How to Answer: Talk about a time that you had a difficult experience with a customer/client and how you handled the situation?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Veterinary Technician job interview.
31. Talk about a time that you had a difficult experience with a customer/client and how you handled the situation?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
The interviewer is looking to determine how well you handle conflict with customers and clients. There are times when pet owners may disagree with a plan of care or your professional opinion. There may also be times that a coworker may disagree with a decision that you have made. The interviewer wants to hear that if faced with this type of conflict, you will handle it professionally.
Written by Lindsay Williams Ortega on March 7th, 2022
What You Should Say
Think about a time that you had an experience with one of your coworkers or a customer that was difficult, talk about how you handled that situation and what steps you took to resolve the issue. Tell the interviewer what you were able to learn from this particular experience.
Written by Lindsay Williams Ortega on March 7th, 2022
Answer Example
"In my first role as a veterinary technician, I had a customer who was extremely upset with me because her dog's annual vaccinations had run out and she was planning to board him for a week while on vacation. The resort that she wanted to board her dog at would not allow him to stay without up-to-date vaccinations. I explained to her that the clinic does do several reminder postcards, emails, and phone calls before any vaccinations run out. I was able to fit her dog in for vaccinations so that he could be boarded in time for her vacation and she put a reminder in her calendar so that the vaccines did not lapse again."
Written by Lindsay Williams Ortega on March 7th, 2022