Hiring the right employees is never an easy process, especially when it comes to service industries. Learning how to find qualified candidates is step one, but your biggest challenge is figuring out how to interview a customer service representative properly. Only then can you narrow the field of potential employees to find the perfect fit for your business.
Tips for How to Interview a Customer Service Representative
Effective interview techniques come down to knowing what to ask, and how to differentiate between a good answer and a bad one. Let’s take a closer look at how to plan your customer service representative interview questions.
Types of Customer Service Interview Questions
Job interviews are all about learning as much as you can about a potential employee. You need to go beyond what’s listed on their resume to find out if they’re truly up to the task.
The best approach is to structure your questions to cover a number of different topics and categories. The most important areas to address include customer service knowledge, problem-solving and communication skills, as well as personal and behavioral characteristics.
Customer Service Interview Questions
The first topic you should address is whether your candidates have a good understanding of what customer service is all about. It’s also important to weed out those who aren’t fully invested in the CSR field. Try asking some questions like:
Question #1: What does good customer service mean to you?
Question #2: What appeals to you about this position?
The first question will help to let you know what you can expect from a candidate if hired. If their bar for good customer service is low, that’s most likely what you can expect from them.
Question two is designed to find out whether a candidate is willing to go the extra mile. They should have done their homework on your company and be able to provide a detailed answer regarding the specifics of your business.
Problem Solving and Communication Questions
Being able to communicate well during the interview is important, but you’ll need to find out how well they can communicate under difficult circumstances. Be sure to ask questions such as:
Question #1: How would you go about dealing with an angry customer?
Question #2: How would you handle a question you don’t know the answer to?
This is a great way to test an interviewee’s problem-solving skills under pressure. In fact, how they answer the question is a good indicator of how they would react in a difficult customer service scenario. Listen carefully to whether they remain calm and convey their responses clearly and with confidence.
Personal and Behavioral Questions
Learning how to interview a customer service representative isn’t all about the required duties for the position. Use your questions to learn more about the candidate themselves, why they want the job, and how they conduct themselves at work as well.
Question #1: Can you give an example of a time that you turned an unhappy customer into a happy customer?
Question #2: Why should we hire you?
The first question should be a good indicator of whether they have the personality and attitude needed to resolve difficult customer issues. Listen to their answer carefully for whether the candidate was willing to go above and beyond to help their customer.
Your final interview question is an opportunity for your candidates to give a final sales pitch for the position. An ideal response will include their strengths that relate specifically to the job with your company. Again, qualified candidates should have done their homework on your business beforehand. Beware of vague answers that don’t apply specifically to the position they would be filling.
Now that you know how to interview a customer service representative, you can move forward with finding your next all-star CSR. If finding the right employees is still a challenge for you though, consider adding a virtual assistant to your team who already has the necessary skills and experience. Visit New Vision Telecommunications today for your free, no-obligation quote for virtual assistant services.