Once the economy turns around I'm outta here. - HQ Position Fastenal Employee Review

1.0
Oct 30, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A good place to start. A lot of the people at HQ are very nice. Also ~~ if you live in Winona, then where else are you gonna work, right?

Cons

The pay is terrible. I have worked with the company several years, and done a good job with one promotion. One would expect that my pay may have increased, but no, since so much of my salary is tied to a bonus I'm down 20% year over year. When you are unhappily making only around $30 K to start with, that hurts. There is no way that people in such a low pay bracket should have so much of their pay at risk (but what am I talking about, there are no pay brackets... you have no idea what anyone else in your type of position might make). Particularly at headquarters where your connection to sales, and therefore a bonus, is minimal at best. There are no regular employee reviews. I am convinced this is so they do not have to face the prospect of giving someone a raise. I know people that have gone 6 or 7 years (that is not a typo - seven years) without a single raise. All good employees to boot. It's hilarious to me because Fastenal sells its customers on "service" and how you have to pay to get good service (which is why their prices are so ungodly high, and regularly increase). And then they pay their employees s**t, with no raises/increases, and expect to get top notch performance. Granted, the recession has made it worse, but come on. Our sales might be down, but we're still turning a profit.

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

2.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I like my coworkers and my GM is a good .

Cons

The business model and lean staffing is simply unsustainable. Entry level pay, part time, little training, no commissions. Fastenal is focused on the sale rather than the customer. The wing it mentatility leaves customer service lacking. It's a roll coaster of putting one fire out after the other. They sale the position during the interview process but after your in there's empty promises with no real timelines for when the advancement is coming. Upper management seems out of touch with the day to day business. If you ask for help they simply say you have a good schedule. It's extremely disappointing that it has turned out this way because I was excited about the prospect of becoming an Account manager.

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