Page 83 - Boost Your Hiring

The Manager’s Hiring IQ Test 69

INTERVIEWER’S QUESTION
31. Tell me about a time when you dealt with an angry cus-
tomer.
Which response actually answers the question? Which answer
should you be wary of? Are there any red flags?

(A) “I am a strong believer in good customer service. I believe that
the customer is always right, and I will work to achieve results
whenever possible. Every once in a while I will get an angry
customer, and I am insulted by the way that I am treated. I un-
derstand that they are angry, but I do not understand why they
take it out on us customer service reps. It’s when they want to
keep telling me how badly they’ve been treated that I cannot
deal with them. If I can see that the person is beyond being rea-
sonable, I will escalate the call to someone at a higher level to
deal with that customer.”
(B) “One day I received a call from a very angry man who had been
passed from one service technician to another.By the time he was
passed to me,he was beyond civil.He was yelling and threatening
me.The first thing that I did was to stay calm, and in a confident
voice I assured him that I would work with him to get the prob-
lem solved. He continued to vent while I listened to the details of
his situation. I assured him that I was there to help him through
to the end. I supplied my contact info and told him I would call
him back within the hour.I quickly researched the facts and found
the problem. I called him back and asked him some questions to
clarify the facts. I was able to walk him through his problem. To
say he was thankful would be an understatement.”
(C) “I received the customer service award for excellence in my com-
pany for two years straight. I try to treat customers the way I
wouldwanttobetreated.Itrytolistentotheirproblemsandthen
tofindoutthefacts.IaskalotofquestionstomakesurethatIhave
all the details and then do research to put the pieces together.Be-
cause I am a person who is very organized,I can pull together the
facts and usually come up with a solution.I have had to take com-
plaints and even verbal abuse a couple of times,but I figure that’s
just pure frustration talking.It gives me a good feeling when I do
solve a customer’s problem and they are grateful to me for the
good service.”

I think the strongest answer is ____.