Interview

Customer Service Representative

Send your questions to tutor@onlinetutorforenglish.com

 

If you have no experience, see also the Interview for Inexperienced Customer Service Representative

Interview

Recommendations

 

You are scheduled for an interview for an entry level position as a Bank Customer Service Representative for the HSBC bank. You have little prior work experience. You will be asked questions about your relations with your superiors, your learning abilities and aptitudes. See Recommendations after you go over the questions and answers below.

Question: Tell us about yourself.
Focus on the aspects of your experience that apply to this position.

Answer: First and foremost I have learned people skills: how to listen, how to answer questions and how to deal with difficult customers. As for technical skills, I have learned a lot about banking transactions, how to look up information on the computer for customer accounts, interest accounts bank service charges, and for business accounts, I learned how to trouble shoot computer problems, deal with downtime problems. I also learned several database accounting interfaces my bank uses. They are programmed under the same universal programming but still there are differences between them in terms of layout, data storage and access to customer accounts.

Question: How did you handle angry clients? Assume a client is yelling at you. How would you deal with the situation?

I have seen "angry customers" first in my customer service rep position. In dealing with angry customers, I have come to know this: most effective strategies always entailed patience, giving the most appropriate help to the customer's inquiry, being polite yet firm. If I did my best, then I would take on the next step; I would report to my supervisor. Or, I would remind we would contact the client shortly with an answer to his/her problem.

Question: Assume the following: A customer calls and tells you that because of some unusual circumstances, he’s going to need some extra time to make his payment. Assuming you have the power to make the decision, what other kinds of information would you want to have before making a decision about his request?

Answer: I would consider the payment history of this customer. According to the customer's payment history, I would tell the customer's what options he or she has. First the company policy for delinquent customers, interest charges for delinquency, 30-days, 60-days and 90-days. I would politely remind the customer of these three delinquency terms and which one best fits his/her payment history. Then I would explain terms of interest rates for each delinquency term.

Q: Dealing with a high volume of customers is a requirement of the job. Tell me about a time when you had to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment. How were you able to perform successfully in this environment?

Answer: In my part-time position, I was expected to type when taking calls, sometimes heavy volume calls. I followed my supervisor's instructions on how to handle high-volume calls. I answered the calls after three rings; I listened to the customer briefly and then asked the customer to hold on and I would get back to him or her shortly. Or, I would turn on a tape-recorded response for the customer to listen if I needed more time. On the switch board I would pick the calls in the order they were received and then give an appropriate brief answer to the customer's inquiry. Because I was trained on what to say on most frequently-asked questions, I was effective to handle customers' questions over the phone. After I were done with each customer, I would resume my typing.

Q: Is customer always right?

A: Customer may not be right all the time but I must put my best face to the customer's demands. Because, first I am working for business where customers are needed to run the business. Second, I am dealing with human beings where I need to maintain a professional demeanor to serve to the customer. As long as I serve the customer with a professional demeanor, the customer would become more cooperative, generally speaking. If I confronted a difficult customer, I would apply the grand rules I have learned: don't argue with customers; do your best, be calm and professional.

Q: Why should we hire you?

They usually ask this question at the end: "Tell us why should we hire you if we have other applicants as good as you are?" This means: in order to choose you over other applicants, you should come up with a skill or trait that is rare. Think about your good traits and talk about them. For example:

You are a problem solver, you can handle stress, you listen well, you work well under stress. You are a leader to inspire others to do their best; you are a team worker, you know how to work with others. You must have one or two of these qualities that may clearly distinguish you from other applicants, because many applicants will probably have the same type of skills, such as they may all meet education requirements for for the job. They may have more or less the same kind of work experience this job requires. But, what makes you an outstanding applicant from others is a unique quality you can offer. So, for example, not every body will have leadership qualities; Not everybody has an interesting personality. Many of us may be good workers but not leaders, have good personalities, but just average. An applicant who can offer the most will be hired. If you have a unique quality, talk about it.

Question: How many languages do you speak and/or write? Describe your fluency level.

For this question, most importantly you must speak fluent English if you are to work with English speaking customers. Improve your English by working at it everyday, by utilizing the Internet resources. We do have a program to help high-school, college students and recent college graduate learn American English. In order to qualify for our program, please see the information.

Answer: I speak Urdu, Russian or Hindu as my first language, and English as a second language. Please note whatever language you speak, you will be told the level proficiency required for the position.

Recommendations:

General Recommendations:

These are the main attributes you need to focus on. Make sure you follow the general recommendations below::

1. Be groomed.

2. Wear proper attire, such as one piece of suit or a jacket and pants (skirt). Do not wear excessive makeup and jewelry.

3. Be positive.

4. Be courteous and pleasant.

5. Listen well. Speak clearly.

6. Have eye-contact.

7. Do not over-produce yourself.

8. Have a copy of your resume typed and properly formatted. Include references in case the company would like to check up on your background.

9. During the interview if you are relaxed, you will do well. So practice relaxation before the interview, learn how to maintain your calm in a stressful situation. If you do meditate regularly before the interview, that will help a lot.

10. Role play with someone to rehearse the interview questions and answers.