Retail Interview

Tell me about yourself.

Well… I am a hardworking, and reliable employee with the skills and qualities required to succeed in retail.

I am most passionate about serving customers, enjoy learning about new products, and take great pride in delivering outstanding service.

I have a track record of my success. In my pervious line of work, where I was praised by my supervisor about my knowledge on the company’s products and how I was able to use the knowledge to answer customer queries.

I was also praised on my flexibility with my working hours and how I helped train new team members.

Why do you want to work in retail?

I enjoy working in a fast paced dynamic environment, where I am kept busy.

Whether its restocking goods, learning about new company products, or facing customer issues, i love the variety of working in retail.

I also want to work in retail because I am a people-person. I take great pride in serving customers and enjoy making their visit to the store memorable.

What are the most important skills and qualities needed to work in retail?

To succeed in retail, there are a few skills and qualities required.

In no particular order there is customer service, communication, teamwork and sales ability.

You must put the needs of the customer first, respond quickly, communicate positively and with clarity, and to collaborate with co-workers.

Other skills and qualities include flexibility to help the employer in times of need, problem solving skills because sometimes things go wrong in retail , and… time management.

Finally, you need product knowledge so you can quickly answer customer queries, be able to resolve customer complaints and be capable of acting with professionalism at high standards at all times while representing the company and brand.

How would you handle answering a customer complaint?

While dealing with a customer complaint, I would always adhere to my training and company complaints handling procedure.

Step one would be to listen to the customer carefully while also demonstrating active listening skills.

Step two would be to ask clarifying questions to confirm the problem.

And if the company were at fault, I would apologise at the earliest opportunity. Which would help defuse the situation at hand.

I would also show understanding by saying something like: “Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. I can appreciate how you must feel and I will do anything to help resolve the issue.”

Step four would be to create a solution to the problem and to confirm that the customer is satisfied with my resolution.

Finally, I would apologise again to the customer and take steps to ensure the same problem did not happen again. I would also share my findings with other members of the retail team.

Tell me about a time you provided excellent customer service.

In my previous role, I assisted a customer over the phone in placing an order through our website.

The customer was an elderly person and they were anxious because they had never placed an order online before.

My task was to reassure them and talk them through the online ordering process.

I then explained in simple steps how to add the product they wanted into the shopping cart. I then explained how the shopping cart was secure before telling them how to add their payment details.

Although the call took longer than usual the customer placed the order successfully and thanked me for my patience and reassurance.

Why should we hire you?

You should hire me because I will consistently provide excellent service, represent your brand positively and be flexible with my job description and working hours to support the business to ensure it achieves its commercial and financial goals.

True or false? The customer is always right?

I believe we should always try our best to accommodate guests, but sometimes there can be miscommunication.

When this happens its important to remain calm and work with the customer to defuse the situation as positively as possible.

A customer begins asking questions you are not sure how to answer. What do you do?

If I dont know the answer, and theres a co-worker with more knowledge about the customers question, ill connect them.

If not, ill note that I may have not tried the product myself but I can offer my best suggestion based on my own general product experience.

Describe how you communicate availability changes and time off requests to your current or previous employers.

How do you ensure that your absence doesnt disrupt the store and your coworkers?

In my previous role, I cultivated strong relationships with my coworkers and communicated with them to adjust our schedules and cover for each other.

When my class schedule changed and I had to adjust my availability. I updated my manager as soon as I knew… so that they could create upcoming schedules without friction.

I communicated my availability changes to my manager both in writing and verbally since our days were very fast-paced and busy.

What do you feel like are the three most essential qualities for a retail associate to possess?

I found the best way to make a sale is to be honest and find clothing options that truly suit the customer.

I also believe cheerfulness is important because a happy customer is often a returning customer.

Finally, its important to be discerning, to recommend the right clothes to match a customers style and comfort.

What do you enjoy most about working in retail?

My favorite thing about working in retail is helping a customer to find the perfect item.

In a previous job, I worked in a library, and it was always so much fun to learn about the customers interests, research our inventory, and help find the exact book they were searching for.