Steal These Interview Questions & Stop Hiring "Nice" People Who Wreck Your Shop

If you only ask "Tell me about your experience"… you deserve the hire you get.

I mean that.

Because here's what happens.

Somebody walks in, shakes your hand firmly, says all the right things about flat rate and diag hours, and you think — this is the one.

Three months later you're walking on eggshells around them.

They won't follow your processes.

They blame everybody else when something goes sideways.

And the rest of your team is giving you that look.

You know the one.

You've been here before.

And the problem was never that the candidate lacked skill.

The problem was you interviewed for the wrong things.

I've talked to hundreds of shops over the last seven years.

The ones who consistently hire well — and keep those people — don't ask better technical questions.

They ask better human questions.

Here's what they screen for (before skill ever enters the conversation):

THE 3 THINGS THAT MATTER MORE THAN SKILL

1. Communication and presence.

Can they explain something clearly? Do they make eye contact? How do they handle a question they don't know the answer to?

One shop owner told me recently: "Personality, eye contact, how they talk — more important than knowing how to write an estimate." He's right. You can train your POS system. You can't train someone to tell the truth under pressure.

2. Structure tolerance.

Do they thrive with SOPs and written expectations, or do they create "eggshells" every time you try to hold them accountable?

Here's the thing lots of owners miss: people freak out when expectations aren't written down and they get corrected later. That's not a discipline problem. That's a communication problem you created. But — and this is important — the interview is where you find out if someone wants structure or fights it. Big difference.

3. Training buy-in (agreed BEFORE the hire).

This one's non-negotiable. You must get agreement on training expectations before the person starts. It's hard to change people after you have them.

If you hire someone and then spring training requirements on them three weeks in, you've set yourself up for a fight. The best shops treat training like a contract, not a suggestion.

THE INTERVIEW FLOW (Keep it simple. Keep it repeatable.)

Step 1: 15-minute phone screen. Kill 70% of bad fits before they ever walk through your door. You're listening for communication clarity, energy, and basic alignment. You also need to ask the two rapport building questions that I've talked about a bunch in this community and ALWAYS ask for references. That's it.

Step 2: 45–60 minute in-person. Mix behavioral questions, scenario questions, and a "teach-back" exercise (more on that below).

Step 3: Paid working interview / shadow day. First week, they don't touch anything. They watch. They absorb how you talk to customers, how techs interact, how the shop breathes. One owner I work with puts it this way: "First week you don't do anything — you watch. Absorb how we talk, how we treat people."

THE QUESTION BANK

I'm giving you the actual questions below. But here's the part most people skip: for each question, I'm also telling you what a great answer sounds like, what the red flags are, and what follow-up to ask.

Because the follow-up is where truth lives.

CULTURE & COMMUNICATION QUESTIONS (Techs + Advisors)

❓"Walk me through a time you disagreed with a manager. What did you do next?"

Great answer: Calm, direct, owns their part, sought clarity.

Red flag: "My boss was an idiot" stories. Blame-only narratives with zero self-awareness.

Follow-up: "What would you do differently now?"

❓"When you're having a bad day, what do the people around you notice?"

This one reveals self-awareness. Everyone has bad days. What matters is whether they know how they show up when things go wrong.

Follow-up: "How do you repair it the next day?"

❓"Explain something technical to me like I'm a customer who's skeptical."

Great answer: Clear, patient, no ego.

Red flag: Condescending, jargon-heavy, or impatient. If they can't simplify for you in an interview, they're going to lose your customers.

THE TEACH-BACK (this one's a killer):

❓"Here's how we do X at our shop. Now repeat it back to me like you're training the next new hire."

This exposes everything. Do they listen? Can they retain and rephrase? Do they add their own spin (good) or get defensive about doing it differently (bad)?

Miscommunication happens when people assume they understood. This exercise kills that assumption in real time.

STRUCTURE & SOP TOLERANCE QUESTIONS

❓"Do you prefer clear SOPs, or freedom to do it your way? Why?"

Great answer: Likes standards but can adapt when needed.

Red flag: "I hate rules" or "I just do my thing." Run!

❓"Tell me about a shop with strong processes. What did you like? What did you hate?"

Follow-up: "What did you do when you thought the process was wrong?" You're listening for whether they worked within the system or went rogue.

❓"When have you been corrected at work and it felt unfair — what made it feel unfair?"

This one sniffs out the difference between someone who had a legitimate communication issue versus someone who can't handle any accountability. The "eggshells" candidates reveal themselves here.

TRAINING & GROWTH MINDSET QUESTIONS

These must happen before you make the hire. Not after.

❓"What's the last skill you intentionally improved? How did you do it?"

Great answer: Specific, recent, self-driven. "I took an advanced electrical course last quarter because I kept running into hybrid issues."

Red flag: "I don't really do classes." Or a long pause followed by nothing.

❓"In our shop, training is part of the job. What does 'training accountability' mean to you?"

You're not looking for the "right" answer. You're looking for whether they even have a framework for it.

❓"If we hired you, what training would you want in the first 30 days?"

Great answer: Hungry. Asks for a plan. Has thought about their own gaps.

Red flag: "Whatever you want." Passive. No ownership.

THE COMMITMENT QUESTION

❓"Are you willing to sign a training agreement that covers expectations — time, courses, and standards?"

Yes, actually ask this. In the interview. Before the offer. Because if somebody balks at this now, they're absolutely going to fight you on it later. Get it in writing so nobody says "I don't remember agreeing to that" six months from now.

FOR SERVICE ADVISORS SPECIFICALLY

For advisors, how they communicate matters more than whether they know your estimating software.

You'll train the POS. You can't train presence.

❓"How do you handle a customer who wants a discount and won't stop pushing?"

❓"Tell me about a time you had to deliver bad news — delays, parts on backorder. What exact words did you use?"

You're listening for an underpromise/overdeliver mindset. Not "I told them it would be fine."

❓"When you don't know the answer, what do you do?"

Great answer: Verifies, communicates clearly, doesn't bluff.

SCENARIO

❓"It's 4:30pm, you're behind, and a customer is angry. Walk me through your next 5 minutes."

Pressure reveals process. No process under pressure means no process at all.

FOR TECHNICIANS SPECIFICALLY

❓"Tell me about your last comeback. What happened, and what did you change?"

This separates learners from blamers. If they can't own a comeback, they won't own anything.

❓"What do you do when you're stuck on a diag?"

Follow-up: "How long before you ask for help?" You want someone who's resourceful but not too proud to raise their hand.

❓"Do you want to be challenged with work slightly over your head (with support), or stay in your comfort zone?"

The best techs want to grow. They want to be pushed — as long as they know somebody has their back.

❓"Describe the best foreman you ever had. What did they do?"

This tells you exactly what leadership style they thrive under. If it doesn't match yours, you need to know that now.

THE RED FLAGS (If they say these things… run.)

🚩Every shop is toxic, every boss is the problem — blame-first storytelling with zero accountability.

🚩"I've been doing this 20 years, I don't need training." — Training resistance dressed up as confidence.

🚩"I don't do SOPs." — Process allergy. This person will create chaos.

🚩They can't give you a straight answer to a simple question — rambling, dodging specifics, talking in circles.

🚩Your gut says something's off about their maturity level — trust that. Misreading maturity is one of the most common hiring mistakes I see.

THE SCORECARD (So you stop deciding on gut feel)

After every interview, rate the candidate 1–5 in these six areas:

➡️Communication clarity.

➡️Coachability.

➡️Training buy-in.

➡️Process tolerance.

➡️Ownership and accountability.

➡️Culture add (not "culture fit" — you're not looking for someone just like you. You're looking for someone who makes the team better).

THE DECISION RULE

Any two categories under 3? No hire.

Even if they're a great tech. Especially if they're a great tech — because a skilled person with no accountability is worse than an average tech who shows up right.

Training buy-in must be 4 or higher for any A-tech role. Non-negotiable.

Here's the truth nobody wants to hear: your next bad hire won't come from a lack of talent in the market.

It'll come from a lack of standards in your interview process.

The questions above aren't magic. They're a system. And systems beat gut feel every single time.

Use them. Score them. Stop re-learning hiring the hard way.

Drop a comment with the role you're hiring for right now — A-tech, B-tech, advisor, dispatcher — and which 7 questions from above you're going to try out in the interviews to find the right fit.

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