How to Answer: How would you respond if a client or customer asked you a question you didn't know the answer to?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an ADP job interview.
25. How would you respond if a client or customer asked you a question you didn't know the answer to?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
ADP offers a wide range of HR services, so you will likely run into a situation where you're unsure how to answer a client or customer. The interviewer wants to discover more about how you would react under pressure and when you lacked the knowledge necessary to answer a question.
Written by Jaymie Payne on November 13th, 2022
How to Answer
Demonstrate to the interviewer that you can acknowledge when you don't know something instead of making it up on the fly and commit to finding that answer and following up with the customer timely. Give an example of how you self-help and track down information or how you've found the appropriate person to ask. Telling a customer, "I don't know," or "that's not my department," is never appropriate, and the interviewer wants to learn more about your customer service skills and problem-solving approach.
Written by Jaymie Payne on November 13th, 2022
1st Entry Level Example
"As a newer employee in sales, I would have a lot to learn, so I'm sure I will run into a situation where I cannot immediately answer a customer or client's question. I would be transparent and let them know I would research the answer and get back to them as soon as I could. I would never make up an answer and would try to self-help with my available resources, and if I could not locate the answer timely, I would reach out to a colleague or manager to assist."
Written by Jaymie Payne on November 13th, 2022
1st Answer Example
"In a client-facing role like this, the customer experience is always my top priority, so if they asked a question to which I didn't know the answer, I would reassure them that I would find the answer for them and help them resolve the issue. If I knew it would take me some time to track down the answer, I would ask them if they had time to hold while I looked, and if they didn't, I would take their information down and get back to them timely. Follow-up is also important to me, and if I committed to finding an answer and getting back to them, I would ensure that I did."
Written by Jaymie Payne on November 13th, 2022
2nd Answer Example
"Working in tech support, I often get questions from customers related to other areas that I'm unfamiliar with. I know that being transferred a bunch of times is annoying to customers, so I take the time to make sure I find the appropriate person to handle their questions before transferring. Prior to transferring, I give the customer the direct line they need and upon transferring their call to the right person, I always wait until that employee comes on the line before excusing myself."
Written by Jaymie Payne on November 13th, 2022
About the Author
When I started my career in business management, branding, and marketing, I mistakenly assumed hard work and integrity alone would get me noticed. Back then, I assumed the harder I worked, the faster I’d rise through the ranks. Yet, even in a meritocracy, this is rarely the case.
The goals of my peers competed with mine, and too often, they were better at getting noticed for their accomplishments. And, some of them were all too happy to watch me working harder, as they worked smarter, rising through the ranks faster than me. At one point, a boss of mine labeled me a stealth worker. They said they had no idea I was the one performing all that great work. If only I’d drawn more attention to what I was doing, maybe I would have gotten rewarded for it. So I learned most of my leadership skills the hard way, and the journey was long.
As a leader, my favorite part of the job came to be coaching others. I took pride in sharing the secrets to my eventual success, and offering my outside-of-the-box view of the role. Where other leaders were only in it for themselves, I was genuinely in it for the company and the team. So I taught those I mentored not only what they needed to do, and how to do the job right, but why each step was important. I spelled out how everything fit into the big picture and shared every trick of the trade that no one shared with me. Every single individual I mentored advanced far ahead of their peers, surpassing those who were only in it for themselves.
Another favorite part of the job was recruiting and building the perfect teams. For me, conducting an interview was an art form. I later volunteered my services at career fairs and trade schools, offering advice, from crafting the perfect CV and resume, to delivering a perfect interview, to negotiating a decent raise. Now I am a full-time writer, and left my management career behind me. Yet, I still love coaching others to succeed, and I love writing for mockquestions.com for this very reason.
Here’s what I said to a friend of mine whom I mentored a long time ago: “Every single thing you do, at every stage, can alter the perception others have of your professional worth. My goal is to make you look like an asset worth fighting for.”
Learn more about Kevin Downey