Pros
Autonomy (somewhat, they have GPS on trucks now and if you go over your 1 hour allotted lunch you may get let go even as a top 10 sales rep in the entire company), the lower level employees were good to work with and down to earth, if you stick around 15-20 years it has the potential for decent pay
Cons
Please do not let the Pros fool you- I would have rated Fastenal a ZERO STAR if I could have. This is a terrible place to work unless you are fresh out of college or new to sales. The pay is laughable compared to the competition (I made half of what I would have made with my numbers if I worked at the Red company). The management could best be described as "snakes in the grass"- they support you to your face, yet are always looking to throw you under the bus if it helps them advance personally. I worked in the "mid-south region" which from what I hear is notorious for being the cheapest region in the company. Although "innovation" is one the 5 Fastenal values, any innovation or suggestions that were communicated were quickly shot down by what I would consider less than qualified leadership as they are mostly Fastenal lifers that drink the company kool-aid (everyone else leaves). This company has had 4 CEO's in the 2.5 years I worked there with no substantial improvement other than maybe return to shareholders (that is what Fastenal does best, invest in Fastenal and work somewhere else). At the end of the day the actions I experienced at the hands of Fastenal leads me to believe they feel they do not need you and you will be treated as such. You will not be treated as a person that brings value. You will be treated as a number that can be replaced at any time. Bleed blue and tow the company line or they will find a way to get rid of you in order to get another yes man in the building. I have seen top performer after top performer leave the company or get let go in my 3 years with the company and they simply do not care because they will pay somebody even less to come in and do your job. Let me also qualify my comments lest I come off unjustly disgruntled: I was a nationally ranked top 10 OSP within the company, My BOB started at 15k a month and when they let me go my BOB was 100k per month- more than the average fastenal branch. I am not bashing the company because I failed, but rather because they treat their employees, no matter how good or successful, like they have no value. Follow the handbook, read the handbook front and back, they will use every word of it against you during and after your employment. GO WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE. THIS PLACE IS A $6B COMPANY RUN LIKE A SUMMERTIME LEMONADE STAND.