Top 7 Service Crew Job Interview Questions and Answers
The global food service industry is on track to grow from its current valuation of $2.64 billion to $5.42 billion by 2030.
If you’re looking for a job with a significant amount of security and room to rise through the ranks, a career in food service is an excellent option.
Regardless of where you live, you can likely find restaurants — from fast food to fine dining — that are hiring service crew members.
Do you want to increase your chances of getting hired? This guide will help you prepare for the most common service crew job interview questions and answers, including one of the most frequently asked questions: “What can you tell me about yourself as a service crew member?”
Tell the employer about yourself as a service crew applicant
Let’s begin with one of the most frequently asked service crew job interview questions and answers. Often, at the beginning of any job interview — including an interview for a service crew position — you’ll be asked to tell the interviewer about yourself.
Your response to this question should be relevant to the job you’re trying to land. It’s not a time to talk about your favorite color or your dog’s name. It’s a time to highlight the skills and traits that make you a good fit for the job.
How should you respond when asked to tell your potential employer about yourself? Start by addressing the following:
Skills
Make sure your response to this question includes a mention of some of the skills that you’ll likely need when working as a food service crew member, such as these:
- Customer service
- Time management
- Organization
- Attention to detail
- Communication
- Adaptability
- Friendliness and hospitality
- Ability to work as part of a team
If you have any other food service-specific skills, be sure to mention those as well. Here are some examples of skills you might want to bring up:
- Preparing food
- Waiting tables
- Using a point-of-sales system
- Using a reservation system
- Operating kitchen equipment like mixers, ovens, fryers, etc.
- Sanitizing dishes and kitchen equipment
- Bartending
- Preparing menus
Be sure to focus on the skills that are most likely to be relevant to this position. For example, you might need to wait tables at a fast-food restaurant, but you will need great customer service skills.
Job experience
You can still get hired for a service crew job if you don’t have previous experience working in restaurants (although if you do, that’s certainly a plus). The key is to talk about your other jobs and explain how the skills you’ve picked up from those jobs will translate to a food service position.
For example, say you’ve previously worked as a customer service representative. In that case, you have top-notch customer service and communication skills. You’re also likely adaptable and good at managing your time.
All of those skills are needed for service crew members and will make you a valuable asset to the restaurant’s team.
Character traits
Along with sharing the skills listed above (the ones that apply to you, at least), when telling an interviewer about yourself, it’s also important to showcase the character traits that will make you a good food service crew member.
The following are some examples of valuable character traits to include in your response:
- Professionalism
- Compassion and empathy
- Punctuality
- Humility
- Ability to multitask
- Hard worker
- Positive attitude
- Integrity
- Willingness to go above and beyond
Do any of those traits describe you as a worker? If so, your chances of acing the interview just went up.
Whether you’re looking for advice on responding to service crew interview question and answer in Tagalog, English, or anything in between, sharing that you possess these characteristics will help you stand out among other applicants.
Bonus tips
Sharing valuable skills, job experience, and personality traits is a good way to make a great impression on the person leading your interview.
Don’t stop there, though. Use these additional tips to separate yourself further from other candidates and make sure the interviewer remembers you:
Align your response with the company culture
If you can tailor your response to align with the company’s culture and values, you’ll be more likely to stick in the interviewer’s memory after the fact (remember, they see a lot of people, so you need to do what you can to stick out).
Research the company beforehand and look for keywords like “integrity” or “hard work” that you can incorporate into your response.
Keep it brief
Practice your response out loud and time yourself to make sure you don’t spend too long answering one question. The interviewers have a lot to cover in the 45 minutes or so that they have to meet with you, so you should leave time for those other questions.
Focus on the positive
Avoid being negative or overly critical, especially when talking about your past job experiences. Focus on what you did and the skills you developed so the interviewers view you positively and don’t see you as a complainer.
Use examples
Don’t just say, “I’m a team player” or “I work hard.” Give examples of you staying late to finish a task or collaborating with your coworkers to get something done. Examples make you more memorable and show that you genuinely “walk the walk.”
Don’t overshare
While it’s important to use detail and examples, avoid oversharing. Do your best to keep it brief, and remember that you can always provide more information later if the interviewer asks for it.
Don’t regurgitate your resume
Finally, resist the urge to memorize and regurgitate your resume back to the interviewer. They have that document in front of them, after all, so they don’t need a point-by-point breakdown of every position you’ve held, how long you held it, etc. Focus on the key aspects that make you seem like the best candidate.
What are service crew job interview questions and answers?
Now, let’s get into some more service crew job interview questions and answers. In addition to being asked to tell the interviewer about yourself, the following are some other common questions you might be hit with (with examples of how you can answer).
Any of these questions could show up in a typical service crew job interview questions and answers PDF, but we’ve compiled them all for you below:
1. “What does the service crew job mean to you?”
This question helps the interviewer understand what you think a service crew job entails.
It shows them that you’ve done some homework and learned about the position, the typical responsibilities you have to carry out day-to-day, etc. It also lets them know that you have realistic expectations about what a typical day at work will involve.
Sample answer
“I see a service crew job as one that requires you to listen carefully to your customer’s needs and concerns. You have to put yourself in their shoes to understand where they’re coming from, and then provide solutions and suggestions to ensure they’re satisfied.”
2. “What did you like and dislike the most about your previous job?”
This question allows the interviewer to get to know you a bit better and learn about the kind of attitude you’ll likely have toward the job if you’re hired. For example, if you say that you disliked dealing with customers at your last job, the interviewer might decide that you’re not a good fit because so much of a service crew member’s job requires them to interact with customers.
Sample answer
“What I like about my last service crew position is that I got to connect with new people and develop my communication skills. However, I sometimes disliked the repetitive nature of my conversations and felt like I was saying the same thing over and over again.
I managed this issue by viewing it as a chance to practice empathy and remember that even though I knew the answer to a frequently asked question, the other person didn’t, and I needed to put myself in their shoes.”
3. “How do you handle negativity from colleagues?”
Some negativity and complaining are typical in any position. However, if someone is complaining excessively, that can put a damper on everyone’s job experience. Your answer to this question helps the interviewer know if you’re the type who will join in on the complaining or rise above it.
Sample answer
“I like to look for the positive in every situation. When I’m met with negativity from my colleagues, I like to validate their experience and recognize their emotions but also follow up with a more positive take to try and turn the mood around.”
4. “Can you share an example of how you dealt with an angry customer?”
You’ll likely be met with this service crew interview question and answer in Tagalog, English, or any other language. No matter where you live, a food service employee will need to deal with angry or frustrated customers. Your answer lets the interviewer know how you’ll handle this common issue.
Sample answer
“I try to be empathetic to angry or frustrated customers and see their point of view. I acknowledge their feelings and let them know I understand, and then try to de-escalate the situation by telling them what I’m going to do to fix the problem.
For example, if a customer is upset that their order was incorrect, I apologize, explain that I know that’s frustrating, and promise to get them the correct order right away.”
5. “What do you do if a customer asks a question you can’t answer?”
No matter how much experience you have in a job, there will be times when you’re asked questions you can’t answer. The answer to this question helps the interviewer understand your problem-solving skills.
Sample answer
“If I get asked a question I can’t answer, I’m honest about the fact that I don’t know. I also reassure the customer that I will find the answer as quickly as possible, either by asking a coworker or talking to a manager.”
6. “How would you respond if you noticed that a coworker was hanging out with friends or neglecting responsibilities during their shift?”
A significant part of being a service crew member is working as a team to serve customers and provide them with a positive experience. However, sometimes, you have to make hard decisions if another coworker is not acting in a way that supports the team.
The way you respond to this question tells the interviewer whether or not you’re a team player who also wants to see the restaurant succeed.
Sample answer
“If I notice that a coworker is not pulling their way, I will try to address the problem with them first. I’ll point out that we’re busy or that I need some extra help and ask them to jump back in. If that doesn’t work, and if the behavior continues to be a pattern, I will address it with a manager or supervisor.”
7. “Can you tell me about a time when you received negative feedback at a job and how you responded?”
This is another common example of service crew interview questions and answers. Everyone receives criticism or negative feedback sometimes. What’s most important is how you handle it.
Sample answer
“In my last job, I received constructive criticism from my boss saying that I needed to be more enthusiastic when communicating with customers and answering their questions. I understood where they were coming from and made an effort to be more engaged and animated during my interactions.”
Start prepping for common service crew job interview questions and answers
A career in food service offers lots of growth opportunities and provides valuable job experience that you can carry with you into many other positions. To start gaining that experience, though, you first have to nail the job interview — and the tips shared above can help you do exactly that.
Now that you know how to navigate crew interview questions and answers and can respond to questions like “Can you tell me about yourself as a service crew member?”, it’s time to start searching for job openings.
Use GrabJobs’ free search tool today to discover openings in your area! We also offer resources like a service crew job interview questions and answers PDF to help you prepare further for your next interview.
