McMaster-Carr reviews

2.8

28% would recommend to a friend

(1,369 total reviews)

Jay Delaney

30% approve of CEO

44% positive business outlook

McMaster-Carr has an employee rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars, based on 1,369 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The McMaster-Carr employee rating is 24% below average for employers within the Construction, Repair & Maintenance Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews
3.0
Jul 14, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It is a highly overpaid customer service job. The pay is incredible for how easy the work is, tuition reimbursement, top notch insurance, clean and pretty campus. Once I got management to like me, the job got a lot less stressful and a tiny bit more interesting. They'll put you on "special projects" once they trust you, which are still quite mind-numbing, but at least break up the day, and require a smidgen of critical thinking. Also I loved my coworkers. Management is *very* hit or miss, but I liked everyone on the specialist level. They were kind, fun, and supportive.

Cons

The culture is fear-based and at times demoralizing, though that's not immediately evident (at least it wasn't to me). Upper-level management is able to establish this in a pleasant-ish, passive aggressive way. Every move you make is micromanaged. For many months I was constantly afraid of getting fired. The work is highly repetitive and mechanized but still stressful because you're expected to have close to 100% accuracy (that's not an exaggeration). The management team is mostly made up of recent ivy-league spawns. Most were perfectly nice, many were arrogant and difficult to be around. Because they're so young and the "workhorses" are closer to middle age, it made for a really bizarre and at times hostile social dynamic. I worked there for fewer than two years in my mid-twenties, so I was never on the receiving end of the toxic ageism, but it was too palpable not to notice. All that said, I *would* still recommend this to anyone who is looking for a year or two to save some money, further their education, add to their retirement pot, maybe prepare for graduate school. That's what I did and it set me up really nicely. I got out of credit card debt, I had my nice apartment on the beach, I took some classes at UCLA and got ready for graduate school. Perfect for transition. That being said, I would be deeply depressed if it were my full-time career. I felt like I was losing brain cells and replacing them with completely useless skills.

2.0
Jul 12, 2018

Trust the Reviews

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Generous pay and CPS. Company season tickets for events. Tuition reimbursement. Cafeteria food isn’t bad, but stay away from the coffee.

Cons

They hire managers straight out of college and refuse to promote from within, so the position you hire into is where you stay unless they decide to move you laterally. Many employees have asked HR and branch managers if this will ever change and they've emphatically stated it won't. That's maddening considering they invest so much money into their employees' salaries and they already know the business, company pays your tuition if you choose to obtain a degree, yet you have to leave in order to put it to use or grow professionally/personally. HR doesn’t operate independently. If you speak up in a HR forum, your name is attached to the comment when it’s reported out when it should be kept confidential. Several ex-coworkers suddenly started underperforming after going to HR about concerns/complaints. The majority of your time off for the following year must be submitted at the end of the current year! They've been doing this for decades. How is that creating a good work/life balance? They even somehow managed to botch partial telecommuting for eligible employees when they at first advertised greater flexibility and work/life balance. Systems are EXTREMELY outdated. Many are from the 80s and there are always workarounds because they try to patch the problems rather than spend the capital to fix them sooner rather than taking several years. They use Excel for many processes rather than investing in professional forecasting software. This frustration is shared by their Tech Support department. Managers are extremely passive-aggressive and each department gets a new supervisor 2-3 times/year because the fresh-from-college managers often quit once they realize the mistake they've made. They walk around with a red folder that typically indicates an employee is in trouble or receiving a coaching session to intimidate the workforce. Reviews are one-sided and you’re wrong if you make a decision that doesn’t align with the manager even though you often operate in the grey area. Employees work to pay their bills and make it to the yearly CPS, that's it. The work is mind-numbing and the silent work environment is soul-crushing. They encourage employees to notify the company of co-workers mistakes, which likely adds to that toxic work environment. Most employees, and managers, walk the halls with their heads in their phones and avoid making eye contact with each other. Branch management doesn't allow you to personalize your desk outside of 2 photos. If you don't believe the reviews, stand in the main office when you interview and imagine working in the environment 40 hrs/week. Stay for the pay, leave if you want a career or some sort of personal fulfillment or professional development.

2.0
Jul 6, 2018

Actions speak volumes

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Yearly CPS, okay cafeteria food, don’t take work home with you

Cons

Passive aggressive managers, upper management doesn’t support internal promotions so what you hire into is where you stay until you leave or get fired. Aging ownership doesn’t have a pulse on how the work environment is (or doesn’t care). HR works purely for the company and doesn’t keep employee complaints confidential. Time off has to be requested in November for the following year.. they encourage employees to inform managers about each other’s mistakes which creates a really awkward environment. Systems are from the 80s.

Viewing 844 - 846 of 1,369 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,407 McMaster-Carr reviews submitted anonymously by McMaster-Carr employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if McMaster-Carr is right for you.