Vantaggi
Ferguson offers extensive training for new employes. I went through 6 months in a warehouse and a year as a "sales trainee" learning the computer system and the product. Great benefits - medical, dental, vision, 401K, etc. There is also a lot of opportunity to make money in sales, and opportunity to stay with the company if you move - they are good about hiring from within. It is a good job for someone looking for stability and the same thing every day.
Svantaggi
Ferguson is as old fashioned as it gets. The managers promise rewards for good sales months, and when they come thier response is "great job - you can do better next time." Another con is the computer system - it is ancient and will make your life far more difficult than it needs to be. Purchases and returns take forever and there is no organization for how things should be done, so be ready to have customers yelling at you on a daily basis. Beware, you will also work with a lot of miserable people. At Ferguson, you work your way up to management by working a 5am-7pm day, and that isn't good for morale. We were told once, with no customers in the store, that we weren't allowed to talk. In SF, the land of startups, Ferguson is still lead by corporate management on the East Coast. This means no holiday parties, no jean Fridays, no stocked fridge, no flex time, etc. This also means younger employees leave after a few years and the ones who stay just don't realize there is anything better out there. The other con is the hours. As with the retail job you had in high school, you will be working saturdays and you will not get off early for holidays.The SF location has a history of bad management - they put you down and don't care about your life outside of work. We had about six employees leave in a matter of 1 year, because of bad management. We were belittled and forced to do twice the amount of work we should have been, without getting a raise, a title change, or any sort of appreciation for hard work.