You can’t expect to have great customer service if you don’t have the right people for that
job. Your company can have the best tools, data and everything else, but human factor still
plays a major role when talking about success in customer service. Unfortunately, having
even just one wrong team member can have a negative impact on your results. That’s why
you should pay attention when doing a customer service interview. To ensure you find the
best person for your company, we bring you top 10 customer service interview questions.
1. How would you describe customer service?
This question might seem basic to you at first but hearing how a candidate describes
customer service will give you a pretty good insight on how this person will perform. Also,
asking them to describe it in their own words will demonstrate their communication skills. It
can determine in which direction should this customer service interview go.
Answer: The focus should be on the importance of customers and how crucial they are for
company growth. Also, doing the best to ensure customer satisfaction will establish
long-term customer relationship and help them make the most out of the product. Constant
improvement and a desire to learn should also be mentioned as one of the key points.
2. Can you tell us more about success at your previous job?
It actually doesn’t matter if they worked previously in customer service but it’s vital for you to
hear how they see success and how that made an impact on them. Their view on success
will show you if they are more of an individual or team player and what are the goals they
want to achieve.
Answer: Look for clear and focused answers with specific numbers and information. Also,
mentioning only individual success is not good for customer service, so you should look
more for candidates who emphasize team goals.
3. What would be a success for you if you worked in our company?
The answer to this question will also show you if this person is an individual or team player.
Moreover, you will see how well they understand your business and its potential role in this
company.
Answer: Candidates should give a well-reasoned answer to this question. It should show
their sense of company values and where do they see themselves in this company.
4. What failure do you remember from your previous job and why?
Everyone has failures but the way we talk about them is what is important. You will see why
they think they have failed and what should be done differently. This question will show you
how much is a person opened to suggestions and improvement.
Answer: The right answer should reveal a candidate’s sense of personal responsibility and
ability to learn and improve their skills all the time, no matter if they failed or succeeded.
5. What are the things that annoy in the workplace?
This question helps you see how honest the candidate is. By naming things that annoy them,
you will see what they don’t like and see if they fit the bigger picture.
Answer: Look for honesty in the candidate’s answer. Those who are focusing on negativity
instead of positivity might not be the right people for this job. Look for those answers which
reveal proactivity in avoiding any possible problems.
6. How do you deal with angry customers?
Angry customers happen in every company. The right customer service team will know how
to deal with it and solve their problems. This starts by empathy, understanding and, of
course, knowledge. It’s important to have a person who knows how to turn an angry
customer into a satisfied one.
Answer: The best answer would include a personal example of how a candidate
successfully solved a conflict. Candidates should highlight respect they have for angry
customers, understanding of their situation and motivation to help them.
7. What are your personal career goals?
This will show you how much is the candidate driven. Those who have personal goals will be
more motivated and productive in the workplace as they want to achieve their own goals as
well.
Answer: The right candidates should have a vision of themselves. This might not happen
the way they imagined but having a goal is what will show you where they see themselves in
a few years from now.
8. Do you remember any particular customer service case that was difficult to handle?
This is one of the questions that is looking for candidates to be honest. Describing difficult
cases will show how this person handles them and what approach they use when
communicating with customers. Also, empathy and positivity are the two factors you should
be looking for in their answers.
Answer: The right candidates will focus more on how they handled the problem instead of
what the problem actually was. They should show how they empathized with their customers
at that time and found an adequate solution.
9. How do you think this canned response should be rewritten?
Give your candidates an example of a badly written canned response and give them a few
minutes to think of a better way to say it. They can either write their answer down or explain
it to you.
Answer: It’s vital that candidates are focused on suggestions for improvement instead of just
naming weak points of the response. Everything they name as a weak point should be
followed with an idea on how to make it better.
10. Can you give us an example when empathy helped you in your previous roles?
Empathy is key in the customer service world. Knowing that your future customer service
team member understands empathy and knows how to make the most of it will confirm that
you are talking to the right candidate.
Answer: A good answer to this question will be easy to think of and even easier to describe.
In customer service, empathy is something that is being used every day. Pay closer attention
to how your candidate explain how empathy helped them as it will show you their real
understanding of it.