It is an exciting moment when you receive an interview invitation from PetSmart, one of the largest retail companies providing pet services and solutions. Congratulations! Since you are here, I bet that you are already feeling anxious. Worry not, let’s start our preparation, shall we?
1. Can You Tell Me About Your Experience?
I have been working in the retail industry for over two years, and I am currently working in a small pet shop. During those years, I managed to polish my skills in communication so that I could explain better to the customers, be patient while handling demanding customers, and have soft selling skills to try to sell our new products to the customer without being too pushy. These skills are essential for me to do an excellent job daily.
2. Why Do You Want To Work For Petsmart?
I want to work for PetSmart to grow my career with the company. PetSmart has a fantastic journey from just a pet store to providing services and solutions to pets, and I want to be part of that journey too. What makes me want to join PetSmart is your adoption program, which has helped many dogs out there. Dogs deserve to have a loving forever home, and as a pet owner myself, I have a soft spot for pets, especially stray ones.
3. Can You Describe Your Personality?
I am a curious person. I always have the “why” questions in my mind. For example, “why do pets feel insecure?”. My curiosity in asking many questions increased my knowledge. This knowledge is handy whenever I want to explain to customers. I am also honest and reliable. For example, in my current role, my supervisor relies on me to close up our store, count all the money we made that day and put the money in our safe box.
4. Do You Able To Work On The Weekend And Holidays?
I am a flexible person, and I can work on weekends, holidays, and even on shifts. Last year I even worked on Christmas Day. But I really appreciate it if the schedule comes out early so that I can plan my week ahead.
5. Are You Able To Work Under Pressure?
All jobs come with their pressure, and I am used to it. For example, in my current employment, I always need to work with a tight deadline, which can be very stressful. So, what I did was I always have a list of what I should do on that day and prioritize my work accordingly. This will help me complete urgent tasks first and avoid any unnecessary stress.
6. If There Are Days, You Need To Work Alone, Are You Okay With That?
Yes, I am okay working alone. In fact, in my current role, there are multiple occasions that I need to work alone because my co-worker is unwell. I did the opening, helped customers out, arranged stocks when there was no customer, and closed the store at night on my own. Therefore, you can trust me with the store although I am alone because I am very independent and know what to do.
7. What Is Your One Strength That Will Benefit Petsmart?
One of my strengths is I am a good communicator. I have been in the retail industry for more than two years, and to me, communication is crucial. I can communicate clearly with all levels, from the managerial level to the ordinary staff and our customers. By having good communication skills, I can eliminate any miscommunication inside the organization and explain the products better to the customers with the help of my good product knowledge.
8. Do You Own Any Pet?
Yes, I own a Coton De Tulear because of its size since I am living in a small apartment. I have a pet goldfish too. They have made an inseparable duo in my house. I do not consider their pets but rather my friends because I stayed alone in that apartment, and they were there on my good and rainy days. I always feel calm whenever I am with my pets, especially my dog. I love them to bits.
9. Are You Good With Animals? Do You Have Experience Handling Them?
I am good with animals, especially farm animals such as ducks, chickens, cows, dogs, and cats, because I have experience working on a farm before. Whenever our farm animals are sick, I will be the one to assist the farm owner and send the animals to our local vet. I believe animals are men’s best friends. They also have emotions just like us. Our job is to understand them, give them the best care they can get, and provide them with loving homes. When I was working on that farm, we also rescued a few horses from the slaughterhouse nearby, and I was the one that trained all the horses and calmed them when they first arrived at our farm. It broke my heart to see such majestic creatures being treated poorly. Once the horses were in good health and fit again, I opened them for adoption. I managed to understand the emotions of the animals under my care and we created strong bonds with each other. Apart from working on a farm, I also did a side gig which is walking the dog during my semester break. I would say that being around animals makes me feel happy.
10. Is There Any Animal Or Pet That You Are Afraid Of?
My only fear is snakes, especially pythons. I had a bad experience with a python before, where it sneaked into my cat’s cage and swallowed my cat. I can hear in the back of my ears until now how frantically my scream was that day. I saw the python eat my cat slowly, and that was a traumatic incident for me because that poor cat was my favorite cat. Looking at how it swallows my cat, I cannot help but imagine that the python will eat me too. I understand that PetSmart also sells pythons, but after seeing it in the store myself, and it is not as big as the one from my past, I believe I will slowly be able to push my fear away.
11. Do You Understand That You Will Get Injuries While Handling The Animals?
I understand that I will get injuries while handling the animals, such as scratches from dogs and cats and getting bitten by mice. Therefore, I will need to be extra careful when handling the animals and try to understand their emotion and mood before touching them to avoid any injuries. I also know that some animals have fleas and ticks. That is why it is vital to keep the animals clean and give them any necessary treatment when they have one. I might get an illness with fleas and ticks, but worry not; I always clean myself after handling animals and get proper medical treatment if I have one.
12. How Do You Feel About Cleaning Cages?
I have a dog and a pet fish myself. Therefore, I am good at cleaning cages and aquariums because it is my routine at home. I am thrilled to see the clean cages and the fish have clear water to swim in.
13. How Do You Sell Pet Training Courses In Petsmart?
There are a few ways to sell pet training courses. The most popular method is to advertise those classes on social media. Although the advertisement post will be on PetSmart social media, I can share that post and get more audience. The next thing I can do is, whenever a customer shares their problems with their pet, especially dogs, that is the right time for me to try and sell those classes so that we can help the customers to achieve their goals with their dogs. Or, if I see the dog’s behavior is problematic, I will suggest classes that suit the dog’s needs. Apart from that, I will build a strong relationship with our customers, especially the regular ones. Once I gain their trust, I will soft-sell the classes to them, for example, the Brain Games Training Class, where the dogs can improve their communication with the owners and lessen their boredom with the fun and challenging activities.
14. Are You Willing To Learn New Skills?
I would love to learn and develop new skills for my growth and improve my service. New skills and experiences always excite me. For example, I do not have proper training on pet grooming, and I hope to learn that here because I love seeing our animals neat and clean. Apart from that, being an instructor in dog classes is also one of my dreams, and I am glad I can achieve that here at PetSmart. I love helping dogs to manage their behavior issues such as separation anxiety and teaching them basic manners.
15. What Is Excellent Customer Service To You?
To me, excellent customer service is when you have a clean store, greet customers cheerfully, and can help them if they have any problems or questions. When we have all that, I believe the customers will feel comfortable walking into our stores knowing they can rely on us if they have any doubts. Clean and easy-to-find arrangements in the store will also ensure our customers have the best customer experience and know where to find their desired items on the shelves.
16. How Do You Handle An Angry And Upset Customer?
Firstly, I will not take any of it personally because I know that when a customer is angry and upset, they will become very emotional and sometimes not rational. I will listen to the complaint, and when I say listen, I will listen first and let the customer finish her complaint before proposing a few solutions. We can move from there if the customer agrees with my proposed solutions. But, if I cannot solve the problem, I will get help from my colleagues to help me out so that we can give the best service to the customer.
17. What Will You Do If A Customer Asks Questions You Do Not Know How To Answer?
Whenever I am in that situation, I immediately smile and apologize to the customer for my lack of knowledge. I will let the customer know that I am getting someone to help him answer the question and immediately look for my supervisor or senior co-workers. I will also assure him that this will be his first and last inconvenience because I will ensure that I will increase my knowledge. I will also share this experience with my other teammates so that we will know the answer whenever we are asked the same question.
18. What Would You Do If A Customer Verbally Insulting You?
First of all, I will apologize after he is done insulting me; whether he is right or wrong. Some of you might think, why should I do that but personally, I do not want to create a bigger scene. All I want to do next is to quickly walk away from the customer and get my co-worker to assist him. I did this not because of the customer but for my own good so that I will not get angry and throw it at other customers.
19. Can You Describe A Time When You Provide Good Customer Service?
In my current job, once, there was an elderly customer that came into our store. As an elderly, his movement was too slow, which made other customers impatient. Since my shift had ended, I decided to walk with that older man and offered to get all the things that he needed from the shelves. I apologized to other customers, too, if we were in their way while choosing items from his list. He was so happy after the shopping session, and he said that he would take a longer time to complete his shopping if I didn’t help him. He gave me a handsome tip in return for my help.
20. Will You Be Able To Box The Sold Animal And Escort, The Customer To His Car?
I will be glad to box those animals and escort the customer to his car. I had one experience where the purchaser did not even have a car, and he purchased two birds. What I did was I asked my supervisor if I could help to send those birds to the purchaser’s house, and once my supervisor said yes, I immediately placed those birds in my car and sent them off to the purchaser’s home. I want the birds to have a good experience during transportation so that they will not get traumatized and stressed, which may get them sick.
21. What Type Of People Did You Not Get Along With?
I am primarily good with everybody except for selfish co-workers because they will not make good team members. We always need to work as a team when we are operating stores. For example, when too many tasks need to be done, these selfish people will try to do the minimum, thus giving more burdens to others.
22. What Would You Do If You Caught A Co-Worker Stealing Supplies From The Store?
Firstly, I will not confront the co-worker because I do not want us to have any issues in the future. I will immediately report the incident to my supervisor and let the rightful people take action against my co-worker. I will be ready to help as a witness if needed.
23. How Do You Handle If Your Supervisor Criticizes You?
I am open; therefore, if the criticism is for my improvement, I will be glad to accept it. I will listen to the criticism carefully and ask questions to further understand the criticism and why. I will then discuss the solutions and what needs to be done to improve the situation. I will also discuss improvement plans with my supervisor and show him that I have made an effort to improve myself.
24. Do You Have Good Computer Skills?
I have good computer skills, and I am comfortable working with a computer. I am good at Word, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. I use these programs daily in my current role, where I need to key in items, prices, and co-worker tasks.
25. Why Should We Hire You?
You should hire me because I am confident and can show good customer service. I also have good communication skills that will benefit the customer and the company. For example, I can explain clearly and in an easy-to-understand way to the customer whenever the customer asks for something.
Conclusion
So now, you already have the questions you need for your interview. Be calm and prepared. Make sure you go through the PetSmart website to have ideas about the company’s services and its charity program. We hope for the best in your interview. Good luck!
