How would you handle a physician who complained more than once about a medical product that you sold her/him?
The interviewer wants to gauge your ability to handle real-world issues that will arise if you get the job. They want to see if you have the correct temperament and experience to know how to handle a customer complaint and to de-escalate the situation.
There are many different ways to approach this situation but there are three things you want to be sure you address in a situation that involves a customer issue. First, make sure you are taking the time to verify you fully understand the problem at hand. It's important to identify whether the issue has gotten worse since the first complaint. Second, make sure that you are prepared to take the customer's issue seriously, no matter how trivial it may seem at first glance. Third, if you did present a solution before, you must work with the customer and your internal support to identify why that solution did not fix the problem.
This is a great time to bring in situational examples of when you've been successful. You definitely do NOT want to bring in any examples where a customer's issue was not quickly resolved and maintained long-term. Also, be sure that if you are using an anecdote that you are presenting it with the weight you handle the customer's issue with. You do not want your tone to imply that you didn't take the situation seriously, simply because time has passed!
"I would ensure I visit the account in person for a second complaint on the same product. If we had previously discussed the issue, I would walk them through my understanding of it and ask if there was anything I was missing. I would then ask if the issue had escalated since our last conversation. In my experience, this interaction will ensure that the customer feels thoroughly heard, even if I cannot solve the problem immediately. By telling them what I already understand, they will know that I am paying attention and will not have to feel as if they are repeating themselves. Once we do identify a solution that works, I will be sure to follow up with the account on at least a weekly basis to make that the solution continues to be viable."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I make sure that I set a f2f meeting for the second complaint to fully understand the issue. It's during this time that it's critical to make sure that the physician is heard, so I reiterate the issue at hand. Once we come to an understanding, I then will provide the best solutions to address the problem. I will make sure that I hyper-frequent this physician in the short term to make sure the issue is resolved and here for support as needed.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! Meeting with the physician face-to-face will definitely help you get to the heart of the problem. The interviewer will appreciate that you take the time to really hear the doctor and understand their issues. It's also great that you would frequently follow up to make sure that you had resolved their problem. Good job!
Unlock all 30 Medical Device Sales questions
Unlock expert responses that show how top performers handle technical and sales objections.
Get Started