Sample Call Center Interview Questions and Answers

Every major business and organization has a team of customer-friendly professionals responding to phone calls. Call center employees not only answer questions, help customers solve problems, schedule appointments, and process payments, they also thrive in a faced-paced environment, have empathy for customers' needs, and possess good communication and interpersonal skills. The hiring process for these positions often involves answering a set of call center interview questions so employers can determine if you have these skills and are the right fit for their team.

Not sure what questions to expect or what to say at your job interview? Monster can help you increase your chances of getting a call center job by acing your interview. Read our list of commonly asked call center interview questions and answers to get started.

Call Center Interview Questions

1. What Is Quality Customer Service to You?
2. What Does a Call Center Look Like to You?
3. Why Do You Want to Work in a Call Center?
4. What Would You Do if You Encountered a Difficult Customer?
5. How Would You Stay Organized When Handling Multiple Phone Calls?
6. What Experience Do You Have Managing a Cell Center?

Question #1: What Is Quality Customer Service to You?

If you're applying for a job in call center customer service, interview questions and answers about how you'll strive to make customers happy are common. They may seem open ended, but there are certain factors you should consider in your response. These include:

• How you solve problems.
• How you address customers' needs.
• Your overall attitude when speaking to customers or dealing with a difficult customer.
• Examples from a prior call center job (if you have any).

How You Could Answer

"To me, quality customer service is putting a customer's needs before yours. I always maintain a friendly and empathetic attitude when speaking to customers, even when I encounter difficulties. When a problem occurs, I go above and beyond to solve it. For example, at my last job, a glitch in our payment system resulted in a customer getting double billed. While the customer wasn't happy about it, we were able to refund the customer's money in a timely manner."

Question #2: What Does a Call Center Look Like to You?

Employers will ask this question to get an idea of how familiar you are with the call center environment. If you've already worked for a call center, you likely have a general idea of the work environment. If you've never worked in a call center before, don't worry. You can prepare for call center interview questions like this by studying the following:

• The function of a call center.
• Why call centers are important for customer service.
• The role and day-to-day tasks of a call center representative.

How You Could Answer

"A call center is a means for communication between a business and its customers. Call centers provide personalized customer service, which includes handling customer complaints, scheduling appointments, gathering customer information, completing transactions, and responding to customer inquiries. Working in a call center also includes typing, data entry, redirecting calls, and handling more than one call at a time."

Question #3: Why Do You Want to Work in a Call Center?

This may seem like a simple question, but it's one of the most crucial call center interview questions you'll encounter. Employers don't just want to see that you have the right skills and qualities—they want a candidate who is enthusiastic and willing to meet new challenges. To create a strong answer to this question, do your homework on the company. Start by reading Monster's article on how to explain why you want to work at the company you're applying to. Then, ask yourself the following questions:

• What do you like about the company?
• What value can you bring to the company?
• What are you goals for working in a call center?

How You Could Answer

"I have always been familiar with your company and already use the modern home appliances and technical support services you offer. I feel that you can benefit from having me onboard because I'm a good listener, a strong communicator, and well organized. I'd like to bring my skills and qualities to the company and have an opportunity to grow professionally."

Question #4: What Would You Do if You Encountered a Difficult Customer?

Some customers may come across as angry or rude. This is part of the job. Call center employers want to see that you're empathetic, a good problem-solver, and a good listener—how you treat customers ultimately determines whether they will return to the company or look elsewhere. When you encounter call center interview questions about handling stressful situations, think about a time when you dealt with a difficult customer. Be sure to discuss the following:

• How you listened carefully to the customer.
• How you remained calm and showed sympathy.
• Any responsibility you took to resolve the issue.

How You Could Answer

"When a customer calls in with a complaint and expresses anger, I don't take it personally. I understand that problems brought forth by customers can be resolved. I always listen to the customer, apologize for any inconvenience, and discuss ways we can resolve the issue. If I can't resolve an issue on my own, I ask a supervisor for help."

Question #5: How Would You Stay Organized When Handling Multiple Phone Calls?

Call centers are fast-paced environments. You may have multiple calls come in at the same time or have to shift from one task to another. Employers will ask call center interview questions about multitasking to gauge how organized, efficient, and productive you are. It's important to think about the following factors before answering:

• How you use your time, energy, and resources.
• What strategies you use to maintain an efficient workflow.
• How you prioritize calls as they come in.

How You Could Answer

"At my previous job, I always prioritized incoming calls over all other tasks. For example, I would drop setting schedules to take a customer call. At times, things would get busy, and I would handle multiple calls at once. I took each call by the order they came in and helped each customer as efficiently as possible. My company had an automated call-waiting system in place, so customers knew that their calls would be answered."

Question #6: What Experience Do You Have Managing a Call Center?

Are you pursuing a job as a call center supervisor? You don't necessarily need any specific management experience or training to get hired. Employers will ask a prospective call center supervisor interview questions about problem-solving or team-building experience to get an idea of how competent they'd be at managing a call center. When answering questions like this, think about the following:

• What type of training have you provided to new call center employees?
• What do you typically expect from a call center representative?
• How do you solve problems that arise in a call center?

How You Could Answer

"At my last job, I managed a call center that was comprised of 20 employees. When training employees, I focused on our company's ethics, policies, and call procedures. I also discussed ways to prioritize work, redirect calls, handle customer complaints, process financial transactions, and set schedules. If an employee couldn't resolve a problem, I discussed the process for summoning management's help."

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