Marks and Spencer Interview help - Role PLays

'Tis cool. Ok, I will offer you some of my wisdom. Firstly research as much as you possibly can! Go through the M&S thread here and you will get all the info you require.

The role play I was given was the trousers. Where a daughter bought her Dad a pair of navy trousers but they didn't fit. He was quite adamant that he wanted those and not any other pair. The problem was that they had gone down in sale and she didn't have a receipt so it would have to be refunded at the sale price. All they want to see you do is be polite and offer as much information to the customer as possible. So, firstly, apologise then explain the returns policy. Then upsell, so offer alternative suggestions like a shirt instead or a different colour trouser. There is also a special offer, make sure you mention that as well as ringing around surrounding stores to see if they stock it. Other then that just be as helpful as possible. Don't worry too much. It is quite a relaxed interview. You are given props like what the special offer entails and what alternative products there are and you will have time to prepare.

I actually got the job so don't hesitate to ask any questions. Good luck.

Hello, I've just had an interview at M&S! I was offered the job! Like the poster above I also have social anxiety - you can't let it hold you back but I understand the pain! Reading this thread helped me loads because I knew what I was going to in to, so I'll go through mine in as much detail as possible!


I waited upstairs to meet the manager, she came and collected me and walked me through to the interview room. She introduced herself and was very friendly. She then gave me 5 sheets of a4 (turned down so I couldn't see). She then read through a brief, telling me what I could and couldn't do in the roleplay - you can't ask the staff member anything once the roleplay starts, they are the customer and that is that basically!


Anyway, once she had read the brief to me she left me alone in the room for about 5 minutes. I turned over the papers and one was a run down of the situation "A customer wants a shirt that is out of stock" the next 3 cards were full of shirts with different colours/collar sizes and if they were in stock or not. The next card had cufflinks and ties on them and the final card was full of nearby shops and an online store. Seeing all of this I panicked, I knew that I would never remember it all but luckily you are allowed to use the cards whilst the roleplay is happening.


I spread the cards out over different places (thanks to someone on this thread! Worked great!) so I could "take" her to the different sections. She then knocked on the door and came in, playing the customer. I greeted her quickly saying "Hi, how are you today" she answered and then I said "Can I help you with anything" She then gave me the scenario that it was her Dad's birthday and she wanted a shirt that was out of stock. I took her over to the shirts and asked her what colour she wanted, sadly there wasn't a shirt like that on the card but I pointed to another shirt and she liked that one. I then asked what collar size she needed (Important if you get this roleplay!!!) and unfortunately what she said was also sold out. I then told her that I could ring up another store or check online and she said that would be great. I then told her the delivery would be 48 hours (this is on the sheets). After all that I asked her if she wanted any cufflinks to go with the shirt and she agreed. After all that I asked if there was anything else she needed help with and she said no. That was the end of the roleplay!


She then left the room whilst I evaluated myself. I remembered that I had forgotten to offer gift wrapping even though it was a birthday present. I said what I thought went good (upselling the cufflinks) and what I would do next time (involve more personalised conversation - "what are you doing for your dads birthday?") She then came back to read this and was happy I picked up on the bad points.


She then left the room and another lady came in and did a normal interview:
"Why do you want to work for M&S" - I said that it would be great to work for such a well respected company and that I love the work they are doing in their Plan A (she seemed to love that)
"What past experience have you had" - Told her about previous jobs
"What would you like least about working here" - Difficult question! I was caught off guard and played it as though I wouldn't not enjoy anything but my least favourite would be stocking shelves.


That was pretty much it, we then went through a lot of paper work.


TL;DR - The roleplay:


-Greet the customer
-Ask what you can help them with
-Strike up a bit of a personal conversation
-Offer alternative products
-Talk about ordering online or over the phone
-Tell them about delivery
-Upsell an extra product
-Always ask if there is anything else you can help with

it's no longer a role play - mine was different yesterday :O

Hey,

I had my interview last Wednesday and I got the job and had my induction today. This is how my experience was:

I originally applied to the centre MK branch but I couldn't make the interview so I rang around a lot and ended up getting told it couldn't be rescheduled. I told my mum that I was successful with my application, and she then told a friend who asked about me whilst she was shopping in the Kingston store; a HR overheard their conversation and gave my mum her extension number so I rang her and she gave me an interview (lucky I know!).

So I met her at the customer collection point and I was taken through to the break room where there were several members of staff, all of which were friendly and welcoming towards me. I was told to sat down and fill out some forms that involved me giving basic information and a couple of references (their name, address etc). We then proceeded to a manager's office that wasn't in use and we pretty much started the role play straight away. I was given five pieces of paper; three of them were filled with information on food, the fourth was good substitutes for butternut squash and the fifth was basic information about the made up company.

I had an elderly woman who was having a dinner party later on in the week. I welcomed her and asked her how she was and she said she was confused because there didn't seem to be any. According to the sheets (I was allowed to refer to them during the role play) they were out of the stock, so I looked what was in stock and what was a good substitute- pumpkin. I suggested pumpkin and she seemed content. She then asked if there were any vegetarian dishes she could serve at her party so I looked at the sheets and suggested several that were in stock. She took to two of them and asked if there were any mushrooms in either as she was allergic, but there wasn't so it was all good. I then asked if she wanted anything to go with that such as starters, sides, desserts or wines (all of which were on the sheet) and she said yes to desserts or wines. I mentioned what was in stock and she took a liking to one of the desserts and all of the wines. I mentioned that all of the above were in a 3 for 2 deal at some point in the role play. She asked if any of the items could be frozen and I said yes but I wasn't sure so I said I'd ask a member of my team.

She left the room and I filled out a feedback form. I said that on the one hand I was polite, offered good alternatives, successfully upsold; on the other hand I should have asked sooner about allergies and whether she was vegetarian (which was clear from the sheets as everything was vegetarian), and also I should have tried selling her one of the luxury items (not in the 3 for 2 and on the third sheet of paper). She came back in to collect my sheet and brought in the manager of the branch with her and she then started asking me questions such as: why did you pick M&S (high quality, well respected, very nice food), what do you know about M&S (plan A, major sustainable retailer etc), what work experience you have and how it applies to your role here, what is the role of a customer assistant (tills, stocking shelves, customer interaction), what will you enjoy about working here (she seemed very pleased when I said I had never worked in retail and so it was a new and exciting challenge for me, she also sympathised with me working on presentation on products and it looking aethestically pleasing after you'd finished). She went out of the room and the lady who conducted the role play came back in to tell me I had passed and so I signed some paperwork and got to pick my contract. We sorted out when my induction day would be and then I left.

I was quite nervous for the interview because it was my first ever, as I've never had a proper job (except at my Dad's work). The ladies that conducted my interview were really nice which put me at ease and allowed me to be myself more which made the whole interview so much easier. As long as you've read this thread and you've practised questions you'll be okay, they actually told me that I did really well and I'm not a great peoples person.

Hope this helps :-)