A personal shopper is a great help to shoppers looking for assistance in making informed decisions, or they shop on behalf of the customer.
The personal shopper interview is designed to determine what the candidate knows about helping customers shop for different things, including groceries, clothes, and equipment.
At the interview for a personal shopper position, you will also be judged on your knowledge of helping customers in an online capacity.
Questions pertaining to your knowledge of different products will be asked as well.
A set of interview questions for a personal shopper position is provided here for your reference:
Personal Shopper Interview Questions and Answers
1. Tell me a little about yourself.
I have worked as a personal shopper for 3 years, and love everything about my work. I decided to work in this capacity as soon as I realized my skills in shopping, and realized that this was my true calling.
2. What duties have you performed in the role of a personal shopper?
As a personal shopper, I have been involved in reviewing and following fashion and other trends, to help customers with their purchases. I have also been helping clients buy groceries and other personal items. Choosing the right items according to customers’ requirements is my main job. Recommending items when customers are not sure of what to buy is another area that I have been handling. Also, my work involves helping customers look for bargains, and keeping them informed on the latest trends.
3. What skills do you offer in this role?
I am a highly-skilled personal shopper, with excellent knowledge of providing one on one advice to customers in order to help them make informed purchasing decisions. Specifically, I am well-versed in conducting initial consultations and recommending items in accordance with customers’ requirements. Selecting a range of items for customers, and explaining how different items and colors work in tandem with each other is also a great skill. Moreover, I am well-versed in arranging for goods to be taken to customers, or delivered to their houses or offices.
4. Why do you want to work for our company particularly?
I have always wanted to work for an organization that takes customer service seriously. And since you have a reputation for excellent customer service, I would love to work for your organization.
5. What is the most important part of working as a personal shopper?
I believe that all aspects of working as a personal shopper are important. One cannot do without the other, which is why it is important to work in tandem with each other.
6. How do you handle adversity at the workplace?
I handle adversity quite well. In fact, I take it in stride and ensure that it does not affect my work or that of my team.
7. If you see a customer struggling to find a product, how would you handle it?
I would proactively try to help them find the product that they are looking for. And if they do not find it, I will offer to look for an alternative.
8. How do you handle customer complaints?
I have this policy that says that the customer is always right. If there is a complaint, I make sure that I look into it in detail, and try to resolve it as best as possible.
9. If an ordered item is out of stock, how do you handle the issue?
I would promptly tell the customer that the item is out of stock so that they can decide which alternative to ordering.
10. What makes you a unique person to hire for this position?
I feel that I am a unique individual because I can go out of my way to provide excellent customer service. I do not feel much work pressure, and I am completely focused on getting the work done right.
11. What motivates you?
Most of what motivates me have to do with customer satisfaction. When I know that I have served a customer well, and that repeat business is a surety, I get motivated automatically.
12. What demotivates you?
I do not take unsuccessful endeavors to head. If something has the potential to demotivate me, I ensure that I do not look too much into it, and concentrate on the positives.
13. What do you like about this work?
I love the fact that I can learn and grow immensely while working as a personal shopper.
14. What do you dislike about this work?
Honestly, I love my work immensely and do not dislike anything about it.
15. What is your greatest strength?
My greatest strength is my ability to effectively reach out to customers, and provide them with continuously excellent services.
16. What is your greatest weakness?
Perhaps I try too hard at times, which has on a couple of occasions demotivated clients to buy products, But I am working on it to make sure that I am less assertive and more helpful.
17. What are you most passionate about?
I am passionate about providing customers with excellent services so that they provide recurring business to the company.
18. How do you handle irate customers?
I am an extremely patient individual. When I come across an angry customer, I take time to listen to them to figure out what has made them feel that way. Then, I take all the necessary measures to ensure that their problems are resolved as best as possible.
19. What is the most difficult part of working as a personal shopper?
For me, nothing is difficult where my work is concerned. Since I enjoy working as a personal shopper, I do not find it difficult at all.
20. Why do you want to leave your present job?
I am interested in working in a challenging environment, which is why I am hoping to switch jobs.
21. Tell me about a mistake that you made. What happened?
Once, I accidentally entered the wrong product code for an online order, which resulted in the customer being charged about 5 times extra. When the customer complained, I immediately found my error, apologized, and escalated the issue to my supervisor. I was asked to take full responsibility for the error, which I did.
22. When were you most satisfied with your job?
I have been lucky to be satisfied with my job quite often. Recently, I managed to handle a large personal shopping order for a client who was so happy with my work, that she sent a long email to my supervisor, praising me highly.
23. What are the three things that your previous boss would say about you?
I am positive that my previous boss will say that I am organized, service-oriented, and extremely resourceful.
24. How would your coworkers describe you?
My coworkers will tell you that I am a friendly individual, who loves helping others meet their specific goals.
25. What is your customer service style?
My customer service style is highly participatory. I eagerly offer my services to customers, ensuring high levels of satisfaction. And my follow-up is excellent too.
26. How would you deal with it if your boss received a complaint about you?
I would first inquire into the nature of the complaint. If I find out that it was my fault that led the customer to complain, I would own up, and try to make amends for it. If not, I would justify it by explaining why such an incident transpired.
27. What is your greatest accomplishment in a personal shopper role?
My greatest accomplishment is assisting 65 shoppers to find their choice of products, within one day. And without even one complaint about my services, despite such a difficult day at work.
28. Who was your favorite manager, and why?
I have been lucky enough to have managers who worked along with me and were never really bosses. I am afraid that I cannot pinpoint just one who was better than another.
29. Are you a leader or a follower?
I am a little bit of both. When the situation requires it, I lead by example. And when I need to learn something, I automatically transform into a follower.
30. On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you rate your organizational skills?
I would rate my organizational skills on a realistic 8.
31. On the same scale, where would you rate your overall personal shopper skills? Why?
I would rate my personal shopper skills at 7. This is because I know a lot about this work, but I feel that I still have a long way to go.
32. What is your experience with technology?
As far as personal shopping is concerned, I am well-versed in using online platforms to obtain orders, confirm them, and process them in a timely manner. I can also use cash registers to process cash and credit card payments.
33. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Ideally, I would love to work as a supervisor to personal shopper teams, for which I am continuously striving hard to learn the ropes.
34. Do you have any questions for me?
I am interested in knowing more about your company’s personal shopping work processes, and initiatives.