Help for interview

[akaal]

Hi,

I have a telephone interview coming up in a few days and the company has given us a few questions to think about before the interview.

One of them are:

1. Have you ever exceeded a customers expectations and done something thats not in your job requirement/restriction? (How you did it and how they felt after the service you gave).


The above I have an example but of my advisors for the job think it is not good enough.

The answer I have is:

While working in a busy retail store, I was re stocking products on shelves. A customer approached me about a product that was out of stock. I replied that we would have more in by the end of the week. The customer again asked if we have any in stock, but since the product was not out on the shop floor, I know we didnt have it.

I told the the customer that I will check in the warehouse to see if there are any products left, but this meant leaving my duty on the shop floor. I went to the warehouse to look for the product, and after 10 minutes of searching I found one left. I went down to the customer and explained it took a lot of searching to find it. They were happy and delighted with service and said they would return next week to shop for more products.


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Are there any hidden messages in the questions because my advisor doesn't think its a good enough statement.

[retailworld]

Welcome to the forum.

I think what your advisor might be getting at is you need something a bit more 'not in your job description'.

For example (it's bad, but just to make the point)... "I was serving cocktails on a flight to Crete, when both pilots fainted. I'd done a few hours additional pilots training, and was able to land the aircraft safely at the nearest airport."

What job are you applying for?

You need to demostrate you've clearly basically jumped in at the deep end to keep your store trading. Can give you a few better examples if you let me know what you're applying for.

[akaal]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply! Well I'm applying for a sales advisor at orange retail. To be honest I can't think of a time that's happened to me so I may have to male it up. Any suggestions?

[m8internet]

NEVER lie at an interview, if you do it may come back to haunt you
The employer is looking for what we call "life skills" and shows that you can perform your role, plus those little extra things that make YOU a benefit to them

I use these two, it's not job specific as both have happened to me
I have attended basic first aid courses, nothing more, and am always willing to attend other such training courses
Due to my rail transport and petrol retail experience I have also attended fire fighting courses

1
Whilst working as a supervisor in a restaurant I noticed a customer had stopped drinking and was slowly leaning back in their chair
As I walked over the customer fell out of the chair, but was caught by another customer in the table opposite
The casualty started shaking violently (my initial thoughts were that we had poisoned this person!), but was being held safely by the other customer
I asked this person if they could cope and they agreed
This allowed me to remove two cushions from some chairs, and I then took over, placing the cushions under and around this persons head, and then kneeling down, loosely placing my knees either side
This then freed up the customer, and I asked them to go to the counter, and request that an ambulance be called for
Another customer then came over and asked if they could help
I asked this person to carefully check through the casualties personal belongings and see if there were any imdeical cards or indications of a medical problem
All that was established was the persons name
Throughout this I was holding the casualties left hand and slowly I could fee their grip coming back, meaning the siezure was over and they were returning to conciousness
At this stage the ambulance crew arrived, all I could advise them was the persons name and the seizure appeared to be over

2
Very similar to the above
I was waiting in the queue at my local Post Office
The customer in front of me keeled over and hit the floor
She lay on the floor for some time, surrounded by other customers, but initially noone seemed to know what to do
I politely squeezed my way through and asked if anyone knew who she was
I placed the casualty in the recovery position
The Manager then appeared, however they seemed unprepared for this
I asked that they go phone for an ambulance, then try to find some blankets and cushions or similar and bring them
The casualty then tried to stand up but istantly collapsed again, so I had to return her to the recovery position
The Manager then returned with the phone
I asked of they had phoned for an ambulance, but they had not!
As I was dealing with the casualty I asked that they phone for an ambulance, with their reply "Are you sure?"
Eventually the Manager did phone for an ambulance and also returned with a blanket, which I placed under the casualty (due to the concrete floor)
Sadly I wasn't able to get the casualties name, so I wasn't able to tell the ambulance crew much other than what had happened

It transpired this woman had not eaten anything in the morning and had collapsed as a result

[retailworld]

Excellent examples.

Or if you also want a job-specific example...

"Whilst working for X, I turned up at the start of my shift to find my supervisor had phoned in sick, and was the only person responsible for ordering frssh produce for the store each day. I used my initiative to phone the supplier, explain that we couldn't order a full delivery, but just to have some basics delivered so that we wouldn't have to open the next day without key products. My actions saved the company £100 in lost sales the next day, and my supervisor was quick to thank me..."

[m8internet]

Most people with experience could do that

However, when I was a Manager I had three days off and they put a trainee Manager in (who had NO relevant retail exprience)
When I returned from holiday on the Friday I knew I was due a delivery from P&H, which would take me through to Monday
I filled the shop then prepared the stockroom to receive this delivery
Later in the afternoon the lorry pulled up, but unusually the driver came through the front door carrying five boxes of crisps, "What's this?"
"This is your delivery"
A typical Friday delivery would be between 100 and 125 outers
I knew straight away I would start running low on some line by Saturday evening, and Sunday would just be a riot!
I phoned P&H but the earliest they could deliver was Monday, and they already had that order
However, I had created that order on arriving back
It wasn't until the next weekend when stock levels got back to normal, the next delivery was 200 outers, and was so large we couldn't get it all in the stockroom!

[akaal]

Hi,

I think I may have an example that I could use.


I have worked for a previous mobile phone retailer which I think is a good example to use.


A customer came in for an upgrade on their handset. I dealt with the customer personally and made sure all their paper work is sorted and that their upgrade would go through. The next day the customer returned that their upgrade had not gone through. Their current sim disconnected and their new sim was also disconnected. Therefore they had no mobile number active. This customer was worried and wanted their upgrade to go through. They also explained that they had a flight to catch for their holiday that same evening. The time was near for the store to close. I explained that I would ring customers services and try get the sim card activated. The customer was panicking as they had to get home and leave with their partner for their holiday.

My manager was away and I was trying to think of other ways to solve this situation. The only solution I had was to keep their mobile phone and sim in store while on the phone to customer services and resolve the matter. Then I would have to personally go drop off their handset after the shop closed. I explained the matter to the customer and they felt I was willing to help and go out my way for them. They appreciated my help immensely and felt much more calm and relaxed.

The customer left the store and I carried on dealing with the sim activation. After a while of waiting, I was told the upgrade had not gone through and that it would take a further 24 hours, but would most likely happen in the next hour. I went to go drop off the handset and explained to the customer there was a fault on hour end and apologised for the delay. The customer was very happy that I had gone out my way to help them and thanked me again.


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Is this a good example?

[m8internet]

Its not the best example, and I wouldn't include any details of offering to take the items back to the customers home address (that could land you in hot water nowadays!)
However keeping the customer up to date and be seen to be acting in their interests, where as you could simply have said "No, we'll just cancel and give you your money back"