national grd

Tell me about a time you turned an unhappy customer into a satisfied customer.Please describe the situation, your actions and the outcome.

"At Ample Hills Creamery, I worked the counter handling orders, POS, and cash during high-volume summer shifts — the kind of environment where mistakes can happen fast. One day, a large group of young children and parents came in during an already crowded rush, and one of the children's orders came out wrong. The mother had tried to politely get my coworker's attention, but with a line building up behind her and the rest of her group waiting, she was understandably growing frustrated.

I signaled her over and the first thing I did was actually listen. I didn't get defensive or rush to explain myself — I let her tell me what went wrong and acknowledged it directly. Then I moved quickly to fix it: remade the order accurately, double-checked it against exactly what her child had wanted, and with my manager's approval, added free extra toppings — something to make up for the wait. I was intentional about leading with understanding and accountability, and I kept my tone calm and steady the whole time, because I knew how I handled it would set the tone for how she felt about the whole interaction, not just the mistake itself.

I also made sure to flag the pattern to my manager afterward — this wasn't the first time a particular order type had gotten mixed up during rushes. That feedback actually helped us change our whole workflow: we went from an assembly-line, Chipotle-style setup where a party's order moved through multiple scoopers, to having one scooper or cashier support a single party from order placement through toppings, drinks, and checkout. That cut down on the mix-ups significantly.

The outcome was that the customer left satisfied, and I didn't need a manager to step in beyond approving the free item. What that experience taught me is that people mostly want to feel heard before they want the fix — and that a small, good-faith gesture, even one that costs the business very little, goes a long way. That matters even more with something essential like utility service, where a customer calling in might already be stressed about their home or their bill. Staying patient, listening first, and solving the problem accurately, not just quickly, is something I'd bring directly into this role."

Workplaces often require the ability to cope with complex and changing

environments. Please describe a time when you had to adapt to a changing

environment..

"I can give a specific example from a music video shoot I worked on. We had a full day scheduled with a shot list, hair and makeup order, and a lineup of sets and lighting setups planned around when specific actors and extras were supposed to arrive. Partway through the morning, the extras for one of our main scenes ran late — which meant if I just followed the plan as written, we'd have a chunk of the crew standing around with nothing to shoot, burning daylight and burning budget, since the actors were on hourly rates.

So I had to quickly triage what we could actually accomplish with who and what was on set right that moment. I rearranged the shot list on the fly, prioritizing scenes that didn't need those extras, and changed the order of the hair and makeup schedule to match — pulling the actors and looks that were already available to the front instead of sitting idle. At the same time, I had other sets and lighting setups built out early, ahead of when they were originally scheduled, so the moment the extras did arrive, everything was ready to go and we didn't lose additional time getting them camera-ready.

That meant coordinating closely with a few different people at once — hair and makeup, lighting, the actors who were already there — to make sure everyone knew the new order and nobody was left waiting on information. It wasn't just about keeping busy, it was about making sure every piece of the reshuffle actually lined up so we weren't creating a new bottleneck somewhere else.

The outcome was that we still finished the day on time and got every scene we needed, despite losing planned time to the late arrival. And because we'd restructured the schedule instead of just waiting it out, the actors on hourly rates ended up on set for less total time than originally planned, which actually saved us budget instead of costing us extra.

That experience is a good example of how I handle a changing environment — when the plan breaks, I don't just react, I quickly figure out what's actually possible with what's in front of me, reorganize around it, and keep the team moving together instead of stalling. That kind of quick problem-solving and staying calm under a shifting schedule is something I'd bring directly into a fast-moving contact center environment, where priorities and volume can shift call to call."

Please describe a time you had to cope with a high-pressure or stressful situation at

work. Describe the situation, how you responded, and your approach. What was the

outcome?

"I can give a specific example from that same Labor Day documentary shoot. The night before, at around 8 PM, our equipment vendor for the Honda generator called to cancel — they'd double-booked and realized last minute they didn't actually have a generator available for us. This was a problem because the whole crew was already off for the night, and we had an early morning ahead of us, with equipment and vendor pickups starting as early as 5 AM. There wasn't time to wait until morning to sort it out, but there also wasn't a full team available to help me figure it out in that moment.

Instead of panicking or waiting to see if the original vendor could find a solution, I went through our full list of vendors we already had scheduled for pickups that morning, to see if any of them could also supply a generator. I found one we were already planning to pick equipment up from that had one available. I called them that night to confirm before we needed to be on the road, and it worked out — not only did we secure the generator in time, but because it was a vendor we were already stopping at, we ended up saving money and time on travel too, since we could handle multiple pickups in fewer trips instead of adding an entirely separate stop across town.

My approach in the moment was to stay focused on what I could actually control rather than the fact that the original plan had fallen apart. I didn't spend energy being frustrated with the vendor — I went straight to problem-solving: what resources do we already have access to, and how do I use them differently to close this gap before the morning. Working under that kind of time pressure, with the whole crew relying on equipment being ready, meant I had to think clearly and move fast without cutting corners on making sure the replacement generator would actually work for what we needed.

The outcome was that we had a generator secured and confirmed before our 5 AM start, the shoot went on as planned without any delay, and we actually came in under budget on travel because of how I restructured the pickups. That experience is a good example of how I handle pressure — I stay calm, I look at what's actually available to me rather than getting stuck on what fell through, and I move quickly toward a solution instead of freezing up. That's exactly the mindset I'd bring to a fast-paced contact center, where an unexpected issue can come up with no warning and still needs to get resolved accurately and fast."

Describe a specific time when it was extremely important for you to follow a set of

rules and regulations. Please describe the situation, your actions and the outcome. 3 minutes

"I can give a specific example from a documentary shoot I worked on for Labor Day. We were filming out of the back of a pickup truck — inside it we had a Honda generator, subwoofers, mixers, monitors, and a mess of wiring all packed into a confined space, plus actors, a DJ, and drinks around a crowd of people. So you had gas-powered equipment, live electrical wiring, and liquids all in close proximity to a group of people — which meant safety protocol wasn't optional, it was the difference between a smooth shoot and someone getting hurt or a piece of equipment catching a short.

The generator was the biggest risk. I made sure it was positioned up on a post so air could flow freely out the side of the truck and away from the crowd — generators put off carbon monoxide and heat, and in a confined space like that, poor ventilation is genuinely dangerous, not just bad for the equipment. I also checked gas levels regularly throughout the day so we wouldn't have a mid-shoot failure or a refueling mistake around live power. Our main audio and equipment technician was handling the bigger electrical work, like making sure our power source had proper GFCI protection against shock — and I took the initiative to support him by handling the physical safety layer around that: securing gear, managing cable, and controlling the space so he could focus on the electrical side without distraction.

For the heavier equipment, I made sure subwoofers and cases were strapped down and secured flat rather than left standing upright, so nothing could tip or shift with people moving through the space. I ran the wiring in a loop through the back of the truck and used cable ramps to keep everything taped down and out of the walkway — with that many people in a tight space, loose cable is one of the fastest ways to get someone hurt. The monitors were drilled into the floorboards, and the DJ booth itself was hard-mounted the same way, so nothing could tip or lose balance mid-performance. With drinks around, I also put waterproof covers on the wiring and monitors to keep any liquid away from live electrical connections.

I positioned the equipment monitors behind the DJ, which did double duty — it kept them anchored and out of the walkway, and it created a physical barrier between the DJ, the extras, and the crowd, so people weren't drifting into the equipment. Then I built a wooden plank and drilled that into the floorboard too, to give the DJ a clearly defined, stable footing and keep him boxed off from the monitors while he performed.

The outcome was we shot the entire day without a single equipment failure or safety incident, in a tight, high-traffic space with a lot of moving parts. That experience is exactly why I take procedure seriously — I know how to look at a setup, spot where things could go wrong, and work with the people around me to fix it before it does."

Tell me about a time you had to learn a new skill or procedure and describe the

steps you took to ensure you were successful. Please describe the situation, your

actions and the outcome.

"When I was brought on at New York Noise, I was hired into a role — essentially an Executive Producer position — based on the work I'd done in my own career as an independent artist and creative project manager. But I didn't come in with formal industry experience in that specific world, so a lot of what the job actually required day-to-day, I had to teach myself from the ground up.

That meant learning industry-standard workflow platforms I hadn't used before, figuring out how to properly construct and format dossiers and organizational documentation the way the industry expected, and shifting my mindset from more customer-service-style interactions to managing actual client and vendor relationships — which required a different level of professionalism and follow-through. On top of that, there was a lot of detailed data entry involved, from meta-tagging to other documentation work, that I had to get accurate and consistent.

My approach was to break it down instead of trying to absorb everything at once. I started with whatever was immediately in front of me — the first dossier, the first vendor conversation, the first platform I needed to use that week — and learned it thoroughly by doing it, rather than trying to study the whole role in the abstract. I also asked questions early rather than guess, and I sought out mentors around me who had more experience, so I could learn from what I didn't know instead of trying to figure everything out alone. On top of that, I put in time outside of work on my own to actually get proficient — practicing the workflow platforms, working on how I pitched ideas to clients, and learning the most efficient ways to relay creative ideas across very different teams: creative, financial, and labor and technical crew, who all think about a project differently and need information communicated differently to act on it.

Over time, that added up — the workflows that felt unfamiliar at first became second nature, and the client and vendor relationships I was managing became more consistent and professional because I understood not just what to do, but why it mattered to do it that way.

The outcome was that I was able to hold that role effectively despite not coming in with direct industry experience, producing organized, accurate documentation and building solid working relationships with clients and vendors. That experience is a good example of how I approach learning something new — I don't wait until I feel fully ready, I get in, lean on the people around me, put in the extra work on my own time, and build competence through doing the work accurately and asking the right questions along the way."

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF

I am a creative operations professional with 5+ years managing client and vendor relations, admin/data entry, and serving as main Poc for cross team coordination and problem solving against live events. After working in creative startups and small nonprofit teams for the past couple of years, i am hopign to gain more a stable and focused career path gaining mor evaluable experience in customer sevrice/client relations taht can build towards a stable career path.

Why did you apply for this position?

"I applied because as a New York City resident, I'm familiar with National Grid and the impact you have on making this city run. After years of client relations, issue triage, cross-team coordination, and precise data entry and admin work, I believe I have a lot of the core skills needed to succeed in a fast-paced customer rep role here. It also matters to me personally — I like knowing that the customer interactions and support I'm providing have a real, material effect on people's lives, giving New Yorkers access to something as essential as their utilities."

Why are you looking to leave your current position?

"Honestly, I haven't found much stability working in smaller creative startups and nonprofit roles. I'll always stay connected to the creative and nonprofit space in some way — that work matters to me — but right now I'm looking for a more sustainable career path, one with real structure and room for upward mobility. That's a big part of what drew me to National Grid."

Follow-up: "What does upward mobility look like to you here?"

"For me, it starts with mastering this role first — becoming someone who's accurate, reliable, and genuinely good at helping customers, because I think that foundation matters more than rushing ahead. But long-term, I'd love to grow into more specialized or senior support roles, and eventually into something like a team lead or operations position, where I could use the coordination and cross-team experience I've built to help train others or improve how the team handles issues. I'm someone who naturally starts noticing patterns and process improvements once I understand a system well, so I'd want to put that toward helping the team get more efficient over time, not just growing my own title."

What is a strength and a weakness you have?

"A strength of mine is pattern recognition and problem-solving. Across my time at New York Noise and in my customer-facing service roles before that, I have plenty of examples where my ability to triage an issue, resolve it, and then recognize the underlying pattern was key — not just to fixing that one problem, but to improving the workflow so it didn't keep happening, which ultimately supported the overall business.

As for a weakness, I don't have specific experience with phone support, so I'd need some training on company protocols and the workflow platforms you use here. That said, I'm committed to closing that gap quickly — whether that's using my own time to study training materials or completing whatever on-site training is necessary. I feel confident that I already have the soft skills and technical background to succeed in this role; the phone-specific piece and any company specific data entry platforms  is really the only thing I'd need to build on.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

What are the characteristics of someone who succeeds in

this role?

How would my performance be measured in this role?

WHY SHOULD WE HIRE YOU?

"After years of client relations, issue triage, cross-team coordination, and precise data entry and admin work, I believe I have a lot of the core skills needed to succeed in a fast-paced customer rep role here. I'm used to meticulous data entry and documentation from years of work — everything from metadata tracking and revision logs to larger organizational documents like client memos and internal reports. I've always worked in front-facing roles, from customer service to client relations, and I take pride in my conflict resolution and triage skills, especially in fast-paced, cross-team environments. I'm eager to start a new chapter in my career with a company that makes a real, material impact in people's lives."

What does National Grid Do?

National Grid is a company that provides electricity, gas, and energy to many people. They work with supplying energy directly to customers. I know that National Grid is connecting people with the energy they need. Energy is vital for many people, and this increases my desire to work toward implementing better designs for those who may need it. In this internship, I hope to learn more about how National Grid works, such as how they might evaluate designs from different agencies or work to deploy and implement different infrastructures

Do the right thing

• Stand up for safety every day

• Put our customers first

• Be inclusive, supporting and caring for each other

• Speak up, challenge and act where something doesn’t feel right

Find a better way

• Embrace the power and opportunity of diversity

• Increase efficiency to help with customer affordability

• Work with others to find solutions for customers

• Commit to learning and new ideas
  

Make it happen

• Take personal ownership for delivering results

• Be bold and act with passion and purpose

• Focus on progress over perfection

• Follow the problem through to the end