One common goal of every business is to make their customers happy by providing them with the best customer service. Customer Service is the assistance and support you offer to your customer before purchasing something from you and after you sell them your product or services. It could be anything from addressing their problems, to providing them after-sales service. It is not something that you have to provide to your customers but it is something that you should provide them as they are a crucial part of your brand. Your customers are the only reason your business keeps running, so it is important to build a good relationship with them by providing them good customer service.
“Excellent customer service is the number one job in any company! It is the personality of the company and the reason customers come back. Without customers, there is no company!” – Connie Edler
If you want to be a part of the Customer Service Department, you will be having a huge responsibility on your back. The interview can be challenging as employers look for candidates who know their customers well.
21 Best Customer Service Interview Questions
Question 1. What do you understand by good customer service?
Answer: “Good customer service means building a long-lasting relationship with customers so that they can trust your brand and be loyal when it comes to purchasing a product or hiring a service. When we give our 100% to the customer, they are more likely to spend their money on our brand, a good customer service means a satisfied customer who will return to our brand.”
Question 2. List 5 qualities that you think we look for in a customer service representative.
Answer: “5 qualities that every customer service representative should have are
- Ability to address and solve a problem reported by a customer.
- Be friendly to a customer while maintaining professionalism.
- Excellent communication skills- telephonic, interpersonal, in person, or online.
- Ability to understand and interpret what a customer has to say and be patient enough to listen to the problem.
- Ability to deal with different kinds of customers.”
Question 3. How would you deal with a difficult and angry customer?
Answer: “There is only one way to handle difficult customers, and that is by remaining calm and patient and listen thoroughly to whatever they have to say. Understand the issue and assure them to solve the problem that they facing by explaining to them what steps you will take to address their problem. I would also thank them to bring the issue to our notice.”
Question 4. What do you mean by exceptional customer service?
Answer: “Providing exceptional customer service means making it easy for them by solving their problems, by assisting and providing support to them whenever it is possible, and by being consistent in it. A customer should always leave your store by being happy and satisfied.”
Question 5. Name the six elements of customer service.
Answer: “The six elements of customer service are
- Accountability
- Adaptation
- Availability
- Anticipation
- Simplicity
- Reliability”
Question 6. How would you retain a customer?
Answer: “With the increasing competition in brands, retaining a customer can be really challenging. To retain a customer, I would build my skills to be able to build a rapport in front of my customer, then I will develop the customer’s focus towards the products and the services that I have to provide them with. Developing strategies and taking actions is the only key to gain customer’s loyalty towards our brand.”
Question 7. How do impulse customers differ from loyal ones?
Answer: “Loyal customers keep returning to our brand and generate a large portion of our sales figure, on the other hand, the impulse customers purchase any good at any time looking at what seems best at that point of time as they do not have any specific product to purchase in their mind. Both of these customers can help us generate a good sales revenue.”
Question 8. A customer has entered your store, how would you provide them a good customer service?
Answer: “I would ask them if they need assistance as whatever it is convenient to them, if yes I would ask them whatever products they need and give them a speedy customer service, if no then I would ask them to call me for assistance if they are unable to locate a product.”
Question 9. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for a customer.
Answer: “When I used to work as a floor in charge in my previous job, there was this customer, he was elderly and purchase a lot of products that his cart was overloading. Being a floor manager, this was beyond the scope of my responsibilities, but I saw him struggling with carrying the cart through the window and ran to him and asked him to let me assist him to this car. I transferred all the products from the cart to the car and the old man thanked me for whatever I did. That was a time when I went above and beyond for my customer.”
Question 10. Do you have any previous experience in working as a CSR [Customer Service Rep]?
Answer: “Yes, I have one year of experience in working in this field.”
Question 11. Tell us what do you think about a typical day in a CSR’s life?
Answer: “As per my experience, a typical day in a customer service representative’s life look like
- Assisting Customers
- Answering Online Queries
- Attending Customer Calls
- Providing Customers with Relevant Information About the Product and the Services
- Solving Product and Service-Related Issues”
Question 12. Tell us about a time where you solved a specific customer issue.
Answer: “A customer was facing delay in delivery and we dispatched the products on time but the delivery agent misplaced the package and we were trying to reach out to them regarding this order. I convey this issue to the manager to take his permission for creating another package to be delivered to this customer for the same order to resolve this issue.”
Question 13. Why do you want to work in customer service?
Answer: “I feel that this field is made for me. I like taking responsibility and find enjoyment in solving problems. That is why I have applied for this role at your company. I am really passionate about working as a customer service representative and I know that my skills and experience from my previous job will transfer to this job as well.”
Question 14. What role does empathy play in this field?
Answer: “Empathy is a crucial part of this field, it helps us understand our customer’s needs and problems. It helps us relate to them and provides them with better assistance. It lets us understand why our customers are upset or angry about a certain situation. That it is essential for Customer Service Representative to have Empathy and compassion towards the customers.
Question 15. Do you work better individually or as a team?
Answer: “I think I work better as an individual as being in this field for more than 3 years, I am more than comfortable in working alone. I am more of a self-reliant person but I know when it will come to work as a team I won’t back off and give my best.”
Question 16. Tell me about a time when you couldn’t address a customer’s issue.
Answer: “There was a really complicated problem that was beyond my scope of duties and I was unable to provide assistance to the customer even after trying my best. I was working at a retail store and there was a product that was the limited deal and was booked by another customer. The floor in charge accidentally misplaced the product in the sale section and it was purchased by another customer on the spot. As the product was limitedly manufactured I was unable to order another one of the same kind to the customer. Though I sent them the refund and an e-mail apologizing for the service.”
Question 17. What metrics do you track on regular basis?
Answer: “I measure the metrics in 3 ways:
- One, the number of calls received during the day.
- Second, the number of problems resolved.
- Third, the number of pending issues that are yet to be solved.”
Question 18. Are you well-versed with the software designed to maintain the customer record?
Answer: “Yes, I come from a computer background from my high school and I easily adapt to technology, so I am aware of how to use this kind of software.”
Question 19. You worked with the marketing department in your previous job, why do you want to transition to this role?
Answer: “I realized I was more meant for working as a customer service representative as I always used to look from a customer point of view about everything and I think I understand them well enough to solve their problems.”
Question 20. What is your preferred mode of communication?
Answer: “I prefer communicating in person to have a better understanding of the customer’s need. Text-based mode act as a hindrance to understanding the tone of the customer and the tone we respond with.”
Question 21. What do you know about our company’s merchandise?
Answer: “I have been wearing this brand for a long time now. I am aware of its quality and how it differs from that of your competitors. I have been one of your loyal customers and love how you keep up with the trends and the needs of your customers.”
While we cannot really ensure you that these will be the exact same questions that can be asked in an interview, but we are sure that this will give you an insight on how to answer such interview questions. Just know why you want this job and what makes you a perfect fit for this position and prepare for it.
Download the list of questions in .PDF format, to practice with them later, or to use them on your interview template (for Customer Service interviews):
References
https://www.icommercecentral.com/peer-reviewed/good-customer-service-makes-the-difference-37997.html
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