Anyone familiar with Fastenal?

Well, curious responses. By law there are only so many hours one can 'work' during the week including 34 hour reset. So what we are limited to is a 60 hour week, though like I indicated earlier it doesn't always amount to that. For example, freight is much lighter during certain months and you can run a route hours faster. The numbers I gave (12-14 hours) are an average, we run 4 days a week, and starting pay is just that; what you start at. If you come in as an experienced driver and with a good MVR you start higher on the scale.

As for pay, you evaluate based upon what you want in your future and its not just pay. You look at the company & its financial stability, do they lay off during slow times? What are chances of getting home every night? What kind of equipment & how well is it maintained? What is the pay scale for years with the company? What other opportunities are there for moving out of driving into another position? There are plenty of companies that offer a variety of options and Fastenal is not perfect, but based upon my own experiences, the good outweighs the bad.

As for it being physical work, like I said, you like it or leave it. You research the job before you take it and even ride with a driver one night. No-one tells you it's a cakewalk job then oops, we forgot to mention you have to be able to lift 75 lbs. For myself and a bunch of guys it is no big deal. We actually enjoy it because it's great exercise, keeps you awake, and is never boring. If you want to hold a steering wheel then find an OTR job.

As for bad weather, we go out unless conditions are obviously severe. We've had to cancel deliveries more than once. But light snow, fog, freezing temps, are what we deal with EVERY winter. Gimmie a break. Sounds like your gripes are deeper than anything factual, which is OK because this ain't my first rodeo and I've seen many come and go. But I reserve the right to defend by pointing out false accusations, i.e. drive-by post. What the hell is that anyway?! I am a new member, interested in what is out there about Fastenal, which led me to the posts. Sheesh...

Steve

 

A drive by post is when someone joins a forum makes one post and leaves. Usually its done by someone who only wants to ruffle a few feathers. Its also done on occasion by people who are hired by a large company to salvage their client's reputation. We've seen a lot of that come and go around here, too. When someone joins a message board and the first thing they do is post in an old thread extolling the virtues of a company those of us who have been around for a while get a little suspicious. It doesn't help if that person accuses other users of lying about their experiences (i.e "deeper than anything factual"). So you'll understand if I think you sound like you're drinking the kool-aid.

The point is that a lot of drivers work for a lot of companies, some large and others not so large. And out of all those drivers you are going to have those who had good experiences and those who had bad experiences. You don't do yourself any favors by accusing people of making things up. That much said, I'm happy for you that its been a good experience, but don't come in here and try to tell me that what. I went through was "deeper than anything factual".

 

Kwray,

I appreciate your conciliatory tone, and will refrain from sounding too defensive in this post. You gotta understand though, if you decide to criticize, someone, somewhere will get their hackles up. I'm one of 'em when it comes to defending what I have put blood, sweat & tears into.

For those who may be looking at driving for Fastenal:

"The pay ($2000/month plus $.07/mile off the odo and $4/stop when I left) comes out to about $700 to $800 a week but its not really all that great when you consider the amount of work."

EVERY occupation has a base pay, and moves up from there. The work is what you make of it. We see newbies struggling with their loads all the time until one of us takes the time to show them an easier way of getting the job done. For example, if you have five T-rods to deliver with the composite, you going to make five trips carrying each one into the store? Heck no, you put all the rods onto the composite and make one trip.

"Some of the branches have docks (but not all) and the ones that have no dock and no forklift are a real picnic! And they only allow you 15 minutes per stop, but it can take half an hour or more if there's a lot of pieces or things are buried."

90% (or more) of the stores have docks and/or a forklift. If not then a liftgate is provided or the store is new and working on getting a forklift. You are not required to unload each bag/box of a 2000 lb. pallet. Also, the 15 minute time is averaged with stops that only take 6-7 minutes. Some are heavy drops, some are not. Like I said, you do it long enough you figure out how to make quick drops.

"cool stuff is overpriced"

Based upon what? Are you a volume buyer or just want a couple items? Our sales market is targeted to manufacturing & contractors who buy in bulk and need specialty items. Thus, delivery is free and there are significant other benefits for the frequent customer.

There is more but you get the idea. No, I am not an apologist for the company, I'm just a driver who has been around the block too many times and decided, chose to work for Fastenal, warts and all.

Steve

 

And like I said before I'm happy you're happy with it. The problem with larger companies is that they have so many different operations and there are so many diverse people working for them that one person's experience is not likely to be the same as another's. Before I worked for Fastenal I drove for a company in Iowa for nearly ten years. There were a lot of ups and downs in that time and a lot of drivers came and a lot went in that time as well. For me it was a good experience but for others it was not so good. People in management that I liked and got along with very well were the same people that rubbed a few drivers the wrong way. Sometimes things don't work out for a driver because of the way they act or work and sometimes they just plain get screwed over. I could say the same about my current employer of the last five years. They've been good to me for the most part but they have also done a few things to people that were just plain wrong. I left that job to come to Fastenal because I wanted to be home daily. The benefits were (and probably still are) very good. The pay was not the greatest, and honestly, I make about the same or a little more where I am right now with less effort. I also don't have to worry about walking into a branch in the middle of the night and interrupting a burglary (yes it happened). The managers in our hub in my opinion (and that of others) were so regimented and linear in their thinking as to be completely unreasonable. They ran the place like a dictatorship. But that was five years ago and a lot can change in five years. Had I read some of the reviews online from drivers and branch employees I probably would have come to work for them anyway. Point being, you have to make your own decisions about where to work in spite of what other people say because everyone's experience will be different, especially at a large company.

And by the way, welcome to TTR!

 

Thanks bud, happy to be here & will check in from time to time. Got too much going on in life; job, 'honey-do-list', three kids in college, grandfather, a 60 yr. old house that always needs something

Steve

 

Does anyone else out there have any experience driving with Fastenal? I'm thinking about taking a job there driving a class B truck. They told me they will help me to get my class A there and that class A pays more for doing virtually the same thing as B. Also, how hard is it really to make a delivery to each store? I don't mind a little work every now and again. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

stay away!

 

Thanks for that in-depth, well thought out, and thoroughly explained response.

 

R u still at fastenol ive only heard good things aboutcthem do they have otr or team drivers and what amt of days do u get home ty

 

Sorry I'm not the one who drove for them, I was just commenting on the post that it isn't much pay for the amount of hours in my opinion.
What part of the country are you in?