My opinion of this company is neutral at best. There were some opportunities, but you are treated with little respect. - Sales Support Fastenal Employee Review

2.0
May 26, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Training was fairly adequate in some ways. Hours of work were good. M-F 7:30-4:00. Pay was satisfactory not great for what you do. Some branch managers are great. It paid the bills, sort of. Working for this company is good for a short term job (less than 2 years) for most people.

Cons

Your are expected to cover all the bases. Sales, order taking, researching products, shipping and receiving, deliveries. Must be good at multitasking and not mind doing it a lot. Our DM was terrible at passing important information along. You would not know if your job was changing or if a new employee was coming until the day it happened. So the pay while adequate is certainly not great. My understanding was that outside sales reps struggle to make over $40,000 +. Even those with a lot of ethusiasm. Company doesnt believe in spending one penny more than it has to. Consequently frequent problems with office equipment that goes un corrected. Frequent problems getting shipments from depots on time. Can be very cut throat as well. Those who are willing to do so are promoted quickly. Turnover was extremely high at numerous branches in our district. I lasted less than a year. Left when they walked in and couldnt tell us if they were shutting down our branch or going to shuffle you into god knows what other job, just suddenly people are moving all over the place and then they expect you to go back to work as if nothing is happening.

Explore other reviews about Fastenal

5.0
Apr 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good job to have during college. People are easy going and easy to get along with. Overall really good experience

Cons

Gets repetitive after a while

3.0
Jun 9, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They offer training programs through their internal “Fastenal School of Business.” A few good mentors to guide you should you find one and if you’re willing.

Cons

* Work/Life Balance - No official WFH opportunities. Branch employees were told to report, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. 15 days of PTO (10 for vacation and 5 for sick). You don’t earn additional PTO until the start of the year following your 5 year anniversary. * Pay - pay is inconsistent and they find reasons to change your pay by eliminating and changing titles. Pay is below industry standard and is a base + bonus program for most roles. * Boys Club - Especially in MN/WI area. Positions created or filled for cast off tenured employees to find them another spot rather than termination. Promotions based on political moves instead of merit or opportunities for growth. Positions posted for new roles internally but sometimes not shared with teams to allow for those politically motivated decisons to fill a spot. If a role is only posted for 1-week vs 2-weeks, it usually means they have a specific candidate in mind to take that role. * Cheap & Tacky - Required to travel but not all meals are covered. Welcome to stay at hotel that offers free breakfast but no per diem for lunch or dinner. Some meetings or trainings might provide lunch. When traveling for team meetings or trainings, usually required to share rooms - sometimes with other employees you’ve never met. Encouraged to book rooms using discount codes provided by customers. There is a target room rate they’d like you to hit and sometimes it means driving out of the way. They’d rather the expense hit elsewhere such as fuel and travel versus the room rate.

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