Fastenal Co. Poor Management Dothan, Alabama

Working for Fastenal, I thought, would be a good company to work for, a good gateway to furthering my career.  I was so wrong.  It only took me about 2 months to figure that out.

I worked for the company 2 weeks at the part-time support position, then put on full-time as the outside sales representative.  I was not given the direction I needed to fulfill my job description, nor the time to do so, either.

My manager came in whenever he felt like it (we were open 7-5 Monday through Fridays), when I was supposed to be "outside selling" from 8-4.  He usually came in between 8 and 9 AM, I learned to shoot out the door as soon as he got there.  We did not always have a part-time employee, and when we did, they worked 8-12, and it was an "unwritten rule" that I was to be back so the part-timer could leave.  When I returned, my manager would usually not be back much before 3:30 or 4.  Not much time to go out selling some more.

That gives a total maximum of 4 hours out of the store a day.  He went out on 2 sales calls with me, 5 1/2 months after I started working there, 5 1/2 months too late.  My District Manager showed up one afternoon, as I was working on some price quotes for customers, asking where my manager was, how many sales calls he had gone on with me, if I felt comfortable in the position, etc.  I simply told him, as I had before - I do not get enough time out of the store to feel comfortable in this position, especially since I have gotten NO help from my manager. 

I could tell he was not happy, he called a meeting with my manager that evening at his hotel, the next morning I went into work and was "let go."  They told me "you just aren't picking up on the skills necessary" and "we are eliminating the outside sales position because of the lack of sales being brought into the store."  PLEASE...Not picking up on the skills?!?  How can I pick up the skills when they aren't taught to me - I was hired, knowing full-well I was not from a sales background, or even construction background.  They told me they would help.

I guess it is my fault for being so gullible and trusting.  All I know is I spent $70 to get my shirts (which my DM basically told me I had to have), countless hours trying to figure out how to do my job, and 6 months stagnating when I could have been at a different company that treated me better.

Think twice about this company, they are cheap, undermining, and don't care too much about anyone but themselves.