COO Interview Question:

Suppose a client emailed you asking for something outside of your territory at the company, how would you handle it?

Submitted by: Muhammad

I like to ask this question for a few reasons:

First, some people get confused and do not understand the question at all – no matter how many times I try to rephrase it. This shows me their comprehension/intelligence level.

Second, their answer gives a ton of insight as to what type of employee/worker they will be.

☛ If they answer something like: Forward the email to the appropriate team member so they can handle this is not a terrible answer, but shows that they are not willing to go above and beyond to help a customer.
☛ If they answer something like: Reply to the client so they know I received the email and let them know I will forward their request to the appropriate team member to help them this answer is better because they are taking initiative to reply back.
☛ If the answer something like: See if I can find out the answer quickly and reply back to the client with the answer and cc the team member noting that for any additional questions their account manager will be happy to assist them then this is the best answer of all because no matter if this is not their account they took it upon themselves to find the answer, reply to the client and notify the team member who handles this.
Submitted by: Muhammad