Give an example of a Time You Provided Great Customer Service? [With 10 Sample Interview Answers]

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Customers are the key to any business, say it the businesses of the marketing industry, retail industry, healthcare industry, manufacturing industry, or the finance industry. The product you develop, the clothes you design, the appliances you manufacture, the new technology you invent, the medicines you sell, each one of these has one factor in common and that is to keep your customer in mind when developing merchandise and strategies to sell it. Regardless of the field, you belong to, the customers are the soul of your business.

Customers are the individuals who are responsible for driving revenues, making a business successful, and even for bringing a business down. The sole purpose of any running business is to build a huge network of potential customers who can make the business reach its new heights. Hence, in reality, the customers are the boss.

All these points bring us to the importance of customer service. The happier the customers are, the more flourished your business is. And what customers think of your business is what really defines the service you are providing to the world. As Tony Hsieh said,

“Customer service shouldn’t just be a department, it should be the entire company.”

Give an example of a Time You Provided Great Customer Service

Why Do the Employers Ask this Question?

  1. The hiring managers look for the candidate who know their customers and what satisfies them.
  2. They are aware of the importance of customer service in making a business grow.
  3. They want to check your experience and get an idea of how you deal with your customers.
  4. They want to evaluate what customer service means to you.
  5. They want to see how to talk about a situation when you provided excellent customer service that made your customer happy.

How to Answer This Question?

Show enthusiasm in your answer

When you give an example of a situation when you provided a customer with great service, you should sound excited about the fact that you made a customer happy in some or another way, this will show the employer what customer service means to you. You should not sound like you did it just because it was your job, but it should look like you were really feeling good when you helped a customer out or solved this problem. This is the attitude the hiring managers look for in a potential candidate. Remember, great Customer Service is a mixture of a great attitude, awareness about the product, work efficiency, and your ability to solve problems.

Give relevant examples of such times

For example, share a story with the employer describing how you helped a customer in detail and share the customer’s feedback or you can even share an example of a time where you went above and beyond for a customer. Make sure that you don’t include unnecessary details but also don’t give a general answer, you should be successful in making the employer visualize the whole situation.

This a behavioral based question, so preparing for answering such questions could help as well.

Sample Interview Answers

Sample Interview Answer 1

“Great customer service, according to me means addressing the customers’ needs and providing the after-sales services. Being the supervisor of the production department in my previous job, I used to spend an hour each month looking at my employees’ performance and how they addressed the customers’ needs. I used to make sure the quality for the products and the benefits and its features that could make the customers satisfied.”

Sample Interview Answer 2

“A few months back, there was a festive season sale going on at the retail store I worked in, I was the floor manager, and the store was really crowded. A man was looking for some specific item, and he was unable to find it himself in the store. There were a lot of customers in line, so the staff was unable to deal with all of them, so I went to him and asked him what he needed and bought those items for him by myself, he was extremely happy.”

Sample Interview Answer 3

“Back in my last job, a customer had a complaint regarding the quality of the product, but after my research, I found out there was a quality issue at the manufacturer’s end, so I immediately called him for product exchange and exchanged the product within a day. The customer seemed to be satisfied with the exchanged product.”

Sample Interview Answer 4

“I used to work at an electronics store. Once I was demonstrating different refrigerators to one customer. I saw him a variety of them, and his wife liked was off the man’s budget. I could see the frown on their face. So, I recommended them to place an order of the machine with same features and specifications, by a different company which was a start-up with the exact same look by which they can save half of the cost. They agreed upon the same, and we’re extremely happy and satisfied with the product delivery.”

Sample Interview Answer 5

“I was Customer Service In-charge in my last position. I use to deal with challenging customers every single day, and I dealt with them by being extremely patient, I addressed every problem and I have provided so many customers with a great service.”

Sample Interview Answer 6

“A customer faced a delivery issue and it came to my notice that their package has been shipped to a wrong location which was unable to be tracked and it was a prepaid shipment, so I asked them for their address again and had the delivery of the exact same order free of cost as the problem was at our end.”

Sample Interview Answer 7

“I ensured excellent customer service to all the customers in my last position as grievances handler, I used to have a regular conversation with my customers on the account of what product they needed, the quality of the product they wanted to get designed and what problems are they facing with the current products. My goal is to exceed the need of every customer so that they can be satisfied with the service that we provide them. A one-on-one conversation with different customers every day helps me know my customer better.”

Sample Interview Answer 8

“My job responsibilities revolved around handling online orders and tracking shipments of the customers who placed the order online. Once it was hard to ensure the shipment of the orders as different regions had different guidelines for the courier procedure. Some orders were experiencing significant delays due to the same and customers were contacting us to report a problem that their package has not been delivered yet. Due to the strict policies, I could not make the delivery of the products on time, but I called each and every customer who faced the delay in shipment and guaranteed them that their package will be delivered as soon as the relaxation is provided by the government. They all were really supportive and understanding.”

Sample Interview Answer 9

“A good customer service in my opinion is to exceed their expectations and develop opportunities to give each and every consumer a better experience than what they expect, and that is what makes a customer loyal towards one’s company. Being an event manager, I constantly ensure that I provide the customers with what they need. In our academy, we were taught to worship our customers as they are the reason why a hotel runs. I make sure all the rooms are clean and all the essentials are in their place before a customer checks in.”

Sample Interview Answer 10

“In my previous job as a restaurant manager, a customer came to our place and placed an order. I took his order and went inside. The dish was supposed to take 20 mins to cook, and so I informed the customer in advance. After few minutes he started yelling, saying that ‘what kind of customer service is this? I will get you fired from this job’. I knew he must be facing some of his own troubles and was taking it out on me, I politely replied, I am sorry for the inconvenience sir, but I did mention it to you before. After 10 minutes, I served him the dish and he apologized to me for his behavior right after.”

Conclusion

All the above answers displayed how a customer should be treated and how important it is for a business to keep a note of what the customer desires and what issues is he facing with whatever you have to offer to him. The hiring managers know the importance of this very well and hence they look for a candidate who knows how to handle the customer. Remember, that the customer’s perception means a lot, and so while giving the answer to this question keep all the things discussed in this article in your mind. I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Comment below what you like the most about our articles and don’t forget to share it with your friends and your family.

Thank you for reading!

References

  1. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1993-07580-001
  2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1995.tb01758.x
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