Today's "Daily Interview Prep" Question: Can you give me an example of the toughest problem you've had to handle?
#Today's "Daily Interview Prep" Question: Can you give me an example of the toughest problem you've had to handle?
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Oh wow, the toughest problem I've ever encountered at work would have to be from my days serving at a brewery. It was the first warm Friday evening of the patio season and the restaurant was grossly understaffed. All the servers were in the weeds, the kitchen was backed up, and customers were waiting about an hour before I even sat down!
One family had waited an hour and fifteen minutes to get a table on the patio and even after they sat down and I took their order, somehow the ticket with their orders on it got lost in the kitchen! An hour after they sat down I suddenly realized they hadn't had any food arrive.
Needless to say, they were furious. I was so apologetic. I ran to the kitchen, told the chef, who flipped out too because he was so stressed. They grilled the steak as quickly as possible, threw the salad together, and I took it all out. The family didn't like the food. I gave them a dessert on the house, but at this point I was still so busy with other tables I STILL didn't feel like I gave them the attention they deserved.
Looking back on it I'm not sure I could've handled it differently. I could have checked the kitchen sooner, but on an evening like that surely the family could see how busy we were! Learning to prioritize was a huge lesson when I served. I think it has helped me in every aspect of my life!
I'm not sure that this was the toughest problem I had, but I once worked at a cafe that requested a $10 minimum for card purchases. We let all customers know this and let them know they could get a refillable card for the location to use so they can just load $10 on there. I had to deal with one customer who got very angry over this, but on another visit actually got the refillable card. He then came in another time and ordered a couple of things, handed me the card, which I swiped and didn't have enough on it. I let him know the new total and he once again handed me a credit card. I mentioned our preference of minimum purchase and he proceeded to go off on me for it. I tried to calmly let him know that this was only a request made by the cafe owners and was only doing what I had been asked to do. We ended up taking his credit card that day to try to keep him satisfied.
I was a freelance writer for a few years, and my toughest problem always involved getting clients to pay me on time! I had to be my own accountant/tax manager/lawyer/enforcer when it came to issues like that. Fortunately, it didn't happen very often (you learn to know how to spot the good clients), but when it did, it was super stressful. You just have to make sure you don't let the stress affect your other jobs, and again, learn how to pick better employers.