My experience at Boots in Store Assessment

jacques_chirac

AP007 wrote: »

I don't expect it the interviewer seemed to here in the first post.......mine was only an example. Who really needs help in Boots

Lots of people need help in Boots. Boots tends to attract an older customer, who does actively use the internet, and so they may need advice on what products suit their skin/ hair/ ailment etc. Given that they do not tend to be competitive on price, that is how they keep their customers - by offering a personal service.

AP007 wrote: »

Id never get a Boots interview

Going by your responses on this thread, for good reason.

AP007

jacques_chirac wrote: »

Lots of people need help in Boots. Boots tends to attract an older customer, who does actively use the internet, and so they may need advice on what products suit their skin/ hair/ ailment etc. Given that they do not tend to be competitive on price, that is how they keep their customers - by offering a personal service.



Going by your responses on this thread, for good reason.

They so do not offer a personal service. They are not trained in ailments and skin conditions, are they?

What's using the net got to do with it?

Oh hardy har har - I worked for two years in Superdrug when I was a teenager. I failed the assessment at Boots for a 15 hour a week job as I guess I gave the wrong answer to the one that asked 'I would do whatever my manger tells me' - you had to pick one from a list for the answer.

This however can not be answered without a supporting statement.

hgotsparkle

That is exactly how I remember my interview for when I had a xmas temp job there in 2006. I remember I picked out some hair straighteners specifically for frizzy hair (I knew they would be good ones for thick frizzy hair as I'd recently helped my aunt buy some).Straight after was told I'd got the job!
The training day is great too, you get shown around and paid well for it!


Shame about the manager I had, the reason I didn't stay when offered permanent position!

925dancer

AP007 wrote: »

I don't expect it the interviewer seemed to here in the first post.......mine was only an example. Who really needs help in Boots

You said Boots staff in general know nothing then used your experience of a discontinued budget product as an example of how little they knew.

I can't speak for the whole company, I only work in one store but I can tell you that nearly every single on of my colleagues has an area they are very knowledgeable in and they offer very to excellent service.

We have skincare specialists not affiliated to any brands along with brand specific consultants, we also have a pharmacy in every store if that would be more appropriate for a skin condition.

We have hair care specialists, fragrance consultants not affiliated to any brand, fragrance consultants who do work for a brand, healthcare trained consultants, baby and childcare specialists. The list goes on! Go into a bigger branch and I can almost guarantee someone will be able to answer whatever is thrown at them.

I have been known to spend upwards of an hour with a customer helping them choose products and I even have repeat customers. How many chain stores can say that?

I have always liked Boots, even before I ever thought I'd work for them. Superdrug is a whole other ball game, they might be cheaper but I have always hated shopping there, now that's somewhere the staff don't know anything.

Oh and the interview? Not about product knowledge, you are told to attend the interview having thought of a product you either use or would recommend. It's about customer service, thinking on your feet and being able to relay information while intuitively working out the customers needs.

ArfurDaley_2

I know - this is an old, old thread but it's one of the first results I found on Google, so... ARISE OH THREAD AND WALK THE EARTH ONCE MORE!:D :A :A :A

Anyway, I've had three interviews for Boots - one's tomorrow, and two I've been unsuccessful in. The first, I wasn't given an instore assessment at all - I should have raised that at the interview but I guess I figured that was their process and maybe the email had made a mistake.

The second, I did get an instore assessment straight after the interview, and I had a phone call today (just in time for tomorrow ha ha) from them giving me some feedback. They said that I was good, that it was just a few things that needed improving and they talked me through them; it was mainly things about when they asked me how I'd improve a certain isle - I wasn't in depth enough and am kicking myself a bit when he told me some of the things I could've said - they were so basic!

Couple of questions: I was told that he hadn't rejected me outright - but had added me to a 'talent pool'. I've heard of these before and have been told it's just a way to soften the blow and means nothing. Is that also the case with Boots? He said however that if he'd rejected me outright, that would have gone on the system and I wouldn't have got this interview that I have tomorrow. Who knows what that all means...

The second thing is while I was on my assessment, I was approached by a customer (I was in a very smart suit and standing near the store entrance). Was that likely to have been a test of some sort, or just a coincidence? Either way if that happens again, I'll play along and help them if I happen to have seen where the product is that they require (use of initiative might work in my favour). In the end, I told him that I wasn't working there, that I was on my assessment, but I was still able to help him find what he was looking for (Strepsils).

The interviewer didn't mention anything at all about the interview itself, so I guess his main objections about employing me were in the assessment itself. Either way, I feel more prepared and confident for tomorrow's interview.

Wish me luck guys and gals!