It's a job - OUTSIDE SALES Fastenal Employee Review

1.0
21 July 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You gain a lot of experience. Working in s store you get the weekends off. Not to bad of a job as long as you have a good store manager. If you chose to stay with the company there is room for advancement because people quit on a regular basis. You get to meet a lot of people, most of them are pretty good people.

Cons

Low salary for the amount of hours worked, commission is also low. Corporate ethics is little to nonexistent. This has been recently with their choice to not pay commission on 20% and under margin sales. These is because the POS cost is a lie they the cost marked up in some cases 50%+. They claim that they are showing true cost from certain vendors but I have noticed that is not true. In June when they claimed to show us the true cost I also noticed that they raised the POS cost on fasteners. Distribution centers are very unreliable which makes your job a lot harder trying to grow business when product constantly doesn't come in or come's in wrong. Wholesale price's are set so high it makes sales peoples job take a lot harder because you have to check competitors prices to make sure your not 20-50% higher even after giving a % off wholesale discount.

Explore other reviews about Fastenal

5.0
9 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Management is good Hours are negotiable Time off is available Opportunities to move up always available

Cons

No commissions for part time

3.0
9 June 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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