How to Answer: Talk about a time you had to communicate with a colleague or customer that was unhappy. What were the keys to making the situation better for all involved?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Absa Bank job interview.
22. Talk about a time you had to communicate with a colleague or customer that was unhappy. What were the keys to making the situation better for all involved?
How to Answer
Your ability to handle conflict will be an important part of this role with Absa Bank. Tellers are often the first line of defense with customers that call or come into the branch and you will be relied upon to help diffuse any situation that could get out of hand with customers. In your answer, try to focus on your communication skills that you feel are vital to your success in these situations. As you think of a situation you've been in to use in this situation, make sure that you can demonstrate the steps that you took to ensure that the unhappy customer or colleague left the situation in a much better place.
Written by Ryan Brunner on December 6th, 2020
1st Answer Example
"A few weeks ago, I was having a pretty normal day at the front of the store. About an hour from closing time, a customer stormed through our front door and approached me at a rapid place with a very mad look on her face. She slammed a bag on the counter and demanded a refund for a shirt that she had purchased last week because she claimed it had a tear in the armpit. Before I could even say anything back to her, she then began berating our store for selling inferior products and she demanded to see a manager right away. As calm as I could, I told the lady that I would be very glad to take care of a return for her and I'd be happy to put her in contact with a manager. I let her know that I'd need to take her number as our manager was not in the store that evening. While she still left upset after receiving a refund, I followed up with my manager the next morning to ensure that he followed up with her. He let me know that she had calmed down and thanked me for my service the evening prior. I know that my ability to not take her harsh words personally really helped make the situation better."
Written by Ryan Brunner on December 6th, 2020
2nd Answer Example
"Last year, I showed up to work to find my close colleague in a fit of rage at her work area. He was slamming desk drawers and using really inappropriate language. Knowing that this wasn't typical behavior from him, I immediately walked over to see what was wrong. He began by telling me that he had received a very bad customer complaint the day before and was now being reprimanded for it by our manager. He started to then talk badly about our manager and I immediately cut him off. By hearing what he had said, I tried to replay the conversation for him and then asked him what led to the customer complaint. I took a very empathetic approach to learn why he was feeling the way that he did and I quickly learned that he was indeed in the wrong in thet situation. My advice to him was to take a quick walk, calm down and hen go talk to our boss. Later that day, he thanked me for my great advice and talked about the lesson learned moving forward."