1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years as Support Agent?
In 5 years I hope to have earned my MBA. I hope to see myself working my way to the top of a successful company, and volunteering with youth sports organizations in my off time.
2. Tell us what do you enjoy about customer service?
I enjoy customer service because customers are everywhere. They come from all walks of life, and they are everyday people. I love meeting them, and I enjoy the process of trying to help make their lives as easy as possible. I love to help people. I also enjoy the challenge of providing solutions to difficult situations, and helping the customer and the business leave with a win-win.
3. Tell me how would you tackle X client complaint?
A great resume doesn't always equal a great representative. Your company has an image it's trying to project. Look for job seekers whose answers to this question resemble your ideal response. You're also getting a good look at the job seeker's analytical skills. Do they come up with a good reply? How long does it take them? Speed is crucial in customer service, particularly if you're in ecommerce.
4. Explain me how do you measure your success as a customer service rep?
Good candidates should put the experience of the customer first, but they should also be conscious of things like response time, tickets closed, and other metrics that translate to cost savings for your customer service department.
5. Tell us what skills could you bring to our live chat team?
Well, I'm an excellent communicator. I'm a compassionate person. I'm dedicated, hard working, and a perfectionist. When I'm solving a customer's problem, I do everything I can to help them. I know how it feels to be a customer, and I know the experiences they are looking for. I know that I can give that to them.
6. Tell us how would you deal with an angry customer?
A candidate who mentions listening carefully, empathizing, and following company policy is a good pick. Red flags that indicate an interviewee is a bad choice include being rude and not having any previous experience dealing with difficult customers. An inexperienced candidate may make a good pick if their other answers are strong, however.
7. Can you explain what was your proudest moment helping a customer?
My proudest moment helping a customer was one time when a customer arrived at our store extremely upset because nobody had been able to give her the information she was looking for. She was trying to find a specific soccer ball, and a different rep had sold her something completely wrong. I was able to find the product that she was looking for, and gave her a free coupon discount to compensate for her troubles. She wrote me the nicest review I have ever read… it was a really fulfilling moment.
8. Can you explain me what do you do when you don't know the answer to a question?
The key here is honesty. Especially if you have a complex product or service, it's much better for a customer service rep to say “I don't know, but let me find out,” than to provide potentially inaccurate information.
9. Tell me about your long-term career goals. Do you plan to remain in customer service?
The customer service industry is my goal for at least the next five years. I am trying to gain as much experience as I can as I pursue a career in public relations. I hope to be able to hold this position for at least the next several years, and I also plan to pursue a leadership position. I really hope that I can tackle this position head on and gain some valuable experience in communication.
10. Tell us in your opinion, what makes for great customer service?
Great customer service means listening to your customers. It means empathizing with them and their experiences, and working hard to find the best solution to your customers' problems. It means knowing how to de-escalate a situation with an angry customer, and using problem solving skills to make sure that everyone walks away from the interaction satisfied.
11. Tell us what do you hope to get out of your experience with this company?
I hope to learn new skills that I can use in customer service and in life. I also hope to contribute my own talents to your team, so that we can mutually grow. I am also interested in the possibility of upward mobility within your corporation, and am eager to see where this position might take me.
12. Tell us what makes for great customer service?
This question should give you a sense of how the candidate views their role. A great answer won't just involve solving a problem or answering a question, but ensuring that the customer had as positive an interaction as possible.
13. Please explain have you tried our product or service? What problems did you encounter?
This might sound like a trick question, but it isn't. A great candidate should feel comfortable talking about their experience using your product or service, and pointing out places where their experience could have been improved.
14. Tell me why should we hire you for our customer service team?
Once again, this question gives you a decent look into a candidate's personality. Do they see themselves as part of the team? Are they mentioning ways they can contribute as a team player, or focusing on their personal agenda? If they're too focused on themselves, they may be a poor team player.
15. Explain me an example of a time you went to great lengths to help a customer?
This question isn't necessarily about how the interviewee helped the customer. It's about who they are.
Is the answer ego-centric? Does it sound like they're trying too hard to please you? Or does it sound like a genuine response told from a mature and self-analytical perspective? Look for the applicant who is authentic and reflective in their response. Watch out for respondents who overuse the words “I” and “me”, as well as anyone who broke rules to help customers. Neither is a good sign.
16. Tell us what are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to interacting with customers?
Well, I am a people person. I enjoy approaching and talking to customers, and making sure that they get what they need. I love solving their problems. I'd say that a weakness that I have when interacting with customers is knowing when to give up on trying to solve a problem. I'm working on learning when to call for backup when necessary.
Good customer service reps help customers solve problems, but great customer service reps are proactive about looking for ways to prevent problems from occurring in the first place.
No, I have never served a customer over live chat before. I am a fast typer though-that's something that I imagine you need to succeed with live chat in particular.
I'm familiar with working under pressure. In the restaurant business, that was something that we had to deal with every weekend – a large amount of customers, customers who were sometimes upset about the wait time or with the food they had ordered. Typically I just practice the rule that ‘the customer is always right'. I use smiles and apologize as needed to sort of ease the stress. I also practice breathing exercises when I'm alone to release some of my own stress.
20. Tell us how well do you work under high pressure/in high stress situations?
if the candidate is inexperienced. You're giving them a chance to show you how they handle stress and difficult situations. Someone who keeps their cool and tries to understand the customer is a good choice. Don't hire anyone who describes themselves as having a quick temper. Overly emotional personality types aren't a good fit for customer service positions, although an empathetic personality who can control their emotions can make a great pick.
One time at Allen's Sporting Company, a customer couldn't reach an item. They tried climbing the shelf, which broke, and they fell down. The customer was furious, and I think also really embarrassed. I was the first one on the scene. In the end, I ended up taking care of that customer. I heard them out and apologized as they yelled. Then I got them a sizable discount coupon to compensate. The representative who was supposed to be taking care of that section of the store was absent, so the trouble really was on our end. The customer left satisfied.
Yes, I've used a CRM (customer relationship management) system to track online orders before. Our company had a policy that all interactions needed to be logged there, and I came to understand the importance of looking at a customer's history before putting together a response to their query.
Ever since my first paper route at age 10 I've been doing something to keep myself busy and earn money. Back then, it was obviously about earning some spending money. What I didn't realize was that I was actually starting the journey of establishing what I liked to do and how I fit in to the grand scheme of things. I then worked as a junior computer tech in my last 2 summers of high school. It was here that I discovered what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do. I enrolled in college to get my degree in computer sciences, and I have been working around technology ever since.
I am confident in my communication skills. I have had extensive experience in the customer service industry, with more than five years in my history. Additionally, I have studied communication while earning my degree in relations. At this point I am as close to a master communicator as possible. In my previous position I was interacting with customers constantly, so I certainly have plenty of daily experience in interpersonal and service-oriented communication, and I am confident that I will be able to consistently and successfully apply these skills to this service agent position.
Every customer service rep is going to encounter customers who are upset. Great candidates should remain respectful while continuing to provide as high a level of service as possible.
This was a huge requirement when I was in my reception position. The amount of information and scheduling that I had to manage was immense. To tackle this issue, I mainly used my personal planner, but occasionally I employed spreadsheets. I believe that I attained pretty consistent success in organizational management during my time in that position. I also believe that I will easily be able to apply the experience I had managing information to this customer service agent position.
27. Explain me about your previous work experience in customer service as Support Agent?
Yes, you could probably find this information on your candidate's resume-but it's most valuable to hear from them in person. This is because it gives your candidate the chance to explain the nuances of their experience, what their role was in their former position, whether they enjoyed it, and any information that they may not have included on paper.
Plus, not everyone will have previous work experience in a traditional call center or with live chat, and asking candidates this question gives them the chance to bring to light what parts of their former experience have prepped them for being a live chat agent.
The beauty of customer service is that it's a vast field; any interaction where you help fulfill and serve a customer can count as customer service. This means that you can find valuable experience in candidates who come from a number of other areas, including waiting, teaching, cashier work, accounting, healthcare, and more. A lot of good communication principles applied to other settings are transferrable skills in customer service as well.
When I worked at Allen's Sporting Company, sometimes the checkout line would get slammed. If I got called to help out at the cash register, I was always there without fail. Also, in my restaurant experience, I would sometimes cover a colleague's table if they had to leave early. To me teamwork means being there for your coworkers, and providing them support whenever necessary.
29. Tell us about a reoccurring problem or complaint amongst your customers. What do you do?
Customer service isn't only about fixing a customers' problems – it's a platform through which customers can express themselves and even give your company advice. While helping customers is a must, an agent who is willing to go the extra mile and help prevent these problems from happening in the first place takes the cake.
This question reveals whether your interviewee has the determination and communication skills it takes to make sure that problems get forwarded to the proper channels, and that systematic issues get geared towards permanent resolution.
30. Support Agent Interview Questions to Ask:
☛ How experienced are you with X technology?
☛ Do you consider yourself a ‘people person'? Why or why not?
☛ Share your previous experience working in customer service
☛ If a customer is using abusive language with you, but has a valid point, how would you handle it?
☛ What three words would your friends and family choose to describe you? Your co-workers? You?
☛ What type of work environment do you thrive in?
☛ Describe one customer service scenario you handled particularly well.
☛ What do you know about our company and services?
☛ How do you define customer service?
☛ If we meet again in three years, what goals do you need to have accomplished in order to feel successful?
31. Basic Support Agent Job Interview Questions:
☛ What are the main functions of BIAS?
☛ How would you respond to a customer who claims their website is loading too slowly?
☛ How would you access the Recovery Control in Windows?
☛ Mention any help desk tools that facilitate client communication.
☛ What do you find most intriguing about this position?
☛ Are you familiar with ERP software?
☛ What remote desktop tools have you used?
☛ Walk me through the process of a successful customer problem resolution. When is your role complete?
☛ Describe the procedure for installing antivirus software.
☛ What kind of customers have you dealt with most?
☛ Are you familiar with our products? What do you think are our most common customer queries?
☛ Have you ever faced a customer issue you've never heard of before? What did you do?
☛ Describe a situation where a customer was angry and blaming you for someone else's mistake. How did you handle it?
☛ How do you keep up-to-date with current technology trends?
One of my previous jobs was as a receptionist, and I was surprised how consistently I encountered strange problems that clients had. While I was developing communication skills, I also quickly learned the critical thinking and problem-solving abilities that were necessary to help the people I interacted with on a daily basis. While it is impossible to help every single customer entirely solve their problems, I believe that I was able to do an exceptionally good job helping as many people as possible reach satisfaction.
This question should give you a sense of how experienced the candidate is and whether the issues they've dealt with in the past have prepared them for the challenges they're likely to face while supporting your product or service.
This question should give you a sense of the candidate's ability to empathize with a customer. Good customer service reps should be able to apologize and acknowledge known problems while assuring customers that your team is working on a solution.
I have been working in the service industry since 2010, meaning I have more than five years of experience. During this time I have worked in food service and as a receptionist. I feel that this has given me a pretty broad range of service experience, and both jobs required me to interact with customers nearly constantly. My responsibilities included making sales, answering questions, solving customer problems and complaints, and directing customers. I certainly believe that I will be able to successfully apply these skills to this customer service agent position.
