Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company, PassMyInterview.com.
And in this tutorial, I promise to help you pass a customer service interview. So, if
you have any customer service interview coming up whatsoever for any role or any company,
make sure you stay tuned, watch the presentation from start to finish, because I'm going to
give you 21 Customer Service Interview Questions, Tips and Answers to help you prepare. So,
to help you be the standout candidate at your customer service interview, this is what we're
going to cover together. As I say, I will give you a list of 21 customer service interview
questions, the ones I strongly advise you prepare for. I'm going to give you brilliant,
unique answers to tough customer service interview questions, and you can't find those answers
anywhere else. I will give you tips on HOW TO STAND OUT during your interview. And I
will also tell you about FURTHER RESOURCES you can get access to, including these slides
and all of the answers to help you succeed. So, there’s four reasons why you should
stay tuned. Don't forget to HIT THAT LIKE BUTTON - that motivates me to create more
content for you. Do make sure you SUBSCRIBE. I am uploading videos, insider job interview
videos, literally every day, and I Don't Want You to Miss Out! So, the first question I
want you to prepare for is: Why do you want to work in customer service? Now, this is
a common interview question that is assessing whether you genuinely want to work in customer
service. Working in customer service requires patience, resilience, a positive attitude
and lots of energy. Here's my suggested answer to this first customer service interview question
to help you succeed. Why do you want to work in customer service? “I want to work in
customer service because I enjoy meeting new people, I enjoy making a positive difference
to their day and I particularly find it rewarding when I have to respond to difficult customer
service problems or complaints. I am a sociable, people-centric team worker who has built up
lots of transferrable skills that are a perfect match for this customer service role. I understand
that, for your business to be successful, I need to provide outstanding customer service
that encourages customers to return to the business time and time again. I love working
in customer service and the job satisfaction levels I receive from doing so make me genuinely
want to come to work each day and make a positive difference in my role.” That is a brilliant
answer! It is energetic. It is positive. And most importantly, you are saying that you
understand you have to do your job properly in order for their business to succeed. Now
you can either pause the video if you want to and take note of the questions and answers
as we work through them together, or if you want to wait, I will tell you at some stage
where you can download my full set of 21 Brilliant Answers to Tough Customer Service Interview
Questions, including all the ones we are working through together today. Here's a next question.
How would you define good customer service? Now, not many people can accurately define
what good customer service is, but if you can define what it is, you are far more likely
to be able to meet the demands of the role. And here's the perfect definition to help
you. How would you define good customer service? “I define customer service as providing
positive, timely and attentive service to all customers on a consistent basis whilst
making sure their experience instore or online is a positive one that is in line with the
company’s customer service policies and procedures. The aim of good customer service
is to encourage customers to not only return to the business again in the future, but to
encourage new business through recommendations and positive online reviews.” That shows
you fully understand what good customer service is, and if you can define it accurately, you
are far more likely to be able to meet the demands of the role. Here's the next question.
What are the most important skills needed to work in customer service? Now, the only
way you can accurately answer this common Customer Service job interview question is
if you have read the job advert and the job description. I've done the work for you, and
here's a great answer to assist you in your preparation. What are the most important skills
needed to work in customer service? “There are nine vital skills needed to work in customer
service. These are, excellent COMMUNICATION SKILLS. You need to be a GOOD LISTENER and
be ATTENTIVE whilst dealing with customers. You must WORK AT PACE and RESPOND TO CUSTOMER
QUERIES AND PROBLEMS IN A TIMELY MANNER. A customer should never be left waiting unnecessarily.
You have to be able to DEAL WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS in line with company policy, and
you need to have a THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES so you can answer customer questions
quickly. You need to be FLEXIBLE & ADAPTBALE to help out and cover shifts when required
and you have to CONTINUALLY IMPROVE AND DEVELOP in the role.” Those nine skills are really
important in any customer service role. Make sure you learn them and then you can give
them as the answer to that common question, what are the most important skills needed
to work in customer service? Now, don't go anywhere because I still have many more questions
and answers to work through with you. In fact, we've got 18 to get through! And I am going
to make a huge difference to your performance at the interview. But when you're ready, if
you want to CLICK THAT LINK in the top right-hand corner of the video, it takes you through
to my website PassMyInterview.com, where you can download my full set of 21 Brilliant Answers
to Tough Customer Service Interview Questions, including all the ones we are covering today
during this video. Here's the next one. How would you deal with a customer complaint?
Now, if you have a customer service interview coming up, this question is GUARANTEED to
feature at some stage, but it is not an easy one to answer correctly. Here's the best way
to answer it. How would you deal with a customer complaint? “When dealing with any customer
complaint I would follow five steps. Step one, I would LISTEN TO THE CUSTOMER and ASK
THEM QUESTIONS to clarify the exact cause of the problem. Listening serves two purposes
– the customer gets to talk about how they feel, and you gain important information that
enables you to resolve it quickly. Step two, I would APOLOGIZE for the issue and show empathy
for their situation. If you are genuinely apologetic this can help defuse the situation
and prevent it from deteriorating. Step three, I would suggest a RESOLUTION TO THE COMPLAINT,
and where possible, offer more than one solution. Again, this empowers the customer and it can
help make them feel valued. Step four, I would RESOLVE THE PROBLEM QUICKLY based on the agreed
resolution. Finally, step five, I would APOLOGIZE once more and the look at WHAT STEPS COULD
BE TAKEN TO PREVENT THE SAME SITUATION FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. To provide excellent customer
service a company should always look to learn and improve.” Make sure you learn those
five important steps! They are perfect for answering that customer complaint interview
question. Here's the next one. Why is good customer service so important? This is a clever
customer service interview question because it is assessing your understanding of how
great customer service has an impact on the success of a business. Here's my suggested
answer. Why is good customer service so important? “Good customer service is important because
without it, a business cannot survive or reach its full potential. It is important because
customers have so much choice and they have the right to take their business where they
feel they will get the best service. That is why, whilst working in this customer service
role, I will have the responsibility of looking after your customers, responding quickly to
their questions or queries and making sure they feel valued and appreciated so they want
to come back to the business time and time again in the future. Finally, good customer
service is important because if a customer receives poor service, they will tell many
people about their experience, which can be detrimental to the business’s reputation.”
That shows that you are aware of why good customer service is so important. The next
question: What's the best customer service you've ever received? What made it different?
This question is assessing your observational skills and whether you understand the difference
between great customer service and poor customer service. Here's my suggested answer. “A
few months ago, I visited a restaurant with my partner after making a table reservation
online. As soon as I made the reservation, I received an email confirmation which detailed
the time, the location and also parking facilities at the restaurant. When we arrived, we were
greeted with a smile, a warm welcome and we were immediately taken to our table. Throughout
the meal, the waiter served us in a timely manner, he was attentive, he checked that
we were happy with our food and he made pleasant conversation without being intrusive. When
we finished the meal, he brought over complimentary drinks with the bill. Overall, we experienced
excellent food, excellent service and we have since been back to the restaurant on two further
occasions.” That is a brilliant answer! It shows that you fully understand what great
customer service is and you've experienced it. The next question. Tell me a time when
you provide a brilliant customer service? Now, again, if you have a customer service
interview coming up, this question is guaranteed to appear. Make sure you give a specific situation
you've been in. Tell me a time when you provided brilliant customer service. Here's a great
example. “In a previous role, I was dealing with a customer on the telephone. They were
unhappy that a colleague of mine had not got back to them about their query despite promising
he would do. I apologized, asked them to explain the issue and I promised to resolve it there
and then for them. After they had explained the issue, and I had asked numerous probing
questions to clarify the exact issue, I put them on hold whilst I spoke to the relevant
department to sort out their problem. Although I wouldn’t normally put a customer on hold
for such a lengthy period of time, I was aware they had been let down by my colleague and
I wanted to put things right. Once I had resolved the issue for them, I informed them of everything
I had done, I apologized once more and thanked them for their patience. The following day,
I gave them a quick call just to check everything was still to their satisfaction, which it
was. Finally, I spoke to my work colleague to explain to him the importance of following
up on customer calls when he promises to do so.” That shows you fully understand the
importance of great customer service. You deliver it, and I like that because you call
them back the next day to check everything is OK, and then you go out of your way to
talk to your colleague to tell him where he has gone wrong! The next question. Tell me
a time when you received poor customer service? Now, if a business provides poor customer
service, the consequences, as you know, can be far reaching. A disgruntled customer will
often leave a negative review and even worse, they will tell their friends and relatives
about their bad experience. Here is my suggested answer. Tell me a time when you received poor
customer service? “I recently received poor customer service after purchasing a product
online from a company. I contacted them after I received the goods to ask a question about
a problem I had with the product. Unfortunately, they took four days to respond to my query,
by which time I had decided to return the product for a refund. I then went online to
leave a review based on my experience with the company due to the fact they took so long
to respond. It’s really important you respond to customer queries quickly whenever they
contact you and to wait four days for a response is not acceptable.” That shows you are aware
of what poor customer service is and you won't do it in your role. Give me some examples
of brilliant customer service? I love this customer service interview question because
it shows the hiring manager or the interviewer what you will do in the role to go above and
beyond for their customers. Here's my suggested answer. “Good examples of brilliant customer
service include responding quickly to emails, calls or questions; being pleasant and positive
in your style of communication, welcoming customers to the store or premise when they
arrive and responding personally to all emails. Other examples include going the extra mile
by offering customers discounts or incentives, helping good causes within the local community
and remembering repeat customers names to add that personal touch. In my opinion, those
businesses who go the extra mile are the ones who survive and who also don’t have to spend
additional money on advertising revenue because they achieve their financial goals through
repeat custom and recommendations.” You can see all of these answers are really
helping you to be the standout candidate! If you use all of these responses and you
genuinely believe in them, you will pass your interview. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE. I hope
you're loving these videos and make sure you HIT THE LIKE BUTTON! Thank you. The next question,
how would you deal with a rude or unreasonable customer? This is a difficult question. Now,
some people will say they won't accept any form of rudeness from the customer. However,
I would personally answer this question in the following manner. How would you deal with
a rude or unreasonable customer? “I would deal with them in exactly the same way I would
deal with all customers, by being polite, courteous, not taking anything they say personally,
listening to their problem or complaint and responding in a timely and positive manner.
When dealing with unreasonable or rude customers it is important to understand they might be
having a bad day, they may have received poor customer service elsewhere or they may genuinely
be unhappy with the service. I would see it as my job to communicate with confidence,
sort out any problems in a timely manner and turnaround their experience so it is a positive
one.” That’s another cracking answer! The next one. What's the difference between
customer service and customer support? Now, the majority of people cannot answer this
question, but here it is. “Customer support is providing assistance and support to your
customers by responding to questions, complaints or issues they may have pre and post-sale.
Customer service, on the other hand, is helping customers make the most from their purchase
by adding value to their purchase or their experience.” I have highlighted the important
words there based on the difference between customer support and customer service to help
you. The next question: Tell me a time when you bent the rules, helping a customer. What
happened and why did you bend the rules? This is a difficult question, but the majority
of interviewees will say they've never bent or broke the rules, or they wouldn't do it.
However, I don't believe that's the best way to answer this question. Sometimes, you have
to bend the rules to provide excellent customer service. And here's the perfect answer to
help you. Tell me a time when you bent the rules helping in a customer. What happened
and why did you bend them? “Whilst dealing with an elderly customer on the telephone,
I decided to spend more time helping them than I was permitted because they were struggling
to place an order on our website. They were anxious about the buying process, and I bent
the rules because it would have been unacceptable to cut them off mid call. I am required to
complete all calls within three minutes; however, on this occasion I believe it was the right
thing to do to bend the rules slightly to provide outstanding service. Although the
call took more than nine minutes to deal with in total, I had helped a customer overcome
their fear of online shopping and they have since bought more items from us via the website.”
I'm sure you'll agree that type of situation is perfect for bending the rules because you
are encouraging more custom, because you're helping the customer overcome their anxiety,
and they are then able to shop more with you. Whilst dealing with a customer issue, how
would you decide which information to include and which information to leave out? This is
a common question, believe it or not. “I would assess what I am required to include
from a legal and compliance point of view and what is relevant to their buying experience.
Anything that is irrelevant, unhelpful, confusing or that does not add value to the customer
service experience, I would leave out.” The next question, how do you see customer
service evolving in the future? Customer service is changing all the time. In the future, it
will be far more efficient, quicker and relevant to a customer's specific needs. Here's my
answer to this tough customer service interview question. How do you see customer service
evolving in the future? Here we go. “I see online customer service becoming more automated
and faster in the future. As time goes on, people will have less time available due to
their busy lives and online customer service will need to improve from a speed and relevance
perspective. In respect of offline businesses, shops and restaurants for example, customer
service will have to be outstanding, and those businesses that don’t improve, may not survive.
Customers’ expectations will increase, and they will also have more choice, too. Things
will become more competitive, so it will be important I always have a thorough knowledge
of your products and services and that I respond quickly, positively and appropriately.”
The next question, why should we hire you in this customer service position? I'll tell
you where you can get the answer to this in a second. Another question. What experience
do you have relevant to this customer service position? Describe a situation when you had
to be flexible at work? And you have to be flexible in all customer service roles! Tell
me a time when you went above and beyond for a customer? If someone within the customer
service team was not doing their job to the correct standard, what would you do about
it? What's the best way to build up positive relationships with customers? So, CLICK THAT
LINK in the right and top right-hand corner of the video. It takes you through to this
page here. You can download all of the answers to those questions and there’s 21, including
those last few I've just gone over. I will also tell you what questions you should ask
at the end of your customer service interview! Make sure you check out that page, download
the answers. It will make a HUGE DIFFERENCE to your preparation. You can use them within
your interview. I hope you've enjoyed that. Don't forget, SUBSCRIBE hit the LIKE BUTTON.
Thank you for watching and I really genuinely hope you pass your interview. Have a brilliant
day. Thanks for watching!