Meet Scott J. Butler, Retail Operations Manager
A man of many skills, Scott is a singer-songwriter, musician, coder, and manager, with 8 years of service at CarbonBetter.
Meet Scott, CarbonBetter’s Retail Operations Manager. Scott started with the company in 2014 as a customer care representative, then moved to a technical coordinator position, before he was promoted to his current role. Scott continues to learn new skills everyday and is always looking for ways to contribute to the team. Outside of work, Scott is an award-winning singer-songwriter and musician, which is something most people don’t know. Let’s get to know Scott!
Scott, what do you love about working at CarbonBetter?
I’ve worked here for nearly 8 years now, and I’ve been given so many great opportunities. I started in a customer care role, then moved to a more technical coordinator position, and now I’m the Retail Operations Manager, which is a sort of combination of all of the things I’ve learned over the years. Last year, my supervisor offhandedly suggested I should learn to do some coding and help make our internal tools more appealing, given my art background and tendency toward strong opinions. I took him up on that challenge and have been training as a dev for the last year, in addition to my day-to-day role. What I love about the company is that we are given this sort of freedom to learn new skills and to develop our own version of success. In all these years, I’ve never been bored. There is always something new to learn, a system to improve, a process to document, a challenge to take on.
What does your day-to-day look like at CarbonBetter?
My day is spent doing technical tasks related to customer accounts, working on dev projects, communicating with the Customer Care and dev teams, answering chats and emails, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is actually four pieces of advice, which changed my life overnight. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz:
1) Be impeccable with your word
2) Don’t take anything personally
3) Don’t make assumptions
4) Always do your best
Though I’m not always able to live by these four agreements, I always do my best 🙂
“I’ve worked here for nearly 8 years now, and I’ve been given so many great opportunities. I started in a Customer Care role, then moved to a more technical coordinator position, and now I’m the Retail Operations Manager, which is a sort of combination of all of the things I’ve learned over the years.”
SCOTT ON WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT CARBONBETTER
Do you have any personal sustainability habits that are important to you?
Growing up in Texas on a steady diet of BBQ and burgers, I never would have thought I'd be capable of this, but I've stopped eating red meat. So much of climate change is outside of our individual control, and I know that recycling soda cans and setting my AC to 78 can only do so much. I'm not in a position to convert my house to solar or to replace my vehicle with an electric version, but I can choose to eat more sustainably.
Where did you grow up? What's something interesting about your hometown?
I grew up in Longview, Texas. My hometown was featured in the cult mid-90s documentary Hands On a Hardbody. In it, a group of people stand with their hand on a truck for as long as they are physically able to, and whoever lasts longest wins the truck. These people essentially lose their minds as the contest carries on into the second and third days without sleep. It's a fantastic doc—and very funny. It doesn't make Longview look very good, but I don't think it's an inaccurate portrayal, lol. Someone even adapted Hands On a Hardbody into a musical!
Tell us about your family:
I have a pretty big family: three older brothers and a younger sister. My wife and I have been together since high school. We started dating in February 2000, and we still make each other laugh every day.
Do you have any pets? Tell us about them!
I have a dog named Michigan (we call her Michi.) She is half basset hound and half black lab—a bassadore. She is easily the best dog I've ever had. She is an elderly lady and a bully on the leash, so instead of walks she gets daily rides in the car. She enjoys sticking her head out the window and letting her long basset ears flap in the wind. She is 15 years young now, and we are grateful for every day we have with her.
What is something that people are usually surprised to learn about you?
I'm an award-winning singer-songwriter and musician, a published illustrator, and animator…and I'm also very humble haha.
What are some of your hobbies?
I write and record music (released under the moniker The Black and White Years,) I'm a digital illustrator, I'm an avid gamer since 1987, a Stephen King super fan, and I've been an unrepentant audiobook addict since 2007.
What's something you've learned recently, or something you want to learn?
I've been learning to code since August 2021. Since it's still all pretty new to me, I literally learn something new every day. I've been given plenty of opportunities here at CarbonBetter to apply these new skills in a real-world capacity, which is a great way to learn. I'm proud to say that two of the applications I've written are in production, and are frequently used.
Thanks for sharing, Scott! We are so lucky to work alongside you every day. Stay tuned for the next team feature in our Life @ CarbonBetter series.