A newborn in the dark ages

My wife and I live in Lafayette and we were so happy to welcome our second child on April 5, minutes before midnight in Boulder. We arrived home at 4 am and got (maybe) 30 minutes of sleep by the time we fell asleep as our 3 year old woke up excited to meet her new sister. Sleep deprived from the start with a fresh set of groceries for the weekend, we received a call form Xcel at 11:20 AM informing us that they would shut our power off until the following day around noon. After scrambling for ice, I think we all understand how the next 48 hours progressed into the power was turned back on Monday at 10AM for our neighborhood in Lafayette. At various times in the 48 hour period, we had people from the city driving around asking if the neighborhood had power when neighborhoods minutes away from us did. Xcel’s strategy and turn-on implementation did not appear to be thought out. The most telling aspect of both Xcel’s plan and overall company’s mindset and culture was evident in a quick 5 minute phone call I made to Xcel on that Monday. I spoke to a woman on the phone and asked if there was a time in either get the power back on as it had been a 24 hour delay from what was previously told. She regretted to inform me that Xcel had provided her zero information on timing. I then followed up with a question relating to what Xcel would be doing for customers and nonchalantly mentioned we had newborn two days prior and it was becoming a bit of a hassle for us (I was not trying to use our newborn as a pity tool…we were doing just fine, just slightly annoyed as of Monday morning). The Xcel customer service rep paused for a good 20 seconds and returned to the phone hysterically crying which I then wanted to comfort this woman and ensure her that we were OK, just looking for an update. It was clear to me that not only did Xcel upset their customers, they completely turned their back on their employees, provided them zero information and put these poor customer service reps in a terrible situation and an emotionally draining spot. I’m sure this woman who I spoke to had to deal with some awful calls over a 48 hour period. And the kicker to all this? Xcel hasn’t reached out whatsoever or even attempted to get ahead of this…pathetic excuse of a company