I applied online which involved answering a couple of questions about why I would like to apply for the role and what I could bring to the company, attached a cover letter and CV. Within 24 hours I received an email to invite me for a 30 minute telephone interview. The interview lasted just over 35 minutes. I was asked general customer service questions. I enjoyed the interview and the person I spoke to was very friendly. I was advised I would probably hear back within a few days. I received an email 4 days later very late in the evening, inviting me to a Virtual Assessment Centre via zoom 2 days later. A schedule from 9am - 12:30ish. On the day, there were 12 candidates in total plus team leaders and managers. It was a very relaxed with a warm environment created. After introductions, we were assigned a group task and then group presentation. I really enjoyed this. ***I had never used zoom before, except doing some practice runs prior to this. I would strongly advise you to practice with zoom beforehand to put you at ease.*** We were split into two groups, my group would have 1-2-1 interviews first and then a written test and roleplay. I enjoyed the interview with the team leader, the questions she asked me as well as giving me ample opportunity to ask her some. Written task & roleplay: This needs improvement. We were told we had around 50 minutes to complete both tasks but not given a roleplay time. I understand that this was likely to replicate the uncertainty of a normal working day. However, if you were actually working at Tails, in this situation you would have received training on the processes of the product, have access to the client and dog profiles instead of limited FAQ’s to give you some technical process info. This caused some issues as there were a couple of scenarios that were open to interpretation. If I had been an employee I would have been able to see on this dogs profile if their goal for their tailor made food was weight loss. However, there was no confirmation of this and no 'phenomenal' customer service would ever assume such a thing, especially with a living being and therefore you would need to ask the customer so as not to put an animals health at risk (weight loss associated health issues like digestive sensitivities and malabsorption). Because of my career experience, I wondered if this was actually a trick question, to get you thinking outside the box... putting the dog first. I am disappointed to find out that I seemed to put more thought into these scenarios than others did. There was also another question whereby I felt you would need to ask for specific information in regard to a dogs food and potential safety, I felt it prompted a question. I felt pretty stressed at this point as I was suddenly in telephone roleplay, which would have been fine, however we had 2 technical hitches right at the beginning with the phone. This meant wasting my written test time. I did the best I could considering the issues but genuinely had to rush the rest of my written test so I could finish in time. We then regrouped and finished. I received an email saying they had decided not to proceed with my application further as the written test did not show offering of a resolution and unfortunately it wasn't as strong as the other responses. I felt incredibly disappointed and honestly quite surprised, not in an ego way, but I was really confused by the contradiction of the written task instructions vs the unspoken expectations. I was shocked that no one seemed to have thought these scenarios could be so open to interpretation. As I believe in providing a solution, I would suggest indicating that a resolution is required as the actual instructions are contradictory. Some suggestions like the 'Chunky Ralph' scenario; providing the candidate with an insight into his profile (e.g., a hint into his weight loss goal) would help and give the candidates a time window for their roleplay. I felt the tech issues really impacted my performance and didn’t allow me ample time to finish properly. I also feel that (as others suggested) more time is needed for the written test. I completely understand the idea behind jumping into roleplay but if you were an employee and had the customers profiles etc to hand, a customer experience specialist’s skills would be a lot more fairly reflected. There is always a reason as to why things happen and moving forward I never leave any negative energy with a company and despite my negative experience, I will still continue to follow the company for vacancies.

3 stages of interview with different levels of members of staff. Included a written test. Different questions throughout each of the interviews. All done over video call remotely. Positive experience.