High expectations and low pay - Account Specialist Fastenal Employee Review

2.0
Sep 28, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The training program is quite good and there are always opportunities to go and get more education about sales and products. Career experience opportunity and most other sales companies want to hire Fastenal employees.

Cons

Many, the companies sole purpose is to increase their stock. Sales people are viewed as an expense and are not paid an equivalent amount to the expected production. For example, as an account manager the best commission they will offer you is 2.4 percent on new business. Which means that only sales dollars above the previous years sales fall into that percentile. If it is "existing business" you get a whole 1.2 percent of sales. While an osp makes 2-4 percent. Honestly GM positions are poorly paid also not sure at what level you actually can make decent money or if it is even worth the 10 years it will take to have the chance to run for that position. They also really could care less about customer service, even though this is their company saying, it is all about how much can we make and where else can we make more. They are 90 percent for the stock holders and about 9.5 percent customer with the remaining .5 taking care of the help.

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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