How to Ace the Top 9 Customer Service Representative Interview Questions

Impressing interviewers for a call center agent role is all about the preparation. If you can plan strong answers to the most common customer service representative interview questions, you’ll have a higher chance of receiving that job offer.

Let’s break down how to answer some of the customer service and call center representative interview questions that are most likely to come up.

Customer Service Representative Interview Questions You Should Prepare For

Tell Me About Yourself

This open-ended question is a variation on “Why are you the ideal candidate for this job?” When answering, stay focused on skills and attributes relevant to customer service and the company in question. Try to cover some of the main points in the job listing, while staying genuine and authentic.

Why Do You Want to Work Here?

The trick to answering this question is showing that you want to work both in the role and the company in question. This reassures the interviewers that you’re not going to quit in the near future, after they’ve already invested time in training you.

Start by mentioning why you want to be a customer service representative before explaining what attracts you to their company. Be as specific as possible. Try browsing their website, including the brand and mission statement, to see what sets them apart from their competitors. The more closely your answer aligns with their values and brand identity, the more likely the interviewers are to think you’re a good fit for the role.

What Are Your Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses?

If an interviewer asks you this, they want to see if you’re self-aware and motivated to improve. Pick a strength that relates to being a customer service representative, such as having good people skills. Then, give an example of how you perform better because of this.

As for your weakness, don’t be tempted by fake answers like “perfectionism.” Pick something that has proved challenging for you as a call center representative, and then explain how you successfully manage it. Try using the STAR – situation, task, actions, result – technique to help you demonstrate how much you’ve improved.

For example, let’s say that your weakness is that you dislike disappointing customers with bad news, such as that they’re not eligible for a refund (situation). You could then explain that you wanted to improve so you could better handle these calls (task). To achieve this, you asked your supervisor for suggestions and adopted several habits, including showing empathy and making sure you clearly explain the reasons why (action).

Finish by saying that today, you feel calmer and more confident during these calls. Plus, customers respond better to the bad news because they understand it and feel listened to (result).

What’s Your Definition of Good Customer Service?

When answering this question, you want to show how you personally provide good customer service. For everything you say, give an example of how you put that into practice.

It’s worth browsing the company website to see what they emphasize, as well as referring to the job listing. You can also think about the positive feedback you’ve received from customers and managers in the past.

How Do You Upsell and Cross-Sell During Calls?

Upselling is an important part of a customer service representative’s job, but interviewers know that many applicants struggle with it. Talk them through how you decide when to upsell and cross-sell, along with your methods. If possible, mention a time you achieved a particularly impressive upsell. Alternatively, if your upselling stats in your current role are strong, share those.

Tell Me About a Time When a Customer Was Dissatisfied. How Did You Resolve Their Issue?

This is another question in which you can use the STAR technique to underscore how well you handled the situation. Try to think of a few times when you did this, as the extra examples may be useful backup anecdotes for other questions.

On the other hand, if you don’t yet have customer service experience, don’t let this question intimidate you. Explain how you would handle the situation to your interviewer, and if they give you feedback, show appreciation.

If Your Manager Said Your Handling Time Was Too Long, What Steps Would You Take to Resolve That?

This question isn’t really about handling times, or any other problem that the interviewer could pick instead. What the interviewer is really looking for is to see how you respond to feedback, creatively look for solutions and work to improve.

A good response for nearly any issue is to start by saying that you appreciate getting feedback and would try to work out what exactly was causing the situation. Then, explain that you would ask for specific advice from your managers and experienced team members, and give a couple of examples of what you might do.

For example, you could say that you would review your call logs to work out if there was a pattern behind the longer handling times. Then, if you realized that you were spending a particularly long time on package upgrades, as an example, you could say that you would ask for advice related to performing those and also review the upgrade policies to make sure you could explain them clearly and concisely.

What Would You Do if You Didn’t Know the Answer to a Customer’s Query?

Questions like this are designed to check you can follow processes and won’t panic. Your answer should show two things: one, that you will provide the best possible customer service to the client; and two, that you will try to resolve the issue yourself before asking for help if you need it.

To further impress the interviewer, wrap up your answer by explaining that you would research the topic more after the call in case it came up again.

Are You Familiar with a Multi-Line Phone System (or Any Other System or Technology)?

This might seem like a yes-no question, but don’t make the mistake of giving a one-word answer. If you are familiar with it, highlight the most impressive parts of your experience. If not, emphasize that you’re a quick learner and always appreciate the chance to expand your skillset. For extra points, you could also ask for recommendations for learning more at home.

Impress Recruiters with a Professional Customer Service Representative Resume

The first step to getting a new job as a customer service representative in a call center is crafting a professional resume. It’s what will get you invited to interviews, and it’s often the last thing a recruiter reviews before making a job offer.

Your resume should show off your experience and excellent customer service skills, while being customized to the call center and company. Here at Rocket Resume, we’ve got a wide range of call center customer service representative resume templates to help you capture a recruiter’s attention.

Each one is ATS-readable and contains recruiter-approved phrasing suggestions. Plus, they only take minutes to create. Start building your resume now.