Meet the Team Spotlight: Thomas Odenbaugh
Thomas Odenbaugh had a severe distaste for waiting tables at a local Sizzler during his college days, but oddly enough, it helped set him on his future career path.
“I was talking to a co-worker about how much I hated working there and she told me that I should check out a Komatsu tractor place that her boyfriend worked at,” shared Thomas. “That’s what I wound up doing, and it’s kind of funny how things worked out.”
Thomas also had a longtime friend at Cutting Edge Supply, who upon planning his own retirement from the company, helped recruit the So-Cal native. Thomas now has over 17 years as an Outside Sales Rep under his belt with Cutting Edge Supply.
“I really enjoy my job,” said Thomas. “It’s less of a sales position and more of a consulting role in my mind. I feel it’s my job to be an asset in terms of helping people to accomplish what they need and to make their job easier. Generally, I think our customers look at us as partners and resources, versus hard-sellers like used car salesmen. When I pull up at a site, I feel like customers are genuinely happy to see us and I really appreciate that part of it.”
He also has a true appreciation for the magnitude of his customers’ job sites.
“Especially when I first started, the scale of the projects and equipment was particularly cool,” said Thomas. “When you park in front of a machine and even its attachment is considerably larger than your truck, I think the little boy in me that liked to play with Tonka trucks comes out. It’s a fun job.”
In covering southern San Bernardino and Riverside County, Thomas aims to anticipate his customers varied needs and ultimately provide peace of mind.
“We are constantly out in the field getting to know our customers — sometimes we know their fleets better than they do, and it’s on us to make their jobs easier,” said Thomas. “For some of our customers, I’ll go do an annual inspection on all buckets — give them skin thicknesses and budget planning for maintenance. Most of our competitors don’t do that. At Cutting Edge, we have parts to fit just about every make and model out there and what we don’t have, we can make or get. When I end a visit, I want my customers to know that they don’t have to think about it again. Whatever they throw at me, it will be handled so that they can move on to their next task.”
Outside of the office, his badge of honor is being a dad and husband.
“We like to go to Havasu and go boating and wakeboarding,” he shared. “We snow ski in the winter, and there’s always lots of shuttling and watching the kids at sports or band performances. I just enjoy spending most of my free time with my family.”