How to Answer Customer Service Interview Questions Like a Pro

customer service interview tips
Created by CakeResume

The interview questions for a customer service position can be quite hard to answer as it is an important position that requires specific skills to perform well. Not only do you have to solve problems customers have, but you are also the face they associate the company with. 

Therefore, customer service representative interview questions aim to find out how well you can interact with clients. Through them, Recruiters can know as much as possible about you and your skills and if they match those required for a customer service position. 

To land a customer service role, you need to be prepared to answer customer service advisor interview questions in the best possible way and show how your skills can help customers. Your answers to customer service interview questions should highlight your problem-solving skills and people’s skills. 

What Interviewers Look for in a Customer Service Representative

How to answer customer service interview questions properly? You need to focus on your hard and soft skills and how they help you make clients happy; mention the elements required for high-quality service so your customer service interview will go swiftly. 

📍 Knowledge about the product/service

To know how to help an unhappy customer, you first need to know what is wrong with the product or the service. You can’t do that without a thorough knowledge of it. 

Before you go to your customer service interview, take the time to research the company and its products/services. Check their website, social media profiles, and even physical shops if you need to. The more knowledge you have about the company, the better you will look to the recruiters when answering their customer service rep interview questions.

📍 Passion and commitment to the role

Whichever customer service job interview questions they ask you, interviewers are always looking out to see how committed and interested in the position you are. 

Any employee that likes their position will do a better job and be less likely to quit. Recruiters know it and care about it, making it an important customer service interview question.

Make sure that you show how passionate you are when you answer the customer service interview questions. Even if you see the position as a stepping stone in your career, avoid mentioning it. 

📍 Communication skills

Given the nature of the position, you will be facing clients quite often. Hence, customer service interviews investigate whether you have the required people’s skills or not. 

While answering the client service job interview questions, you need to be eloquent and fluent. It might sound easy, but quite often, customers would be could be irrational, if not angry and verbally abusive. 

Stay calm, avoid vague responses and rude vocabulary, and focus instead on articulate answers—these are the qualities you should display in your answers to questions asked during a call center customer service interview. 

📍 Problem-solving skills

You need to be able to show you can solve customer issues swiftly if you are preparing answers to interview questions for a call center role, customer service advisor position, or any customer service position. 

During the customer service interview, you need to show that you can keep it cool under a distressing situation and that you can come up with quick solutions. 

You can give them an example of how you solved any complicated issue you faced in a previous job or during your career in the client service interview when asked relevant questions.

Show your resourcefulness and ace your customer service interview easily. 

📍 Efficiency 

Customer service interview questions also focus on how fast, logical, and effective you are when dealing with clients.  

For example, the interview question for call centers “describe a complex issue you helped a customer solve” is designed to assess your resourcefulness and ability to quickly come up with a good solution.

It will reflect badly on the company if you keep them waiting too long or if your solutions are not useful. Therefore, you need to show how good you are at coming up with effective solutions when you answer the customer experience interview questions.

To show this skill when you answer the customer experience interview questions you can mention how in the past you reached your productivity goals, improved processes, reduced paperwork in your office, or any other situation that highlights your abilities.

Common Customer Service Interview Questions and Answers

A customer service interview can be as nerve-wracking as any other, so you need to be prepared. 

“What does good customer service mean to you?” Example Answer

It is one of the most common and basic customer service job interview questions. Interviewers want to know how much you understand the responsibilities of the positions. 

Customer service interview questions like this one are open-ended. There are several ways to approach it. We recommend you something like this:

“I think it is all about understanding clients’ needs and surpassing their expectations. A happy customer is a loyal customer. By providing them with the best experience and solving their issues, we can guarantee that they will trust our company and buy from us.”    

“Tell me about yourself” Example Answer for Customer Service Roles

Like with most interviews, customer service job interview questions and answers also aim to get to know about you. Interviewers sometimes also ask questions like “how do other people usually describe you?”. 

A good way to answer this customer service interview question is to structure your answer chronologically and only include the specifics relevant to the position. Keep your answers to customer service job interview questions short and professional.

Check out this example:

“I worked as an executive CS assistant at Costco. I learned how to efficiently solve issues during that time as I faced about 100 customers on a daily basis, helping them return products and answering questions about membership and payment methods. It also helped me improve my people skills. I would like to have the chance to put such skills to practice and help  DEF company achieve its goal.”

Customer Service Manager Interview Question and Answer

Unlike regular customer service job interview questions or interview questions for call center agents, questions asked in an interview for managerial positions will look into your ability to administrate people and strategize. 

Q: “How would you provide assistance and feedback to your team?”

To show your experience, you can use the STAR method to organize examples of your customer service and managerial experience. Start by explaining the situation and the task you had to do. Then, tell the recruiter your action path and finish with the successful outcome. Check the following example:

“I was a customer service supervisor. I had to periodically evaluate my team. My goal was to improve their efficiency and team energy.  I always started by praising them and telling them which part of their tasks they did exceptionally well. I then moved on to giving them specific and constructive tips on how to overcome their issues. I improved my team’s efficiency by 30% in a year.”

Customer Service Executive Interview Question and Answer

Like questions for managerial positions, interview questions and answers for a customer service executive position also evaluate your leadership capabilities. They also ensure you can provide the best service to customers. 

Q: “Why do you want to work with us as a customer service executive?”

“I have always admired your services and innovative products. I previously worked as a customer service manager for 5 years, managed a team of 15 customer service representatives and developed plans to provide better and more efficient solutions for the customers. I would like to put my experience and skills to use and help more people enjoy your services and products. I am sure I can support you with the best strategies to satisfy your customers.”

Interview Question and Answer for Quality Assurance in a Call Center

Call center interview questions range from general and personal to very job-specific, but there are some common interview questions for quality assurance jobs in a call center.

Q: “What are your biggest strengths as a quality assurance specialist in a call center?”

You need to show your abilities to monitor daily operations and keep the quality level. You can answer such interview questions for call center agents like this:

“I developed quality assurance manuals in my past job and often revised them based on feedback from customers. It is best to analyze the actual situation and hear what the customers have to say as it allows one to notice the weak points that one can improve. After that, the improvements need to be standardized and structured before they can be approved and implemented.”

Customer Service Scenario Interview Questions and Answers

Customer service job scenario interview questions put your skills and quick-wit to the test. They can be difficult as it is hard to think of all the possible scenarios they can challenge you with and prepare ahead. But you can still practice by checking these two examples of customer service interview scenario questions you might come across:

Q: The trainee you mentored failed to impress a very important client. The client was angry when their problem was not solved in the expected timeframe. What would you do to make up with your client?

“I would start by assuming the charges, making sure the client knows that I would take care of the issue myself. I would patiently listen to my client’s complaints and use my experience to give them an efficient solution. Finally, I would make sure to retrain the trainee and show them how to do better in the future.”

Q: A client is coming to you with a problem regarding a product you are not entirely familiar with. Your supervisor is extremely busy and can not help you immediately. How would you proceed?

“I think it’s always best to be attentive to their complaints. I would politely ask them to give me a minute to check with my co-workers if any of them knows how to solve the issue. If they do not, I would apologize to the customer and see if they are willing to wait for me to clarify the problem and get back to them.” 

Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers for Customer Service Representative

Unlike regular customer service representative interview questions, behavioral questions look into how you responded to issues in the past and their outcome. 

Therefore, remember to highlight your skills and strengths and think of examples if you are wondering how to answer customer service behavioral interview questions.

These are common interview questions for call centers. You can use the STAR method to provide examples of your customer service. Remember to take your time to organize your ideas. Take a look at these examples:

Q: Have you ever solved a client’s problem? What did you do?  What was the result?

“I worked as a call center representative for an electronics firm. I once dealt with a furious client. The product he had just bought seemed faulty, and he had lost his temper when he called us.

I started by listening to his complaints without saying a word until he calmed down. Then, I apologized and assured him that I would inform our higher-ups of the issue. 

I offered him help with the replacement. However, he asked for a refund instead. After I offered him a discount for his next buy, he mentioned he appreciated my help and thanked me.” 

Q: What did you do the last time a client gave the company you used to work for a bad review?

“Back when I worked for Mario’s restaurant, a client gave us an awful review. She was not satisfied at all. I started by asking our staff what happened that day, they explained that our restaurant was overbooked and that she waited over an hour for her dish.

I soon contacted her and started by apologizing and owning our mistakes. I heard her issues once again. I explained that it was a mistake and that we wanted to offer her a free meal in our VIP area to compensate. And I assured her that we were training the staff again to avoid such errors. She agreed happily and changed the review to a better score.” 

Situational Interview Questions and Answers for Customer Service Representatives

Customer service rep situational interview questions also put you on the spot. You have to efficiently solve the issues the recruiter presents you with during the customer service interview.

You can also follow the star method examples for customer service situational questions. It is a very good way to show you are prepared for the job. Check customer service situational interview questions and sample answers below.

Q: Your company’s delivery person did not follow instructions and confused a very important package for a client. The client is calling you and is very disturbed. How would you solve the issue?

“I would listen to my client to understand the situation and apologize to them. My main task is to make them happy again and find out how to avoid the mistake from happening ever again. After that, I would offer them an express delivery for free, and make sure they receive the product as soon as possible. I would contact the delivery person and make sure he or she realigns with our operation procedures”.

Q: A customer of your shop is angry because the zipper of a dress they bought from your shop for an important event got stuck on the first use. They not only want a refund but also demand compensation. What would you do? 

“I would be as empathetic as possible, making sure they understand I am listening to their complaint. I would apologize for our product’s imperfection. To help them with the refund, I would patiently walk them through our company’s procedure. If it is in my power, I would offer them a discount on a future purchase. If not, I would take them to my supervisor and support their request.”

With CakeResume, you can easily create a resume online, free download your resume’s PDF formats, and utilize ATS-compliant templates to create a resume. Land your dream job, create your resume online (free download) now!

--- Originally written by Roger Rene Ortega Figueroa ---

Resume Builder

Build your resume only in minutes!

More Articles you might be interested in

Latest relevant articles
Resume & CV
Mar 6th 2024

What to Write in an Email When Sending a Resume [+ Examples & Tips]

Looking for guidance on writing an effective email to send resume? Discover expert tips and email examples to maximize your chances of landing that dream job!