Feel daft for asking but could really use some help/advice

Errata

But if you'd had to intervene, you would have done so using your knowledge, skills and experience. So 'fortunately I was never faced with x,y,z but if I had been I would have blah blah blah.'
Was there never anything that fell just the right side of borderline that you had to decide whether or not to intervene and before you did, plan your intervention strategy?

teabag29

Well no to be fair, I had to make sure the youths were never asked the same question twice but mostly the solicitor would speak up if needed but from my experience the police were always very fair with them it was usually the youths giving the police alot of backchat and being unco-operative

tesuhoha

Those first answers of yours sound good.

Apart from the job when you were sixteen, have you worked in any other job where there were customers of some kind, i.e. a school with pupils, an office with suppliers/buyers, a cafe, as a cleaner? If so, you can probably find a situation where you used tact and diplomacy and customer service skills.

teabag29

Oh there was once when I was volunteering at court to do some victim support work (I had to go every Tuesday and show the victims round, where they'd sit, show them the dock etc) when the accused got very high rate and began to shout at the defendant who was sat with me. I had to try and calm him down and ask him to sit back over on his side..... it didnt go so well though he wouldnt listen so i had to call security over haha. God im gonna look such a tool.... 'can u demonstate where youve shown good customer service skil'?..... "well actually no i cant!"

teabag29

tesuhoha wrote: »

Those first answers of yours sound good.

Apart from the job when you were sixteen, have you worked in any other job where there were customers of some kind, i.e. a school with pupils, an office with suppliers/buyers, a cafe, as a cleaner? If so, you can probably find a situation where you used tact and diplomacy and customer service skills.

No I havent so I cant even make up an answer because she'll say why isnt that job on your cv....oh dear

tesuhoha

teabag29 wrote: »

No I havent so I cant even make up an answer because she'll say why isnt that job on your cv....oh dear

In that case, don't panic. Try to think of a real life situation with a difficult person where you have had to use diplomacy and tact. They just want to know what kind of person you are and if you have those kind of skills with people.

Errata

teabag29 wrote: »

Oh there was once when I was volunteering at court to do some victim support work (I had to go every Tuesday and show the victims round, where they'd sit, show them the dock etc) when the accused got very high rate and began to shout at the defendant who was sat with me. I had to try and calm him down and ask him to sit back over on his side..... it didnt go so well though he wouldnt listen so i had to call security over haha. God im gonna look such a tool.... 'can u demonstate where youve shown good customer service skil'?..... "well actually no i cant!"

That demonstrates front facing customer service skill and even more importantly conflict resolution.

neverdespairgirl

teabag29 wrote: »

Well no to be fair, I had to make sure the youths were never asked the same question twice but mostly the solicitor would speak up if needed but from my experience the police were always very fair with them it was usually the youths giving the police alot of backchat and being unco-operative

Then talk about dealing with the little darlings at the police station - when you had to talk to them, what you had to do, what your role was, dealing with the police / solicitor / youths themselves.

picklekin

Its customer services, if you haven't been on one side, you can be sure you've been on the other! For example, "think of a time when you have experienced great customer service" you can say what you liked when someone served YOU, what was good about it (that they listened, explored all the options and managed expectations etc).

Also you can guarantee that when you are done they will ask you if you have any questions, be sure to think up a few "What are the team who work here like?" (makes you sound like a team player) "How long would the training take?" (makes you look keen).

katsu

Step back. The question was when you had demonstrated good behaviours for retail and customer service.

Think about what sort of behaviours they are. What behaviours do you get from people in shops that is good retail help or good customer service? Come up with your list - maybe go watch some shop staff?

So I thought of:
* polite and clear communication - when have you communicated clearly to someone so they understood something?
* being helpful beyond what is asked - eg being friendly and chatting to people and being able to tell them about what is going on (you understand Smiths want you to be able to tell people about the promotions that they may be interested in, to sell them more). When have you given someone extra information, or taken time to talk to them, understand what they need and offered help like taking someone to a place or item, or showing them how something works?
* paying attention to the person you are with - you can say that in shops it is not nice when people are not paying full attention to the customer so you can give an example maybe about focussing on a person in a distracting situation or not getting too into chatting with a colleague so you don't get distracted.
* focussing on how much help the person wants - eg shop staff saying, would you like me to show you where that is vs constantly pestering someone. think about when you paid attention to a child or adult to see if your suggested activity met their needs or giving someone space to explore options - talk about how someone may want to browse the books for a bit perhaps and how that is like helping in playgroup or similar?

I'm not a parent so my thoughts may not be quite right but if you use their star model I think you do something like this:

Q - when have you dealt with someone being rude or difficult in a customer service type situation?
Your ans:
My neighbour had to rush their older child to hospital as he fell over.

I offered to look after my neighbour's younger child

Their child was quite stressed and anxious and angry about what had happened so they did not want to play nicely with my child, which was causing them distress and it was all getting more loud and out of hand.

I made eye contact with them and used a calm tone of voice to explain why they needed not to shout. I made sure I did not shout too. By speaking quietly they had to listen to me to know what I said. I acknowledged that they were worried and offered them a distraction "I am sorry you can't play with your truck at home, shall we go and see what we have in our garden?" and by coming around the table to talk to them there were no barriers between us and it did not feel so confrontational.

The result was they stopped shouting, it did not frighten my child and the time passed peacefully until Mum came back.

I think in a shop I could do something similar: look at the customer, acknowledge them not avoid them, ask questions to ensure I understand what they want. Try and offer them what we do have and see if we can meet their needs in some way, and remain polite at all times and not take it personally as I know it is not me they are angry with.

Good luck with the interview