I was one of those ordinary people who only had the vaguest ideas about JWs. I thought they were kind of odd, very strict, refused blood and wouldn't stand for the anthem, but thought they were basically very "Christian" and good people.
When my teenage daughter got involved with a JW boy, I got on the internet and started looking. I was looking initially for neutral sites, but those didn't explain his culture, and I couldn't really make sense of this boy's sometimes inexplicable behavior. This forum helped me learn more about his rules and the double life those JW kids lead. It all started to make sense.
I still think most JWs are basically nice people, who are willing to do some really horrible things because some old men in New York tell them to. They close their eyes and don't think critically. Most other people who I know, who have been otherwise neutral about JWs, tend to develop an overwhelmingly negative impression of the JW religion, the more JWs touch their lives in any personal way.
We have one JW employee now, and she seems to be a good worker, and so far, is not any problem at all, other than she doesn't socialize much with the other staff. That's OK as long as she gets along, and does her work.