Customer Service Interview Questions & Answers

The staff were very helpful and relaxed, and the group sport in the morning put everyone at ease. The one-on-one interview was very much focused on you and your interests and sports experience, and experience in retail. There were no really tricky questions that you wouldn't get in any other interview.

How would you deal with a difficult customer if you already had a long line waiting at the till?

Wear sports clothes, and prepare for group tasks which test your team building skills. Read the job description carefully before you go so you know what they're looking for. Be energetic and friendly.

Decathlon

I was initially asked to fill in a series of tests online. I filled them in. They consisted of a basic input information, an aptitude test and a Microsoft competency test. I did all of them and secured a 90% average in all of them. Even with a time constraint, these weren't particularly difficult. Having passed the assessment, I was asked to attend an assessment centre.

Starting with the computer competency test, it was essentially asking basic questions such as where is the status bar on excel or questions in the line of "Is it correct to state that Excel is used only to make tables?"

The input information was a little challenging because you have to input numerous amount of details under a time pressures. Other questions include spot the mistakes in the already completed data form.

Finally, the aptitude test was rather fun. difficult questions included where do you use the word "whom and who" and calculate the following equations 1/2 times 1/6.

Do your homework and know the basics very well. When asked the fundamental questions such as "why do you want to work here", "why shall we hire you", "give an example of your communications skills in practice" and "how would you describe the company" make sure you have answers at the tip of your tongue.

Other than that dress smart, arrive early and be polite.

The assessment centre was held in a nice hotel. We were welcomed and offered tea and coffee. After a brief chat we were asked to conduct a phone interview after absorbing information from 3 documents. I did this rather well. Following this there was a break and shortly afterwards, we went through two further tests. The first one was picking out the mistakes out of a 2 sided A4 letter that was poorly drafted and second one was a bigger and more in depth Aptitude which contained similar questions as above. The document test and the aptitude test had the time restraint of 15 minutes each.

Stage 1)
Application process online: Asked some competency questions and had to attach CV.
Stage 2)
Telephone Interview: At this stage you are asked about your customer service background and sales background. Always good to prepare your answers here. You are asked about times when you gave excellent customer service and when you have had to manage a team. These do not necessarily have to be about your working background - if you have volunteered at all this can also be useful. I was told on the phone I had been successful and would go through to the next stage.
Stage 3)
Face to face interview: I went to one of the regional head offices for my face to face interview. As soon as I walked in everyone said hello, really friendly environment which put me at ease. The lady who interviewed me was lovely and she asked me the same sort of questions as my phone interview. She told me at the end of the interview I had been put through to the next stage.
Stage 4)
Branch Placement: This stage was a 3 hour placement at one of the enterprise branches. This was a really good opportunity to see how the branch is run and whether you'd like to work for the company. I really enjoyed my time at the branch, it seemed like a really great place to work and the staff were again really friendly and approachable. The day consisted of watching the staff and how they work. Some advice here is to talk to the graduate trainee who is at that branch and ask as much as possible about the role. At the end I had another interview with the branch manager - similar questions were asked again. The branch manager put me through to the final stage.
Stage 5)
Assessment day: Getting through to this stage is an achievement in itself! Only 10% of applicants get through to this stage and the offices generally get about 25 applications a day. Another positive thing to remember is that you are not competing for one job - the other candidates are NOT your competition. The candidates at my assessment day were all really nice and you could see why they had got through to the final stage. .

Tell me about a time you have had to change your priorities.
Tell me about a time you have had to meet a sales target.

Be yourself. If you have customer service experience let them know about it! I had no sales experience and I was honest about this.
Smile and be confident - I was extremely nervous.
I took the role without even doubting it. I knew I wanted to work for this company.

Firstly there was a presentation about the company and we met the regional managers. Then we had to do an 'icebreaker' by introducing someone else to the rest of the group. After this, we had to do a group exercise. We were each given different initiatives and a budget; the idea was to argue your initiative and get it chosen. The assessors are not looking for the 'winner' but how well you work in a team. The next part was a meeting where all sorts had gone wrong in the branch and you as the branch manager had to sort it out. Next was a customer service scenario (individual) where a customer was refusing to pay and you had to deal with it. Finally was a 30 minute interview with an area manager.

The interview involved three stages. I first applied around the end of January time. I applied online, which I found really easy, and the application really excited me and put me at ease. Note, do prepare your CV before hand if you haven't because you do need to submit this too. Approximately no longer than two weeks later, a talent acquisition coach contacted me via email asking me if I may partake in a telephone interview. He submitted via email a time, a date and contact information in case I had any problems which I found really helpful. My date came around and the interview involved a few competency style questions and an opportunity to ask any questions. I got through to the next round which involved a one on one with the talent coach I had spoken to on the telephone. It was a really great experience, and you find everybody is so lovely and helpful. Remember do prepare yourself some questions...they love to see that you have thought about your career with Enterprise and have a genuine interest in the company. The one to one, involved again competency style questions and again was an opportunity for you to get to know the company a better, and also it was great to ask the talent coach more questions too. From there, I was informed that I had got through to the next round, which involved a branch day visit. This was again fabulous for me because I got to actually see what a day would be like in the branch I would be working at, if I were successful. Again, everybody was fantastic and so keen to help you and show you the role. I think this is what I love about Enterprise the most, that everybody genuinely loves their job and they all work so hard! and if you show a desire to work hard and progress you really appeal to people. From this stage, I was then contacted and asked how my branch day went, by the talent acquisition coach who set up my recruitment process. He informed me I had made it to the final stage and would be going in for a group assessment, He emailed me all of the details of time, date, what I would need to bring with me. I had this a couple of weeks ago and again it was great. I arrived a little earlier and was greeted by a big smile from one of the HR assistants who showed me through to their staff canteen. The assessment day lasted 9-2 so at that time in the morning there were plenty of people in and out of the canteen making coffee and chatting to you, which really put me at ease. Even one of the assessors walked through and was chatting to me, while he was making his coffee. You will find this...everyone is just so friendly. As we all arrived, we were shown through to a conference style room. We were given a brief run down of the day, and met the other talent coach who was also involved in recruiting us. They gave us a brief overview of the organisation, what is expected, what they hope we will learn, why working for Enterprise is so great. Which I found great, because sometimes it's nice to have that 25 minutes to just compose yourself in such a nervous situation. After this, we did a short Q and A where we got to meet three regional managers. Again..ask questions! come prepared! After this, the day was split over four tasks. First was a grouped task, this lasted about an hour. Again we got to me more senior members of Enterprise and ask more questions. This part I found great, if you listen to a lot of their stories, they all started off in your shoes and they are perhaps the most understanding, engaging business people I have had the pleasure of meeting. From this, we were then taken back into the canteen, where we (the other candidates) were just chatting and interacting and waiting for the next stage. I found it great that they allowed this to happen, because if you get the role, you make meet these people again, so its great to form relationships at this stage. From this, we were each taken one by one and got to do a one on one meeting with the area manager. Again, let your skills shine and be yourself! it really helps. From this as we all finished up, it was dinner time. Again, use dinnertime as an opportunity to chat and have fun, be yourself, but be professional. It was great to be in a room with so many ambitious people and hear their journeys, and you find they are genuinely really interested in hearing about you as well. From this...after dinner,we were taken in groups of three and did an assessment style paper. After this we came to the final stage, which was a more formal style interview with another area manager. This stage is great as it gives you a real opportunity to sell yourself and 'seal the deal' as such. And also meet and engage with somebody who was in your shoes a while ago, and hear about their experiences. All I would say from the application process at Enterprise, is use it wisely! I genuinely want to work for the company...so if you feel the same, don't waste your opportunity! make sure you get all the information you need and don't have any hindsight!

I don't think any of the questions are necessarily difficult at Enterprise. A lot of the tasks, questions, assessments are competency based and problem solving based. They want to see that you understand the power of excellent customer service, you are a team player and that you can take on responsibility without being asked to...and, that you are willing to work hard! Or this is how I felt. Nothing seemed to be there to catch you out and trick you and they seemed to be so keen to want to put you at ease and bring the best out of you! which is great...cause I've had other job interviews for other companies where this has not been the case. With Enterprise, their company profile and the reviews I've read...speak very true of them! this is truly an amazing company. Remember this.

Just listen to what you have been told, relax and be yourself. They want to see the best in you, and everything they do will be done to make you feel really comfortable. Get to know the people at each stage, as you may potentially be working with them, so you may as well form a great bond! And just smile, be genuinely happy to be there...you should be! they're a great company! don't be like me and build it up and get yourself all nervous and stressed, there's no need! These people are amazing.

As touched upon earlier, there were a good varied amount of assessment tasks which tested your core skills of communication, competency, customer service, problem solving, work ethic, your interest in the company etc. This is great, as it shows you exactly what you will be doing on a daily basis with Enterprise and how you will be expected to interact with your co-workers and senior members of the team. It seems that when you work at Enterprise...you make friends for life...so I definitely have my fingers crossed for this role! Hope any future applicants have found this helpful.

The first stage was a telephone interview which consisted of: why this company? your skills? have you done your research on this company?

prepare your answers beforehand using STAR approach.

at the end of the interview I was told a bit about the next stages which is the assessment centre. also, they send you information on how the next stage is structured just so you have some idea.

questions like what do you know about our competitors? how can we improve our products and services that will attract more competitors than our competitors? what do you know about this role? how do you fit in?

Research the company thoroughly. Also, be prepared to be asked about your presentation. be confident and you should do fine. also, when you are being interviewed on the assessment day be ready to talk about your present and past experiences, things you liked and disliked about previous jobs, and also some standard questions like strengths and weaknesses.

group task: you have to choose a topic and then present to the group: one-to-one which lasted for around an hour. analytical tests. (which should be completed prior to the group task

I got the interview through Reed. Initially, I discussed the role and whether or not I was suitable for the job with my recruitment consultant, then decided to forward my application to the company.

The interview with the company was just under 20 minute long. The recruitment team introduced the company briefly then discussed what I have done at university and part-time jobs, and skills that I gained in the past two years.

Afterwards, they asked me a few questions specifically about their products and services, and gave me a few scenarios and asked me how I would handle their problems. They also asked me how I could use my skills to relate and solve those problems.

To list 7 (or 8) important things about customer service.

Make sure to research the company and list the products/services offered and why they are different in the market. Prepare your answers, try use specific examples to relate to the skills required to demonstrate that you are a suitable candidate. Very important that you practise your answers before the interview.

And make eye contacts when you're at the interview to show that you cannot be distracted easily. Always relax and smile and just be yourself.

It was a one on one interview. I was interviwed by two ladies from the company's recruitment team and I was given time to relax and prepare myself before the interview started.

I was asked about my educational background, what I know about the website, and what I can do for the website, with the interviewer quoting my cover letter when she asked 'What could you offer us?' The overall format was quite formal although the interviewer went for none of the questions I had prepared for, ie 'Tell me about yourself' or 'What are your strengths and weaknesses?' so I was caught out a little bit. Also while I was waiting a member of staff kindly made me a coffee but I felt too awkward to drink it during the interview!

Questions about the tone of the website - bearing in mind this is a furniture company. I was not expecting so many questions about their website and was unprepared to answer them.

Do as much research as you can on the company, particularly by looking at the website and blog, get a feel for their tone and style and also make sure you're able to answer any questions they may have about your educational background and writing experience.

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