“Many of our clients are frequently in crisis mode.
How would you work in such an environment?”
■“You might say that I am the ‘calm’ in the eye of the storm. I
have a unique ability to stay level-headed when things get
out of control. I find that talking less and listening more is
the answer to handling clients in crisis.”
■“Have you ever heard of the term ‘whirling dervishes’?
When customers are whirling, I stay centered and let them
whirl around me. When I see that they’re running out of
steam, I step in and talk in a very calm and quiet voice. I ask
questions to make sure that I understand the problem and
then deal with the problem. You’d be surprised at how
effective this is.”
■“When I took my last job, I was able to prove very early in
the game that I was the person who could handle escalated
problems. First of all I use a voice that shows confidence and
authority, and I let the customer know that I am there for him
or her. Second, I am very analytical about solving problems,
and I make sure that I explore as many options for solution as
possible. Last, I make sure that the customer knows that I will
do whatever I can to get him or her through this crisis.”
“Have you ever had a crisis you couldn’t deal with?”
■“We had a fire in our office, and, as you can imagine, it was
very scary as smoke began to fill the rooms. I kept calm
throughout the ordeal and attempted to get some of the
important ledgers and disks to take with me, but the
smoke became too thick too fast. I had to leave with
everyone else. I felt I had failed in retrieving valuable
information, but everything happened so fast that life
became more important than documents.”
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