California Custom Carpets

Curt Glaze: A Perfect Fit

By James Florence, Diamond Certified Resource Reporter

DUBLIN — Between his professional and personal experience, Curt Glaze found a career in flooring sales to be a perfect fit. “Before getting into flooring, I worked as a program manager for Hewlett-Packard,” he recounts. “I’ve always liked working with people. Personally, I also did a lot of remodeling on my home and always enjoyed the design aspects of it. So, when I decided to switch careers, I found that flooring sales was a good fit. Over the years of working in the industry, I’ve encountered everything from small fixer-upper homes to big-budget luxury remodeling projects, so when someone walks into the store, I usually understand the kinds of challenges they’re facing.”

As showroom manager of California Custom Carpets, Curt says his favorite part of his job is the interpersonal aspect. “I enjoy meeting new people and helping them find solutions to their flooring needs. Often, customers come in and have no idea what they’re looking for, what’s available or what they can afford. With our help, by the time everything is said and done, they’re usually really happy with the end result.”

A resident of Livermore, Curt spends his time outside of work on a variety of pastimes. “I enjoy reading, going for drives and doing outdoor activities like hiking. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve slowed down a little bit, so it doesn’t take much to make me happy.” Curt also likes keeping in touch with his two grown daughters, one of whom lives in Arizona and one of whom is currently attending college.

In regard to a professional philosophy, Curt says it’s all about treating customers fairly. “We try to do right by our customers and, if possible, give them a little more than they’re expecting. When I’m pricing a job, I’m figuring out what makes sense for the company in terms of the profit we need to make, but I’m also thinking about what’s fair to the customer. And during the job, if I do X, Y, and Z and we end up needing W as well, I’ll usually include W at no added cost to the customer. We just try to do the right thing, give the customer a good value and make sure everyone comes out a winner.”

When asked the first thing he’d do if he were to retire tomorrow, Curt says he’d head back to the ranch. “I’d go to Arizona to spend some time with my daughter. She trains horses and that’s one of my passions as well—I actually grew up working on ranches. So, the plan when I retire is to go annoy her.”

Ask Me Anything!

Q: What was your first job?
A: Technically, the first time I got paid to work for somebody else, I was 10 years old, picking up trash at a drive-in theater for 50 cents an hour. But my first “real” job was working on ranches as part of the hay crew when I was 12 or 13.

Q: Are you an early bird or a night owl?
A: Both. I enjoy being up early in the morning, but I also like to stay up and read. Sometimes I get caught up in a book and go to sleep later than I’d planned to.

Q: What kind of books do you like to read?
A: I read a lot of historical fiction, as well as classic fiction and the occasional crime drama. I also enjoy poetry.

Q: What’s your favorite snack?
A: Snickerdoodles.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: Lately, I’ve been thinking that I haven’t seen much of Canada. I’d like to go to Calgary, Alberta for the Calgary Stampede, which has the world’s biggest rodeo.