How can I answer customer service questions in an interview about the company I'm interviewing at, but have no background info about?

Before Getting in the interview the candidate should do his home work about the company before getting in the interview, so he could respond the right answer for every Question.

Secrets of the personal interview success

 

preparation

 

The setting is a very important order, you have to search for the company will work out as well as the career turn. You should also know the size of the company and its position in the market and has the potential to grow. Social networks may help in finding look no further and get more information on the topics to be with you the interview as well as other employees of the company.

 

  Focus your interest to know basic information about the company that will operate.

 

Discovered your ground and tried to highlight it and also exploited as much as possible.

 

You should be sure that everything is okay before you go to sleep. Then cried your shirt and your suit dry cleaning as well as cleaning of polishing your shoes, because the morning is the time to prepare mentally and not physically ready.

 

  Res

 

You have to be accurate. If they meet you in the middle of the day, try to arrive between eleven and forty five minutes and eleven fifty-five minutes at noon. If you reach abroad eleven and a half at noon time you can take a tour or that you take a look at your notes and then enter the building. Be very friendly with the reception staff and ask them about their conditions and anything that might respect their work and accept any refreshments offered to you, the talk and marketing to be self-hungry to work.

 

First impressions

 

The self-assurance and confidence be something more pronounced during the handshake by hand, make sure that both steadfast.

 

Eye contact

 

Make sure you look at both of the interlocutors in the interview when they speak and when to stop this is your chance to keep your position and your formatting appropriate.

 

Applicants others to work

 

You may find yourself forced to socialize with other applicants who will be trying to extract them the job. Not afraid of the situation and be open to your interests and your achievements, but do not let them interfere with your secrets and points of actual experiences.

 

Credibility

 

You should During the interview, when faced with a question you do not know to recognize that you do not know the answer to urge that the deception may have a significant adverse results, because the professionalism lies in the honesty and will this credibility met with respect and therefore, you can highlight the shortcomings and weaknesses have also explains other things you know and you can make.

 

 

the background

 

You have to show self-confidence, and when your discussion of the background along with your future plans, take enough time to do them and try to achieve hundred percent (100%) and be relevant to the role it seeks.

 

 

Management style

 

If you are seeking to fill a management position, you need to show confidence and enthusiasm do not criticize your previous work and instead you can do to clarify how you use such as those mistakes that I've seen previous to your business, which I learned a lot through it.

 

Enthusiasm

 

That wonderful smile of a role where he can help stunningly, quiet fact that you broke the length of time to understand that he had misunderstood the weaknesses and deficiencies you trust yourself and you certainly do not want that to happen.

 

Talked about the search as a signal from you to your knowledge and you are aware of and addressed the interlocutors smartly.

 

Friendliness

 

It will be shown interlocutors close attention to how your personality and harmony with the team, make sure that you (or you look like) a realistic and approachable These personal touches big difference may occur if it were in line with your experience and your education.

 

Termination positively

 

Leave a positive impression, regardless of the direction in which I went to the interview, or what you think the interview is over it. Make sure you have made your wishes and thank you for your enthusiasm interlocutors and reiterated again and expressed his longing and Hamas because you hear them and shake hands with the other eye continues strong and this will leave a lasting impression of confidence with prospective business owners.

Thanks for the invite .... I agree with Mr. Yusuf answers

Almost all interviews will include a competency based element. There are many different questions that the interviewer can use to determine whether you possess certain competencies. However, by matching the role profile competencies to specific examples from your past in preparation for the interview, you will be able to cover most eventualities.

During the interview make the right first impression…

1.  “Why do you want to work here?”

To answer this question you must have researched the company. Reply with the company’s attributes as you see them and how your qualities match them. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

2.  “Tell me about yourself.”

This is not an invitation to ramble on. If the context isn’t clear, you need to know more about the question before giving an answer.

Whichever direction your answer ultimately takes, be sure that it has some relevance to your professional endeavors.  You should also refer to one or more of your key personal qualities, such as honesty, integrity, being a team player, or determination. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

3.  “What is the biggest challenge you have faced in work in the past 12 months?”

This is often an opening question, as it allows you to use one of your strongest examples and may help you relax. For the interviewer, it is also an indication of where your natural focus or achievements may be – people development, process, cost reduction, change etc. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

4.  “What do you know about the centre/company/role?”

You are not required to be an expert on the organisation or role, but a genuine interest and basic understanding is expected. If you are working with a recruitment consultant then they should be able to provide you with extra details and assist with preparation.

In addition, look for and use press releases, corporate and social websites. Ring the call centre to see how they handle your call: do they offer ‘up-sell’, ‘cross-sell’, how was the service? Read the job description to prepare for this question, a few key facts or some knowledge show a genuine interest and commercial awareness. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

5.  “Why do you want this job?”

Whilst more money, shorter hours or less of a commute are all potential factors for your next role, they are unlikely to make you the ‘stand out’ candidate of the day.

Know what the company are looking for and the potential job available, and align this with your career to date.  Highlight your relevant experience, goals and aspirations in line with the role, to showcase why you are the best person for the job. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

6.  “How would your team/manager describe you?”

Try to think about how you would describe yourself if someone asked you for your strengths, then relate these to what people say about you; peers, agents, managers and stakeholders. Have three or four at the ready, ideally in line with the role you are being interviewed for. Have examples or situations ready, in case your interviewer wants to drill down as to why you think or believe these are your key strengths. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

7.  “What is your biggest achievement?”

If possible, think work related. There will hopefully be a number of things you are most proud of in your career to date. Think about your key achievements; were they commercial, people or process orientated? What was the cause and effect? How were you involved, what was improved, saved or developed?

If you are short on career-based examples, use personal achievements which demonstrate the commercial skills required for the role, such as team work, commitment, empathy, determination, attention to detail, etc. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

8.  “Can you give me an example of… ?”

These questions will more often than not be based around the role competencies. Preparation and rehearsal are key to answering these effectively.

You will need two or three instances of how you may have: delivered change, managed conflict, improved performance, reduced absence, increased customer satisfaction, etc.  You also need to be able to clearly and concisely communicate the problem, solution and outcome. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

9.  “What have you done to promote great customer service?”

Firstly, know what you think great customer service looks like. Look for situations and examples when you had an idea, a client, or customer call, where you personally went that extra mile.

Did you change a process or procedure? Or perhaps a staff member you mentored, coached or advised delivered a great customer service win or result for your team, brand or business. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

10.  “What are the key factors which make a successful call centre?”

Fundamentally, if you look under the skin of the best teams and call centres, they do have certain things in common: clear communication, consistency, fun, performance management, leadership, engagement, incentives, etc.

Think what made up the best team or company you have been a part of or have seen. Have examples to back up any statements for how you would play a part in, or create, this team or environment yourself. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

11.  “How do you manage change?”

Change is an essential part of life in any call centre environment, as the industry strives to achieve best practice for their customers and stakeholders. Have some examples on how you personally managed, or were affected by, some change. What was your focus, what were you aiming to achieve and how did you deliver the outcome? Know what the problems encountered were and what was learned through and following the transformation. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

12.  “What was your reason for leaving?”

Wherever possible be positive, even if your role was short term or didn’t quite work out as expected, as it will have added extra experience or skills to your career history.

Although you are now looking to move on, acknowledge what you learned and what was on offer at the time. Demonstrate good reasons for the decisions you made and show that you understood what was to be gained, or acknowledge what you have learned from your past employer. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

13.  “Give me an example of how you have dealt with an under-performing team member in the past.”

This question is a typical example of competency-based interviewing (CBI) in practice. It is the most popular interview approach, based on the premise that future performance can be predicted by past behaviour.

The best way to prepare for CBI questions is to revisit the job description and person specification before your interview. You should then ensure that you have covered all bases and can comfortably provide examples for each competency. You must also be able to describe the particular scenario, the actions you took and the impact it had on the business.

Approach this particular question by outlining the processes you followed to investigate and resolve this issue. It is also important to explain the outcome. For example, you may have set an agenda of required actions following on from the meeting you held with the particular team member – can you describe what that was? If you created a performance plan that included clear training and development objectives make sure you say so.

Always finish by explaining how the action you took impacted the business. For example, the team member started to meet all targets and bring in more revenue. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

14.  Within the interview process you may be required to perform a role-play. A popular example of this is being asked to role-play an escalated call with an unhappy customer.

It is vital to have clear objectives before initiating conversation with the customer; what is your end goal? Ensure you are aware of the parameters, rules and regulations within the company. For example, if the issue is over money, can you refund it? What else can you offer to pacify the customer?

It is important to remain calm, confident, be clear and always remember to ask questions. The interviewer is looking for a patient and composed response. If you are still unsure about how best to approach role-plays contact your local recruitment consultant who should be able to offer you thorough advice. This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

15.  “Can you give me an example of a time when you had to motivate and develop a team in a challenging work environment?”

During interviews, difficult or awkward questions could come your way. The intention is not to catch you out, but to test how you operate under pressure.

This question is (again) in the format of competency-based interviewing, so remember to outline the specific actions you took to motivate your team, as interviewers want to see evidence of hands-on experience.

Make sure to describe all processes undertaken. For example: Did you use incentives to motivate the team? Did you implement training programmes? Did you improve internal communications to help engage staff? Did you implement or revisit career development plans to make the team feel valued? Did you take the time to understand each individual’s motivations?

Be clear and precise and be sure to convey any previous first-hand experience you have – they will want to feel confident that you can handle similar issues within the new role.This is one of the most common customer service questions for interviews.

 

Source: callcentrehelper

Remember, being interviewed is a skill, and if you do the preparation you should ace it every time.

1. So, tell me a little about yourself.

I'd be very surprised if you haven't been asked this one at every interview. It's probably the most asked question because it sets the stage for the interview and it gets you talking. Be careful not to give the interviewer your life story here. You don't need to explain everything from birth to present day. Relevant facts about education, your career and your current life situation are fine.

2. Why are you looking (or why did you leave you last job)?

This should be a straightforward question to answer, but it can trip you up. Presumably you are looking for a new job (or any job) because you want to advance your career and get a position that allows you to grow as a person and an employee. It's not a good idea to mention money here, it can make you sound mercenary. And if you are in the unfortunate situation of having been downsized, stay positive and be as brief as possible about it. If you were fired, you'll need a good explanation. But once again, stay positive.

3. Tell me what you know about this company.

Do your homework before you go to any interview. Whether it's being the VP of marketing or the mailroom clerk, you should know about the company or business you're going to work for. Has this company been in the news lately? Who are the people in the company you should know about? Do the background work, it will make you stand out as someone who comes prepared, and is genuinely interested in the company and the job.

4. Why do you want to work at X Company?

This should be directly related to the last question. Any research you've done on the company should have led you to the conclusion that you'd want to work there. After all, you're at the interview, right? Put some thought into this answer before you have your interview, mention your career goals and highlight forward-thinking goals and career plans.

5. What relevant experience do you have?

Hopefully if you're applying for this position you have bags of related experience, and if that's the case you should mention it all. But if you're switching careers or trying something a little different, your experience may initially not look like it's matching up. That's when you need a little honest creativity to match the experiences required with the ones you have. People skills are people skills after all, you just need to show how customer service skills can apply to internal management positions, and so on.

6. If your previous co-workers were here, what would they say about you?

Ok, this is not the time for full disclosure. If some people from your past are going to say you're a boring A-hole, you don't need to bring that up. Stay positive, always, and maybe have a few specific quotes in mind. "They'd say I was a hard worker" or even better "John Doe has always said I was the most reliable, creative problem-solver he'd ever met."

7. Have you done anything to further your experience?

This could include anything from night classes to hobbies and sports. If it's related, it's worth mentioning. Obviously anything to do with further education is great, but maybe you're spending time on a home improvement project to work on skills such as self-sufficiency, time management and motivation.

8. Where else have you applied?

This is a good way to hint that you're in demand, without sounding like you're whoring yourself all over town. So, be honest and mention a few other companies but don't go into detail. The fact that you're seriously looking and keeping your options open is what the interviewer is driving at.

9. How are you when you're working under pressure?

Once again, there are a few ways to answer this but they should all be positive. You may work well under pressure, you may thrive under pressure, and you may actually prefer working under pressure. If you say you crumble like aged blue cheese, this is not going to help you get your foot in the door.

10. What motivates you to do a good job?

The answer to this one is not money, even if it is. You should be motivated by life's noble pursuits. You want recognition for a job well done. You want to become better at your job. You want to help others or be a leader in your field.

11. What's your greatest strength?

This is your chance to shine. You're being asked to explain why you are a great employee, so don't hold back and stay do stay positive. You could be someone who thrives under pressure, a great motivator, an amazing problem solver or someone with extraordinary attention to detail. If your greatest strength, however, is to drink anyone under the table or get a top score on Mario Kart, keep it to yourself. The interviewer is looking for work-related strengths.

12. What's your biggest weakness?

If you're completely honest, you may be kicking yourself in the butt. If you say you don't have one, you're obviously lying. This is a horrible question and one that politicians have become masters at answering. They say things like "I'm perhaps too committed to my work and don't spend enough time with my family." Oh, there's a fireable offense. I've even heard "I think I'm too good at my job, it can often make people jealous." Please, let's keep our feet on the ground. If you're asked this question, give a small, work-related flaw that you're working hard to improve. Example: "I've been told I occasionally focus on details and miss the bigger picture, so I've been spending time laying out the complete project every day to see my overall progress."

13. Let's talk about salary. What are you looking for?

Run for cover! This is one tricky game to play in an interview. Even if you know the salary range for the job, if you answer first you're already showing all your cards. You want as much as possible, the employer wants you for as little as you're willing to take. Before you apply, take a look at salary.com for a good idea of what someone with your specific experience should be paid. You may want to say, "well, that's something I've thought long and hard about and I think someone with my experience should get between X & Y." Or, you could be sly and say, "right now, I'm more interested in talking more about what the position can offer my career." That could at least buy you a little time to scope out the situation. But if you do have a specific figure in mind and you are confident that you can get it, I'd say go for it. I have on many occasions, and every time I got very close to that figure (both below and sometimes above).

14. Are you good at working in a team?

Unless you have the I.Q. of a houseplant, you'll always answer YES to this one. It's the only answer. How can anyone function inside an organization if they are a loner? You may want to mention what part you like to play in a team though; it's a great chance to explain that you're a natural leader.

15. Tell me a suggestion you have made that was implemented.

It's important here to focus on the word "implemented." There's nothing wrong with having a thousand great ideas, but if the only place they live is on your notepad what's the point? Better still, you need a good ending. If your previous company took your advice and ended up going bankrupt, that's not such a great example either. Be prepared with a story about an idea of yours that was taken from idea to implementation, and considered successful.

16. Has anything ever irritated you about people you've worked with?

Of course, you have a list as long as your arm. But you can't say that, it shows you as being negative and difficult to work with. The best way to answer this one is to think for a while and then say something like "I've always got on just fine with my co-workers actually."

17. Is there anyone you just could not work with?

No. Well, unless you're talking about murderers, racists, rapists, thieves or other dastardly characters, you can work with anyone. Otherwise you could be flagged as someone who's picky and difficult if you say, "I can't work with anyone who's a Bronco's fan. Sorry."

18. Tell me about any issues you've had with a previous boss.

Arrgh! If you fall for this one you shouldn't be hired anyway. The interviewer is testing you to see if you'll speak badly about your previous supervisor. Simply answer this question with extreme tact, diplomacy and if necessary, a big fat loss of memory. In short, you've never had any issues.

19. Would you rather work for money or job satisfaction?

It's not a very fair question is it? We'd all love to get paid a Trump-like salary doing a job we love but that's rare indeed. It's fine to say money is important, but remember that NOTHING is more important to you than the job. Otherwise, you're just someone looking for a bigger paycheck.

20. Would you rather be liked or feared?

I have been asked this a lot, in various incarnations. The first time I just drew a blank and said, "I don't know." That went over badly, but it was right at the start of my career when I had little to no experience. Since then I've realized that my genuine answer is "Neither, I'd rather be respected." You don't want to be feared because fear is no way to motivate a team. You may got the job done but at what cost? Similarly, if you're everyone's best friend you'll find it difficult to make tough decisions or hit deadlines. But when you're respected, you don't have to be a complete bastard or a lame duck to get the job done.

21. Are you willing to put the interests of X Company ahead of your own?

Again, another nasty question. If you say yes, you're a corporate whore who doesn't care about family. If you say no, you're disloyal to the company. I'm afraid that you'll probably have to say yes to this one though, because you're trying to be the perfect employee at this point, and perfect employees don't cut out early for Jimmy's baseball game.

22. So, explain why I should hire you.

As I'm sure you know, "because I'm great" or "I really need a job" are not good answers here. This is a time to give the employer a laundry list of your greatest talents that just so happen to match the job description. It's also good to avoid taking potshots at other potential candidates here. Focus on yourself and your talents, not other people's flaws.

23. Finally, do you have any questions to ask me?

I'll finish the way I started, with one of the most common questions asked in interviews. This directly relates to the research you've done on the company and also gives you a chance to show how eager and prepared you are. You'll probably want to ask about benefits if they haven't been covered already. A good generic one is "how soon could I start, if I were offered the job of course." You may also ask what you'd be working on. Specifically, in the role you're applying for and how that affects the rest of the company. Always have questions ready, greeting this one with a blank stare is a rotten way to finish your interview. Good luck and happy job hunting.

First you should understand about the company and business through website, friends or staffs.

You should know what kind of job called for and to be compared with present  position & should be prepared before attending the interview to succeed.

Thanks for invitation

I am  agreeing with my colleague’s answer Mr. Yusuf 

1. Interact with people who work with customer service and learn from their experience
2. Put yourself in place of the customer an imagine how you'd like to be treated

To answer this question you should be ready;How?

By having enough info and knowledge about the company !

 

Thank You

As long as the question is revolving around customer service, irrespective of the company's business model, one must be in a position to face such question as an opportunity to learn about and answer very fairly, if that candidate is customer service oriented.

Because customer service is a customer service irrepective of the product the customer has. As long as we keep the customer engaged pleasently, no matter but the customer is happy with the CSP. In the customer service eighty % satisfaction comes out of the attitute and remaining twenty % from the performance of the product the customer has.

I agree the answer colleagues