How to Answer: Tell me about a time when you have made an unpopular decision.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Casinos job interview.
6. Tell me about a time when you have made an unpopular decision.
How to Answer
You cannot make everyone happy all of the time. When you work in a hospitality based role, you are faced with numerous personalities and preferences every day. Also, your team will be made up of a wide range of people. Talk to the interviewer about a time when you had to make a decision that you knew was for the better of the company, but perhaps unpopular among your staff or clients. How did you come to a decision, and how did you deal with the effects of your unpopular decision.
1st Answer Example
"Just this year I needed to implement split shifts among my serving staff. Our staffing costs were too high, and we had a severe drop in patrons between 2-4PM. Some of our staff threatened to quit, while others were just fine with the decision. I knew it would be unpopular; however, I stuck with my decision because I knew it would significantly help our bottom line over time. I was correct, and after just six months, we reduced staffing costs by 15%."
2nd Answer Example
"This past month I decided to terminate our lead customer service agent. The decision did not come easy as he was a longstanding member of our service department. With that said, this particular person had 3x the customer complaints than any other team member, was regularly tardy, and had two no-show incidences the month before. He was beloved among the team, so the news was not welcomed. I knew it was the right decision and luckily, our team bounced back quite quickly afterward."