I was contacted by an HR rep and was asked to come in for an interview. While still on the phone the very friendly HR Rep conducted her own interview and asked me a lot of questions about myself and my own experiences with good customer service. She told me a lot about the company, it's philosophy, benefits, etc. She was an excellent communicator and seemed like the kind of person I could be friends with.
I showed up for my interview and met with the HR rep I had spoken with on the phone and again she was very warm and put me completely at ease. She gave me some forms to fill out regarding permission for the company to perform a background check and drug testing as well as asking me to list 4 professional references. I was not told earlier to bring reference information, but fortunately I had all but one memorized and I listed a friend whom I'd done some ministry work with as my fourth reference and I explained this to senior management. This took less than 10 minutes.
I was then taken into a manager's office and told more about the company and I was allowed to ask questions, which she seemed to like, and I was asked about my previous job experience. This interview was rather short, maybe 15 minutes. I was then taken to a computer where I took a skills test. After the test, the manager brought me back to her office and we chatted shortly and then took me into a training room where I was to meet with a senior manager.
I waited maybe 10 minutes for him to show up and I saw laying out on the table a copy of my resume with some short handwritten statements about me that were flattering. While waiting I looked out one of those one-way windows to the customer service floor and watched the reps taking phone calls. They seemed abuzz with activity and everyone seemed happy enough. Most were casually dressed and in jeans. The company has a relaxed dress code policy--though the atmosphere was still professional.
The senior manager came in and was very friendly and I spoke to him for over an hour. I really got the feeling this interview was more about them trying to find out what kind of personality I had. They are not looking for sales people. Bottom line--they are looking for people who are going to give 1st class customer service in the most friendly and helpful way--as if you're on the phone with your best friend or mother. He then asked me about what kind of work schedule I wanted--things like what shift I wanted to work, what days I wanted off, etc. He was a lot of fun to talk to and I thought I might be offered the job on the spot. He told me he had 2 more interviews and that someone would be calling me either that day or within 24 hours at the latest to let me know if I got the job.
I was there for a total of about 3 hours. I left really wanting to work there. I did not get a call later that day or even the next day. In fact, no one called. I left a message on the HR rep's voicemail 2 days after my interview and no one called. I left another voicemail a full day and a half after that and still no one called me. Finally, later that day, I got an email from the HR rep stating they chose someone else whose qualifications better matched what they were looking for, although I was a strong candidate. While I figured they had chosen someone else when I didn't get a call within 24 hours as promised, I was very disappointed they had not called at all since I knew I was a strong candidate. The email was a bit impersonal.