Support Agent

I’d like to think I react to situations as opposed to stress. The reality is, when handled correctly, many problems avoid becoming unnecessarily stressful. Come to think of it, I belive I actually work better under pressure. It’s help me produce some of my best work and to be honest I like being challenged. From a stress management point of view, I like to burn off the day with a workout or by going for a run.

There are a lot of customer support systems out there. Some of the more common ones include Zendesk, Freshdesk, Desk.com (owned by Salesforce), Zoho Support, and Jira Service Desk.

Great candidates should have specific stories of interactions they’ve had with customers. It demonstrates that they really do empathize with the individuals they’re serving and understand the value of great service.

It’s important for customer service reps to be empathetic and people-oriented. Good answers might include “I like talking to people and finding out about their lives” or “I love the feeling of helping somebody solve a problem they’re having.”

One of my previous jobs was as a receptionist, and I was surprised how consistently I encountered strange problems that clients had. While I was developing communication skills, I also quickly learned the critical thinking and problem-solving abilities that were necessary to help the people I interacted with on a daily basis. While it is impossible to help every single customer entirely solve their problems, I believe that I was able to do an exceptionally good job helping as many people as possible reach satisfaction.

This question should give you a sense of how experienced the candidate is and whether the issues they’ve dealt with in the past have prepared them for the challenges they’re likely to face while supporting your product or service.

This question should give you a sense of the candidate’s ability to empathize with a customer. Good customer service reps should be able to apologize and acknowledge known problems while assuring customers that your team is working on a solution.

I have been working in the service industry since 2010, meaning I have more than five years of experience. During this time I have worked in food service and as a receptionist. I feel that this has given me a pretty broad range of service experience, and both jobs required me to interact with customers nearly constantly. My responsibilities included making sales, answering questions, solving customer problems and complaints, and directing customers. I certainly believe that I will be able to successfully apply these skills to this customer service agent position.

That is a really great question. While I haven’t had the opportunity to develop within this particular role per se, I have actually become very involved in my local foodbank this year. This has taught me a great deal about community, teamwork, and taking initiative.

I took it upon myself to enroll in a summer business admin course at the local community college. Through this, I picked up some really great knowledge on communication and teamwork, as well as further develop overall managerial skills. Though it may not be directly applicable to this particular job, I believe the overall experience I gained could be a real asset here.

would stay longer and help the rest of my team take down the queue. It’s not like I’m going to skip lunch—I can always break a little later.

I’m very comfortable with multitasking, and I believe that I am absolutely capable of that. As a waiter I had to take care of multiple tables at once, while making sure that all tables had an equally satisfying experience. I believe that this skill would translate well to live chat.

One time a customer had a coupon for 25% off, which they had gotten online. Unfortunately however, the coupon was only available for online purchases—not in-store sales. I took care of the customer by placing an order online for them, and helping them input the code. Although they couldn’t leave the store with their item, they got the discount that they were looking for.

One time, a customer criticized a tone that I used with her. At first I thought that she was just saying that because she wanted to criticize someone. But then, after she left I sort of started examining myself. I realized I was kind of having a rough day, and that my tone might not have come off as friendly as I had intended it. I perked up, and spent the rest of the day making sure to not transmit any negative energy onto my customers.

The most effective customer service teams tend to value first contact resolution before above many other metrics. This is because customers who have to make repeat contact will not only be considerably less satisfied – they will also end up increasing the queue and ultimately taking up more time and resources.

If a candidate prefers to be a ‘lone wolf’, they’re probably not the right pick. Customer service reps are always communicating – with clients and customers, as well as with the rest of your team. They need to be easy to get along with, charismatic, and (almost always) extroverted. At the same time, you need a customer service agent who can work independently. They shouldn’t require constant supervision, but should enjoy teamwork.

At my last company, I noticed that a product that was often stolen was sports jerseys. Team sports was a department that was often targeted because it was so close to the exit. Since our company didn’t have any sort of tag or alarm on these jerseys, I suggested to management that we begin tagging this product, despite it being below the value that we usually tag. Two months later, our losses were down 25%.

Well, you can watch out for an ellipsis (…); that to me seems like an indicator that the customer is waiting for you to say something (when standing alone), or that they’re hesitant in some respect (when at the end of a sentence). If a customer responds in all capital letters they are probably very upset. How they use exclamation marks and smiley faces can also be telling of satisfaction levels.

Every customer service rep is going to encounter customers who are upset. Great candidates should remain respectful while continuing to provide as high a level of service as possible.