Hire customer service representatives
Customers judge your business by the person who answers the phone, the email or the chat. A calm, clear representative keeps them coming back. Optihire Staffing recruits customer service representatives for businesses across the United States, and we screen by phone, because that is where the differences between candidates show.
Contingency Recruitment
You pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to agreed terms.
What a customer service representative does
Customer service representatives answer questions, take orders, solve problems and handle complaints by phone, email or chat. They look up accounts, process returns or refunds, log each contact in a CRM or ticketing system and pass harder cases to a team lead or another department.
The work is repetitive at times and stressful at others. Representatives need patience with upset customers, accuracy with account details and the discipline to follow procedures. Many roles can be done remotely or on a hybrid schedule.
What to screen for
The skills, credentials and habits worth checking before you make an offer.
How they sound
The screening call is the test. Listen for tone, pace, clarity and patience, and ask a scenario question based on a real problem your customers bring.
Systems and channels
Ask which CRM or ticketing systems they have used and whether they handled phone, email and chat at once. Typing accuracy matters for chat and email roles.
An angry customer
Ask them to describe a real call that went badly and what they did. Listen for ownership instead of blame.
Remote readiness
For remote roles, ask about their internet connection, a quiet workspace and how they stay focused alone. Employing people in other states can bring those states' employment rules into play, so check with your payroll provider.
Schedule
Confirm the hours, weekends and any holiday coverage up front.
How we recruit customer service representatives
Tell us your channels, systems, hours and pay range, and whether the role is on site, remote or hybrid. We source candidates in your area or in the states where you can employ people, and every shortlisted candidate has been through a phone screen with us. Our notes tell you how they sounded, how they handled a tricky question and why they fit your team.
Our guide to writing a frontline job description helps you attract the right applicants. For holiday or launch peaks, our seasonal hiring plan explains how far ahead to start. See all our customer service recruitment roles and our recruitment services.
Interview questions to ask
Open questions that make candidates describe real work. Follow up on anything vague.
Tell me about a customer you couldn't satisfy. What did you do?
Which CRM or ticketing systems have you used?
A customer was promised a refund that never arrived. How would you handle the call?
How do you keep your notes accurate when calls come back to back?
For remote work, describe your workspace and internet connection.
Hiring customer service representatives?
Send us the role, the shift and the pay range. You pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to agreed terms.