Con - they are lovely stories. And they also point out one of the most unfair things in life, it's not what you know, it's who you know. This results, especially in some if the smaller operations, in some of our world's most inept pilots being employed. However, these people can also find themselves in larger operations as well. Their personnel files are fatter than average Their peers like their presence if for no other reason than it focuses management's attention on the hapless idiot rather than them.
But we should also make the distinction between flying and operating. The Biffs of the world might be able to pull the knobs and buttons, but they do so at the wrong time in the wrong big of sky. They are totally oblivious of where they are and where they will be in the next five minutes or five hours. They learn little snippets of information, but don't listen to the application. They have no idea when the rule book applies and the special situations when it doesn't.
We have two very below average guys working for us. Neither will ever be able to get a command - they scare enough people on a frequent enough basis to make sure that they remain in their seats. How do they keep their jobs? Simple really, their tests are very objective, as they should be. So as long as they pass, they will keep their jobs. But should they wish to upgrade, subjective assessments will and must be performed and that is where they will find a limit to their progress.