Online assessment-I only had to do one-once you’ve passed that’s it- you need to put yourself in the shoes of a customer and think about what you’d want from service. It’s all about being a team player, being considerate, putting the customer first, not being overly eager to find new ways to do things and being ok with not having a great deal of variety in your job-rules aren’t there to be broken, essentially! Be consistent, as they phrase the same question differently throughout just to test that you’re not guessing/trying to guess what they want to hear.
It took 5 days to receive interview invites-they ask you to log in and book a slot.
Interviews
I went in, having had a quick look around the place, handed my passport over to be photocopied and we sat down in the back. Went over a few details and then he asked me some questions.
-what appeals to you about boots specifically, why do you want to work there
boots employees know what they’re talking about unlike some other similar stores,---I don’t like being in a place where I am unable to help with what customers ask, obviously good training, good quality store, care about staff, really enjoy interacting with people
-do you have any relevant retail experience-what kinds of things did you do if so-----
I have retail experience so listed that
-tell me about a time you provided outstanding customer service in a stressful situation
-a time you made a mistake and learnt from it
-a time you went out of your way to help someone you didn’t know
-a time you went above and beyond to help someone
(all these questions are quite similar and overlap, but he stuck by the sheet and asked anyway even though I’d already covered them)
Then we went on to the shop floor. He carried on asking me questions here
-how would you deal with an angry customer---stay calm yourself, apologise, acknowledge their points, ask what they want done to resolve issue
-how would you want a customer to feel when you approach them----welcome, as if you want to help them, like they are valued-not humiliated/belittled
-how would you make a customer feel welcome---mimic their energy. This always seems to go down well-if they are a high energy, bubbly person-take yourself up to that point so they feel there is a connection. If they are calmer, do the same. Lots of smiles, reassurance etc
Then we watched customers and I had to point out who was a confident shopper and who might need help as they walked through the door. Customers were thin on the ground at this point so we also looked at customers already there. I had to explain why I gave my answers.
-anyone walking with a purpose into the store/on the phone seemed to be heading for meal deals-they were confident. A mum with a buggy came in at speed and made a beeline for the back-baby products-she was confident. A man who walked in and stopped to look up at the signs needed approaching, people looking at a range uncertainly also.
Then we went to find my chosen product-they didnt stock it, so I just talked without it there. Essentially I was just telling him about it, not so much ‘selling’ it, but you can do-I talked about packaging, key ingredients, that it was vegan, a good price, in a whole range etc. Then he asked how I would sell it to a mother with a young child-non toxic, safe around kids, fast and easy to use, cheap.
We were hoping more customers would come along but as they didn’t there was a very short section in which he observed me interacting-I just wandered round the store and said ‘hi, are you ok there?’ and most said yes thanks-one woman wanted to know where something was so I asked a member of staff.
Due to the lack of real interaction he then got me to ‘sell’ a product to a member of the team. I chose something I used again (could have been the same as before if I wanted) and just babbled on about it for a while, got her to smell it, said it was in travel size also etc etc.
Afterwards we went to the front of the store and he asked me to point out anything I think could be improved at all, walking round a few aisles. Then how I would tidy up an aisle, and what I’d do if I had a bit longer.
It took a full hour and I was told they’d contact me by email in 24-48 hours. I received a phone call offering me the position 2 days later.
