I applied online. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Marks & Spencer (Manchester, England) in May 2016
Interview
I applied on-line through the careers website, filled all the forms and made the on-line assessment. After finishing (took around 30min the whole process) the system said that I've passed this step and showed me some dates for an one-to-one interview. I was able to choose a date for the next week (about 4 days after applying).
At the one-to-one I was asked to make a 'role play' and after to answer some questions such as 'Why to work to M&S', previous experience with customer services in general and what is a good customer experience in my opinion. They've asked other questions, I just don't remember exactly. The 'role play' took about 10min and the manager played a role of a customer that was hosting a dinner for her family and needed some products to it. Before the role play, I was given a sheet with a set of products and if it was in or out stock or if it was a vegetarian product or not. During the play the "customer" asked for some vegetarian choices and asked for some products that were out of stock. The play is about assisting the customer, so I think the most important thing is to assist and suggest products if the desired one is not available. The manager and her manager said I did very well at both of the parts of the interview.
I applied in-person. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Marks & Spencer (Edinburgh, Scotland) in Sep 2019
Interview
The interview process started with being asked questions in an interview room. You were asked a series of questions which were marked out of four and each page was marked out of 12. If you were successful in this part of the interview you had to do a role play with another member of staff and given 5 minutes to read information given to you at which point the staff member came back into the room and pretended to be a customer requiring help which went in for about 10 minutes.
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Marks & Spencer (Wednesbury, England) in Apr 2018
Interview
This was the second time in the past few months I've had an interview with them. They have changed the process for the second time, which was an interview and role play not the other way round. Also the interview questions were different.
The online process was exactly the same with the competency based questions which were simple enough.
The only reason I did not get the job (the second time was considerably better than the first time) was because of my stupid mistake; forgetting to look for an alternative for the out of stock butternut squash.
They said I did very well in the interview with strong examples... but the one little issue with the role play that I know what I did wrong.
There was the manager for the interview and then both the manager and the assistant manager for the role play. She was acting as the customer whilst the manager took notes.
I did gain some great experience from this interview and then after the role play I was given a few questions to answer on paper of how I could have changed something, what went well and what did not go so well etc...
Interview questions [7]
Question 1
What do you think M&S expects from a customer assistant?
They then asked how I have come across each of the 4 I's, and how I have used these in my experiences. Example:
1. Innovation
How have you tried to implement something new?
-By seeing that in the charitable organisation I volunteer for, the donations were not coming in as they should have. I suggested we try another technique and I realised it work.
2. Integrity
How have you done something the right way and succeeded?
- When I was working at the call centre, I had only been working there a few days where I encountered a rude customer over the phone. Since I had no idea of how to deal with this, I sought help from a colleague who told me to hang up. I know this was not the right thing to do as it was cutting a corner. I managed to calm him down and apologise, I told him that someone more knowledgeable would call him back after and he finally agreed. I follow the rules so it does not cause a problem for myself or anyone else afterwards.
3. Inspiration
How have you inspired someone or a group of people?
-In an art presentation at college, everyone was told to do a project on something that means alot to them. I used banksy which is a political movement artist. This inspired people in my class to do the same and move away from the older artists that were in the examples given to us. I thought outside the box with my creativity and this ushered others to do the same.
4. In-touch
How were you in touch?
-At the charitable organisation, we wanted to not only attract the target audience but also engage with them. I set up a suggestions box which enabled us to understand what the people wanted and how they would feel more comfortable with donating using interaction.
He did ask me if all of these worked, and what the results were.
ROLE PLAY:
"Hi how can I help you?"
"I am looking for the butternut squash"
What I said: "It's here. Are you making a meal? You can have a vegetarian 3 for 2 meal deal for 2 people if you'd like"
- After she mentioned she is cooking vegetarian for herself and a person staying with her.
WHAT I SHOULD HAVE SAID:
"I'm sorry but unfortunately it is out of stock. We have alternatives like courgette (or give another in stock alternative on the list)"
If she wasn't happy with that you could offer to call up a nearby store to check if they have it. providing she was not in a rush.
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Marks & Spencer (Glossop, England) in Nov 2017
Interview
I did an online questionnaire which took around 30-40 minutes and once it was completed I was offered an interview the same day. My interview took place the following week. When I arrived I was greeting by 2 friendly female members of staff at the reception desk and then taken into the staff room to await further instruction. There i met another two lovely members of staff who made me laugh and forget how nervous I was. After chatting and getting to know them a bit I was asked by a more senior member of staff to a room where she sat me down and asked me some questions which I will list below. The questions were really easy to answer as long as you do your research on the “4 I’s”. After the questions I waited for around 15 minutes for the manager and when she came in she explained the role play process to me. She gave me 2 laminated sheets of information on promotional offers and a small stock sheet. She left the room and gave me 5 minutes to make any notes I wanted to make and read through the information. The task was to help a customer who wanted certain products and if they were out of stock I had to suggest alternatives. She wanted Parma ham and red peppers which were both out of stock (shown on the sheet provided) so I suggested she got a more luxury ham and explained the price difference and that she got a sweet red pepper if she needed a red pepper for her recipe. I made a personal connection by asking what event the food was for and when I found out it was for a party I persuaded her to sign up to some promotional offers and the in store catering service. After the role play was completed (which took around 5 minutes) she left the room and came back about 10 minutes to move me into the staff room once again where I saw another interviewee who I helped feel more settled. About 5 minutes after she went in for her interview I was met by the manager again who told me I had passed all the assessments however I had to wait a day to see if she could offer me a position. I then received a phone call the following day and was offered a role. Overall M&S conducted themselves in a friendly and professional manner and I look forward to working for them. I would suggest if you are nervous about your interview to just give it your all and don’t worry about making a fool of yourself in the role play. As long as you are yourself I’m sure they will love you! Good luck and please post feedback on here on how you’ve got on so you can help people in the future.