too good to hire anyone as full time in a contact center.

My first month on the floor, I had to seek out my lead and asked how I was doing compared to my peers and what I can do to advance quicker. I got vague answers and some charts and #'s without a clear explanation. Their scheduling policy sucked. They changed it every month but they don't give you the hours you want, they ask what your preference is to make it seem like your opinion matters but it doesn't. If you spend too much time in after call finishing up notes, it counts against you. If you call a specialist for help it counts again you because it's consider "unproductive". 

Then I find out that all the hard work I was doing like being on time, finishing up my notes quickly so I don't stay in after call, getting good scores on my quality reviews--- none of that even amounts to half the score of what I need to advance. No, the way to advance is to do all that, and more and to have good customer reviews. This company was expecting too much for too little a pay, and all that work to get benefits? Seriously? I was out of there soo fast after I learned that. I come from a good customer service background, I have great call center experience, etc...I know my worth. I landed another job within a week after I left. 

Then I get a rude letter saying I abandoned my job when I had sent an email to their HR stating I found a new opportunity and effective immediately will not be returning to work. Funny thing was my manager had my name spelled wrong too, goes to show how much they care about their employees. 

Now remember I can only verify what it was like at my location very different in culture from the rest of work force strong favoritism the ones they like get to go to breaks early and leave back from break late there are two fifteen minute breaks and for most both breaks turn into thirty to forty five minutes each and the half hour lunch break turns into an hour to an hour and a half they go to the locker room at like thirty to forty minutes before time to go home and walking out the gate fifteen to twenty minutes before time employees that r there have been there since they have gotten out of high school and are very spoiled they will through a fit if the coffee is not there all day or if the tea is to strong they are clueless to the real work field and management turns there heads the other way for them to do what they want if you don't fit into there life stile they will get rid of you whether or not you do your job correctly . I have things in my life that most dont and can not go to normal company family functions and so i was singled out now remember i can not talk for the whole company just the power plant that i was at Harrington station
they are very unfair i was written up for going out the gate at 3:29 one time and 3:28 one time and 3:30 is quitting time all clocks in the place say a different time other employees change the clocks in the locker and break rooms to go in early or leave late foreman's just turn there heads now given i was in the wrong and deserved to be in trouble for leaving early there are a lot of people should be to but like i said if they don't like you your out they pulled my gate times but not the others there were a few like me that they pulled but they to did not fit in they are racial and discriminative they fired a black man that they had been trying to get rid of for a long time and they just kept him as long as they did for the look that they don't discriminate he was the only black man there they say corporate does the investigations but i think they just say that and turned there head cause i saw anytime someone from corporate was around they acted totally different you can tell an obviousness differences

Southwestern Public Service is very distinct from the two other utilities that make up Xcel (NSP and PSCO). It is at least twenty years behind most other large IOU's in wages, benefits, work methods, and system design. The difference in the Journeyman Lineman wage between PSCO in Colorado and SPS in New Mexico is over six dollars an hour. The medical insurance for SPS is actually more of a catastrophe insurance with an extremely high deductible. Vacation accumulation is extremely slow. It takes years to get a decent amount of time off at SPS.
The safety program is ran by the employees but in the in the last year Pole Top Rescue, First Aid, and Fire Extinguishers were the only training classes until a Lineman was electrocuted. After the accident SPS started having actual training. There were no AED's and no Life Flight available when the electrical contact was made. ( we had asked about both before the incident and were told "we're working on it"). Grounds and Hotsticks were not tested until the newer employees bought it up several times.
Management is pleasant enough but very untrustworthy. Do not believe their family atmosphere rhetoric! If you are a Serviceman for this outfit you will not see your family because you will be out working on their ill designed and poorly maintained distribution system. 
We had an armed guard at our Service Center and had to have police escorts for collections at times. 
The only way you will enjoy SPS is if you have been in a third world country doing line work or come from an extremely small or backwards Coop or Municipal.  If you care about providing customers with reliable service.....DO NOT WORK AT SPS!
There is rarely enough help and there is an oil boom going on in SE New Mexico so the cost of living is skyrocketing.
Lineman.....STEER CLEAR of this division of Xcel!

While I had the opportunity to work alongside some truly talented, thoughtful, and dedicated individual contributors, my overall experience was significantly impacted by persistent issues within management—particularly at the director level. Leadership in the department I worked in often exhibited poor judgment, excessive ego, and a lack of professionalism (I was yelled and cussed at on two different occasions), which created an environment that felt hierarchical, political, and unsupportive.  
Advancement appeared to be driven more by visibility and personal connections than by merit or performance, making growth opportunities limited and discouraging. Despite consistently putting in significant effort and taking on additional responsibilities, compensation, bonuses, and recognition did not reflect the workload or expectations. Support, training, and genuine development opportunities were minimal at best.
HR intervention was largely absent when concerns were raised, and individuals who fostered divisive or condescending behavior were frequently promoted, further reinforcing the culture. High turnover and low morale were ongoing issues in my business unit that leadership did not meaningfully address or seem concerned with.
While other departments may operate differently, the area I worked in declined noticeably over time and did not demonstrate a commitment to improving leadership practices or employee well‑being. In hindsight, I believe stepping away sooner would have been the healthier decision, and I would hesitate to recommend this department to prospective applicants.  The long‑term effects of that environment are something I am still working through and may never fully recover from.

All in all a great company. All up until upper management wants something that the company/The Law says they can''t have. After my hiring manager moved to another company, my new manager (and his boss) devised this scheme to build a fake case against me, start/spread false rumors about me and my work ethic which eventually (seven months after they initially "heard" about these rumors) lead to one of my customers catching me in their yard to express to me them hearing of these rumors from another Xcel coworker. I took this to my boss (expecting something professional to be done since there has obviously been a breach of the company's Code of Conduct) and he simply pushed the concern aside hoping it'd melt away or I'd just accept the silent treatment. It got to a point where I ran into a customer made booby trap threatening my safety and reporting the concern with a picture of the threat to my boss. Once again, I and my voice were set on the back burner and ignored. I felt I had no choice other than to take matters into my own hands and open an investigation on the alleged coworkers I believe to be acting against me. The detective says, "Yup. They were spreading rumors about you. Unfortunately I can't tell you what happens next. Bye." The union even said, "Sorry man people talk. Stick and stones." After all this, I was forced to quit due to the extreme mental trauma I was going through with not knowing wtf these people were saying about me. It got to a point where I couldn't bear wearing that disgusting logo anymore. I resigned. 

Xcel Energy has a balance of being an investor owned utility (IOU), providing profit to the share holders, and providing a service to the rate payers who are stuck paying the bills.  

Xcel Energy has captive customers, that is fancy talk for a monopoly.  There are good reasons for the captive customer arrangement, but there is little risk to loosing those customers.  If xcel decides to stop maintaining the systems (imagine never changing the oil in your car, never doing maintenance, never checking that the gas gauge is reading correctly), there really isn't a risk of loosing the customer.   
That sets for an interesting upper leadership motivation and ground worker motivation.  

As an employee, there is a lot of job security.  xcel operates at minimum staff in a lot, not all, positions.  
As someone looking just for job security, this is the company for you.
If you are looking to develop as a professional, this might also be the company for you, but you will have to teach yourself.  Yes, there are some people in xcel that are great in their profession, and they can help you.  
But, there is no development plan to make sure you know the basics, or the next level of understanding. 

The hardest part of the job was coming to terms with the malalignment between upper leadership and ground worker.  

The most enjoyable part of the job was knowing that what i did, helped to keep lights on, to keep refrigerators running, and to keep the power of electricity at our finger tips. 
also, there are some people in the company that are great to work with, both professionally and in water cooler chats.  

HomeSmart was a appliance repair plan being represented by Xcel energy, the main electric and gas utility company in Minnesota. It was a wonderful job,  being able to assist customers daily in various ways as setting up their appliance repair appointments, listen to their problems with their appliances and have them try a couple things to see if it would work, send out emergency repair technicians especially during the winter months if their furnaces were not working, direct them to the proper department if they were directed to us in error, upsell the appliance repair program, enter their information when they completed our card we sent for information on their appliances, filing and any various other projects as were needed. I loved getting the team uplifted, some of the customers can be quite a hand full and it would get quite stressful, so I would do something just to make them smile when they needed it. The hardest part of the job was no paid time off, so I could not afford to take time off and refresh and that was sometimes difficult to get through especially on a particularly busy day with upset customers, but the most enjoyable part of my job was the self satisfaction of making that upset customer laugh by the end of the call. I learned so much about certain appliances that made such a difference to me when I went to buy my own,

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