Top 17 Customer Service Representative Interview Questions

Top 17 Customer Service Representative Interview Questions Top 17 Customer Service Interview Questions Interview Questions and Answers / https://www.edenscott.com/blog Interviewing for customer service jobs? Weve got you covered!Were going to look at 17 sample customer service representative interview questions, including the top behavioral customer service interview questions.These are the questions you can expect to hear in any customer service interview whether its a first phone interview or face-to-face interview.Make sure you can answer ALL 17 before going into your interview. Lets get startedSample Customer Service Representative Interview Questions1. Do you have any previous customer service experience?Not everyones great at dealing with customers, and employers want to make sure youll do a good job before they hire you.So theyre going to want to know if youve done similar work before.Theyll start by asking if you have any previous customer service experience, and if you do, then the hiring manager will ask a lot more about it.Theyre going to ask for details like:How you interacted with customers (phone, in-pe rson, etc.)How many customers you served per day/weekThe types of customers you served (retail customer service, business customers, etc.)So brush up on your past experience and review your own resume when preparing for your interviews.Be ready to go into detail about everything youve done in the past in the field of customer service.If you dont have any previous customer service experience, dont worry. They obviously liked SOMETHING on your resume or they wouldnt have invited you to interview.So you can be direct and say, no.Or if you have some other experience you think is relevant even if it wasnt exactly customer service, you can say, no but and then talk about what else youve done and why you feel itd help you succeed in this customer service job.2. What does good customer service mean to you?Next, the interviewer is going to want to see if you have a basic understanding of the purpose of customer service.This is a tough interview question because its so open-ended.Id recommend saying something like, To me, great customer service is going above and beyond what a customer expects to make sure they have an outstanding experience and want to tell friends about how positive their interaction with our company was.Its important to show that you know your job involves making sure customers are happy with the company, not just you as a person.Youll notice a lot of customer service surveys say, From 1-10, how likely are you to recommend the company to a friend?And thats how they evaluate their customer service representatives.Theyre not asking customers, Was Jake a nice guy when he helped you?Theyre asking whether youd recommend the company. So thats what your job really is as a customer service representative to help customers and give them a positive impression of the company overall.3. What motivates you in your career?Employers want to know what motivates you and keeps you going aside from money especially when you interview for a difficult/stressful job like customer service representative positions.These jobs are DEFINITELY stressful at times.So employers want to make sure theres something that will motivate you and keep you going when a day gets difficult.Dont say money when you answer this question.They want to know whats going to keep you motivated besides the paycheck.Thats what hiring managers are curious about this when they ask this question in a customer service representative interview.Heres some further reading on answering the what motivates you interview question.4. What are your career goals/Where do you see yourself in 2-5 years?Most people dont dream of being in customer service and dont want to stay there forever.So employers are probably going to ask about your long-term goals in a customer service representative interview.You dont need to lie and say this is your dream jobYou just want to show that this customer service representative position fits into your overall goals, even if its not where you want to be forever .For example, do you want to become a manager? Learning the ins and outs of customer service can boost your people skills and help you learn about a vital part of the organization.Want to work in sales eventually? You can say that you hope to build A+ interpersonal skills and communication skills, and you thought customer service was a great place to build that foundation.Thats the basic idea when answering this interview question.Further reading:Answers for what is your dream job?Answers for where do you see yourself in 2-5 years?Must-Know Behavioral Customer Service Interview QuestionsNext, youll want to prepare for behavioral questions. These are questions that start with phrases like, tell me about a time you had to ___.Behavioral questions are very common for customer service representative jobs.Employers want to make sure you can handle difficult situations with customers BEFORE they hire you.They also want to make sure you wont do anything to harm the companys reputation, lik e yelling at a customer, walking out, etc.Here are some sample behavioral interview questions to make sure youre ready to answer for any customer service job:5. Tell me about a difficult customer you had to deal with and how you handled it?For answering behavioral interview questions, I like the S.T.A.R. method.Situation. Task/Challenge. Action you took. Result.Thats a good way to organize your answer.So when youre in a customer service job interview and they ask about a difficult customer you encountered, you could say:It was Friday afternoon and we were about to close the store. (Situation)A customer came to me extremely unhappy because __ (Task/Challenge)So I quickly did ___ and decided to offer her ___ to rectify the situation (Action you took)She was very grateful and completely understood after I explained ___. And she was thrilled that I was able to give her ___ as compensation for her hassle. She said shed be back soon to shop again. (Result).Id recommend using this method t o break down your answer into smaller pieces and tell clearer and better stories.This is useful for any behavioral customer service interview question.6. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond what was expected to please a customer?Employers dont just want someone who does the bare minimum or sticks to their exact job description as a customer service representative.So they ask behavioral questions like this one to see if youre able to really please customers and go above and beyond the basics.If you have any previous customer service experience, be ready to go into detail about a time you got creative or put in the extra effort to please a customer.For example, if you worked in a grocery store, what was something you did that they really didnt expect, and made their day?Maybe you helped them find their lost child as the store was closing.Maybe you special-ordered a product that you dont normally carry.Think about those things that arent on the job description. Thats what to talk about when answering this interview question.If youve never worked in a customer service role before, they might ask a similar question like, tell me about a time you went above and beyond what was expected of you at work?So even if youve never worked in customer service, be ready to talk about a situation where you did more than what was expected in your job.7. Tell me about a difficult day you experienced at work. What happened and how did you handle it?Youre going to have difficult days as a customer service representative.So employers want to know that youre resilient and can handle it.They want to know that you wont freak out, throw your uniform and quit.So show them you know its not always easy being in customer service, but that youre able to stay professional and come back the next day no matter what happens.Use the S.T.A.R. method (mentioned earlier!) to tell a clear story about a day that really didnt go your way, and what you learned from it and how you turned it in to a positive experience.What were you able to improve from that experience?How did you make sure the customer was satisfied?How did that experience help you avoid problems/mistakes/difficult situations later in your career?Thats the general approach Id take when answering this type of question in your customer service interview.8. “Give me an example of a time when you had to explain something fairly complex to a frustrated client or coworker. How did you make sure they understood you?”Communicate skills are vital for any customer-facing job, so employers want to see how you explain yourself and communicate.Theyll judge this throughout the interview with EVERY answer you give them, too.So make sure all of your answers are clear, concise, and to-the-point.9.“Tell me about a time you thought you communicated clearly but were misunderstood. What happened and how did you handle the situation?”This is another customer service interview question designed to measure your communica tion skills and your ability to recover when things dont go exactly as planned.Theyre looking to hear a story showing your ability to solve a problem/issue after your first attempt to communicate didnt go so well.If you work in customer service long enough, youll be misunderstood once or twice. (No matter how great you are).So the hiring manager or interviewer wants to see you can keep your cool and recover even if a customer totally misunderstands you and gets upset.10. “Describe an instance when you had to improvise or think on your feet to solve a problem”Another part of being great at customer service is solving problems and improvising on the spot.Sometimes the unexpected happens.A power outage.An injury to a customer (if youre in retail, etc.)So try to use the S.T.A.R. method that we discussed earlier to tell a story of how you improvised in the past to find a solution to an unexpected problem.7 More Sample Behavioral Customer Service Interview QuestionsWeve looked at 10 o f the most common questions youll hear in a customer service interview now.There are 7 other behavioral interview questions that youre very likely to hear, too, though.So Im going to leave you with those as well.Answers to all of these are in our Complete Guide To Job Interview Answers.11. “Tell me about a time you were under a lot of stress at work and how you dealt with it”12. “Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work, what happened?”13. “When you’re working with a large number of customers, it’s tricky to deliver excellent service to all of them. How do you go about prioritizing your customers’ needs?”14. “Describe a time when you had to interact with a difficult client. What was the situation, and how did you handle it?”15. “Tell me about a time a customer was pleased with your service”16. “Give me an example where you did not meet a client’s expectations. What happened and how did you attempt to fix the situation?”17. “Describe a time wh en it was especially important to make a good impression on a client. How did you approach things?”Word-for-word answers and detailed explanations of EXACTLY what the hiring manager is looking for can be found in our Complete Guide To Job Interview Answers.If you follow the advice above and practice these common customer service job interview questions, youll be better prepared than most candidates, and youll give yourself a great shot at getting the job offer!If you want more help succeeding in your interviews, here are two additional free resources to check out:The top 14 must-know interview questions and answersHow to send thank you notes/emails after your interview