Pros
Notice all the "Newport News" employee ratings are 4 and 5 star? That's the corp. office and they better say great things! Outside the corp. office things are radically different. The pros about the company? Co-workers in the trenches are good honest people, management is a different story. Hours are long (50+), benefits are okay, salaries start low and raises hover around 3-4%, training is adequate, good first job for college grads (they will know what to avoid when choosing that 2nd job!), work is not all that difficult. If you are part of the good ole' boy system you can skate for years and stay employed.
Cons
If you cannot be "Fergunized" then you are out the door quickly, conform or else. Mgmt really does a poor job of motivating employees - they are too busy trying to meet the monthly sales figures to care about mentoring their employees to be the best they can be. Brown nosers are all over the place - the good ole' boy system is alive and well. The color line is so evident in the southern regions that it is surprising no one has called them out on it. In 10 years with Ferguson I have NEVER seen anything but white managers except on the Counter and in the Warehouse. I'm white & I resent this aspect of the company, it makes me ashamed. They take their best people, work them to death, don't give them time to spend with their families, pay poorly, don't give them the recognition they deserve, and then wonder why they can't retain an excellent staff!! The company is a lousy corporate citizen; they do few if any community service projects (except for Newport News of course, gotta keep up appearances). The backbone of their computer system is still DOS because they won't spend money on technology. This is a over-grown fossil of a company that desperately needs some one with integrity to come in and clean house. Wonder why I stay? I'm not far from retirement so I have ceased to care, I just keep my head down and count the days.