How do you handle escalated situation with a person in your facility or in parking lot?

Alternate Questions: Tell me a time when you have had to work around difficult people and how did you overcome it?

Possible Answer 1:

Parking is one area where people regularly lose their tempers, and fender benders happen. Things can get ugly if one person feels the other one cut them off.

Seasonal sales like Black Friday and Boxing Day Sales also can lead to many people jostling to be the first one in, and so tempers get lost and fights happen.

As store security, our job can be quite difficult during these days. We have to be prepared, be firm and be steady. Even when a customer is rude or pushing and shoving, we have to maintain decorum.

You need to have phenomenal self-control to stay calm and to not give in to your anger or frustration, as the slightest sign that you can be pushed will lead to chaos.

Possible Answer 2:

When the shop is having a sale, my job as security is to maintain peace and get the customers in and out as quickly and efficiently as possible.

To this end, we set up displays (barricades) throughout the store, with the customers moving only one way; from the entry to the exit, through all the aisles and the checkout.

There was no wandering allowed from one display to another on such sales days. This is an excellent way of crowd control, particularly during the holidays.

This method also prevents fights about who saw an item first; many ladies get into fights and arguments over dresses, handbags and shoes.

If an item gets sold out before a customer reaches it, tough luck. We can always offer to let them know when we have the item in stock, though at regular prices. In my previous job we used this system as a foolproof method for crowd control during sales.

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