MSC Industrial Direct reviews

Despite our issues, MSC used to be a company you could depend on for job security as long as you did your job. That is no longer true. Hard work and years of service are no longer valued. We are now a company that is outsourcing and eliminating jobs, Gone are the times of tightening our belts and getting through hard times together. Now we single out good people who have been with MSC for over 10/15 years and just let them go even though they have not done anything wrong. We each come to work in fear that our job will be the next to be outsourced or eliminated. It's a very sad place to work. They planned poorly and spent too much on expansions and acquisitions. Instead of cutting at the "top" where the decisions were made, they are cutting the hard working associates with families to support. I can no longer in good conscience recommend MSC as a place of employment.

I have been working at MSC for over 17 years and never thought I would write a review on this site but recently I have become more aware of the need to be honest with myself and prevent others from ending up like me. I have only worked at this company and have never been professionally trained, guided to develop my skills or was I given access to leaders in my field to learn. I am considered a valuable MSC associate who is in management making little pay and I am not marketable. I also have seen good talent join us to leave in a couple of years because they had career aspirations that MSC was not prepared to offer. The company in not capable of embracing these big thinkers or making them feel appreciated plus because the management team has been around for so long there is no upward movement. When these people joined in the past I was excited and inspired. Now I know they will eventually leave and each time I am reminded that I am stuck here. I do not have the skills, experience or network to build a career outside of these walls which means I stay and collect my paycheck but never fulfilled. I do what MSC associates do. I pretend everything is great and I smile when it counts. For anyone considering joining this company think twice and then think again. Some observations from inside MSC - 1. No career here. If you want a job then come to MSC but if you want a career then you should keep moving. This company does not understand what it means to have a career. People are promoted because they have worked here for a long time. There is no advancement until you have put in the years of service and not because of the additional value or skill you have. If you join prepare to be in the same role at the same pay for at least 5 years. Then when you get your promotion do not expect any real pay increase or future path developed. The company operates like a union. 2. No one trusts each other or the management but what makes this more awful is that everyone pretends to be happy and trusting. The cubicle conversations are always about doubt and a lack of trust in what we are hearing or they are filled with negative conversations about other people. No one will address directly so we are in a constant cycle of disappointment. When you interview the hiring manager will tell you that we are changing. He wants to believe this is true but it is not the case. We have been saying this for years but nothing is different we just churn through good talent and they lose years on their resume. 3. The environment is abusive across the company. People are paid low and some so low that its common knowledge that associates have to go to food banks yet our management makes billions. The associates are asked to do more with less and some really try but there is no reward or acknowledgement. People who work hard are not developed so we have many people who have decided to collect their paycheck. Its just a job for most and no one cares to give more. MSC created this environment. 4. There is no clear, differentiating vision for this company. When our current CEO was appointed he created a team to develop the company strategy. It's been two years and we still have not seen this strategy work and most of us know that when we do it will not meet our expectations. The person leading strategy behaves like a used car salesman so no one is confident that the strategy work is going to help us differentiate and win. 5. The management team is a bunch of insecure men who still behave like they are in high school. They focus on the little problems but make them seem big so no one pays attention to the real problems like the fact that our competition is growing faster than us, that we have no clear strategy and no way to win, that good talent is leaving in part, because of them. They create alliances among each other and then bully their way forward. Yes bully. The CEO wavers easily and they take advantage of this. 6. Innovation is not understood because the managers have been in their same position for a long time. They do not know what happens outside of these walls. Innovative thinking is not encouraged because it will mean work. This leaves our company vulnerable to the competition. Will MSC be around in ten years? There was a time that I would have said yes with certainty. Not anymore. I wrote my review to help both of us. I returned to school and will be leaving MSC soon.