Virgin media interview and role play - help!

SilverCloud_2

I have a telephone interview tomorrow including a role play for a customer relations executive for Virgin Media. Has anyone done this interview and know what kind of questions come up?

Also i have never done a role play before and have no idea what to expect - any ideas?

Thanks

InsideInsurance

Not had such an interview with VM - they didnt exist back in my call centre days - but very similar things were done with the long list of other companies I dealt with.

The role plays tend to be fairly short and are basic, you will be told the setup and then expected to play a role with the interviewer playing the other role... unsurprisingly you play the agent and they play the customer. Obviously you cannot be expected to understand systems, processes etc and so it is all about your approach, attitude etc. If your going for a sales role then typically it is something like you are told you are calling a customer to try and sell them a pen - obviously you then go on to sell with the import thing of not giving up the first time they say no but obviously not lying etc. For service roles they may come on the line shouting saying they demand to speak to your manager - you should try and calm them down, try and get basic details from them (so you can get them to the right person etc) and not just immediately say ok I'll get my manager.

Sales role plays normally end with you making the sale; service ones normally will simply be terminated after they've exhausted the irate aspect.

They always feel a little awkward, even to those of us that have done lots of them, in particular service as candidates get scared that they dont know how to fix a VM machine or a billing issue etc but it will be terminated before it gets to that phase of the call.

micflair_2

Hey, I had this very call yesterday.

They will ask you a couple of questions, firstly explain about a time you made a sale or persuaded someone into your mind of thinking. The second one was when you felt proud of doing something at work.

The roleplay - the guy gave me a scenario and asked me to play someone from VM, he played a mad customer who had moved house and the engineer had turned up late to his house to install equipment. I had to apologise etc, listen to the guy and let him vent (important). Then offer him something to help him out and calm him down etc.

Pretty basic stuff, but good to know upfront whats coming - now you do.

Good luck.

SilverCloud_2

Whats the difference between a customer relations executive and a customer service advisor?

InsideInsurance

It depends on the context, it could be the identical thing if you are talking about roles in different companies or even different departments within the same company. If you are talking about two roles in the same department in the same company then they evidently have slightly different roles and responsibilities.

At a former company everyone was an "advisor" but there was the customer service team who were first line for enquiries and the customer relations team who were second line for customer complaints.

Back in my day of working for a supermarkets call centre we were all customer service managers despite being basic telephone agents. Their theory was so if the in store CSM (who was a true "manager") was unavailable then an in store Advisor could pass the customer to a CSM in the call centre.

Looking at roles and responsibilities is much more telling than job titles though of cause many use fairly generic profiles and so have questions for the interview to clarify any areas of uncertainty

SilverCloud_2

Ah okay i see, thanks for your reply

Well i just got off the phone now and have to say i totally messed that up due to completely misunderstanding the first question! Nevermind ey

InsideInsurance

The first one? Ie, "can I speak to SilverCloud?" - did you say no?

Unless they have said no, dont ever think an interview has gone well or bad as it can be very difficult to tell.

kar85

Hi everyone,

I was asked the same questions and roleplay where customer had moved from previous house and technician had arrived late and customer has missed holiday and due to the delay it cost 7 pounds and asked to speak to manager.

I apologized and empathized but did not ask questions. Instead, I gave the option that I would be able to provide the refund.
I was rejected.

I have applied for a similar role for VM, and expecting the same roleplay. I would like to know how best to handle this situation,
with proper structure and sequence as I dont want to get rejected again.

First, I'd Apologize, Empathize.

Do I need to ask questions like what time did the technician arrive?how much delay caused?What was the time given by us?

Then depending on the customer's answer, say we value your feedback and I will definitely pass your feedback to my manager and explain how much problem you have undergone. Thank you for taking the time to inform us.

And should I also tell that I will follow up your case and find out what caused the delay and I will make sure this wont happen in future.


What question to ask to find out what the customer wants you to do?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you