Customer interview questions: bad vs good examples

You

I have ten calls next week. Here's my question list. Tear it apart.

Alex Tutor

Gladly. Number one: “Do you think a food subscription is a good idea?”

You

I know, I know. It's an opinion.

Alex Tutor

An opinion question, and about your own idea, the worst kind. Only the market can say if an idea is good. What can a customer tell you instead?

You

How she handles it now? What annoys her about it?

Alex Tutor

Yes. How she does it today, what's annoying, what she's tried, whether she's looking for something better. All facts, and none needs your idea.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Which question is the best replacement for “Do you think a food subscription is a good idea?”

Choose one answer“Would a food subscription be useful for you?”“How did you get your last bag of food home? Did anything about it annoy you?”“What do you like most about subscriptions?”“On a scale of 1 to 10, how good is our idea?”

Alex Tutor

Number two: “Would you buy a subscription if it saved you trips to the shop?”

You

A hypothetical question. And almost everyone says yes to “would you”.

Alex Tutor

Because saying yes to an imaginary product is free, and people want to help. You'll collect plenty of yeses and no customers.

Ask how the problem shows up now instead: “How do you get food home today? When did that last go wrong?” And one powerful question: “Have you looked for a better way?”

You

Why does looking matter so much?

Alex Tutor

If she's never even googled a fix, the problem probably isn't painful enough to pay for. Someone who grumbles but never searches is a complainer, not a customer. She won't go looking for yours either.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

A customer who has complained about a problem for years but never searched for a solution is a strong sign of demand for your product.

TrueFalse

Alex Tutor

Number three: “How much would you pay for the subscription per month?”

You

This one feels scientific. I get an actual number!

Alex Tutor

A number that's still a guess about the future, just better dressed. People have no idea what they'd pay for something they've never seen.

Ask what they pay now: “How much did you spend on cat food last month? Where did you buy it? Why that shop?” Real spending gives the price conversation something solid to stand on.

You

So if Oksana spends 1,400 UAH a month at the pet shop, our 10% discount is compared with something real.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. And “why that shop?” reveals what she values: price, distance, a brand, a friendly shop assistant. The only price answer you can fully trust is a cash commitment, like a pre-order. That's module 4.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Which question tells Sofia the most about what a subscription could be worth to a customer?

Choose one answer“How much would you pay per month for delivery?”“Is 500 UAH a fair price?”“What did you spend on cat food and delivery last month, and why did you choose that shop?”“Would you pay more for premium food?”

Alex Tutor

Your list is missing a question: “What else have you tried?” Other shops, delivery apps, buying in bulk, a phone reminder. What they tried, what it cost, why they stopped.

You

I asked Oksana something like that yesterday, after our last lesson. Here's her answer:

Oksana

I tried an online pet shop, but delivery took four days, so now I keep a spare bag at my mum's. Last month I still ran out and paid 90 UAH for a taxi to fetch it.

Alex Tutor

That's worth more than a hundred “I'd subscribe”s. A spare bag at her mum's is a workaround: her own makeshift fix. People build workarounds only for problems that really bother them.

And if someone has tried nothing, ask about the implications: “What happens when you run out?” If it's “I pop downstairs, no big deal”, it's an annoyance, not a problem worth paying for.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Which details in Oksana's answer are good evidence that the problem is real for her? Select all that apply.

Choose all that applyShe already tried an online pet shopShe keeps a spare bag at her mum'sShe paid 90 UAH for a taxi last monthShe sounded annoyed when talking about itShe said a subscription would be convenient

Alex Tutor

Number four on your list: “Don't you hate it when you run out of food at the worst possible moment?”

You

But everyone hates that!

Alex Tutor

Which is why the answer is worthless. It's a leading question: it tells her what to say. She agrees, you feel validated, and you learn nothing about how often it happens.

You

So, neutral: “When did you last run out?”

Alex Tutor

Yes. Let her decide whether it was a disaster or a shrug.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

Match each question from Sofia's list to its main flaw.

Tap an answer, then tap the row it belongs to. You can also drag.

“Do you think a food subscription is a good idea?”
“Would you buy it if it saved you trips?”
“How much would you pay per month?”
“Don't you hate running out of food?”

Answers left to place

You

How should I end a call? Right now I just say thanks.

Alex Tutor

Add two questions before the thanks. “Who else should I talk to about this?” gets you the next conversations.

And “Is there anything I should have asked but didn't?” By the end she understands what you're trying to learn and may point at what you missed.

You

What if she won't name anyone?

Alex Tutor

That's data too. Maybe you were too formal or pushy, or the topic just doesn't matter to her. Either way, give her earlier compliments less weight.

Alex Tutor

Question 6

At the end of a friendly call full of compliments, a customer refuses to suggest anyone else to talk to. What's the most reasonable reading?

Choose one answerIt doesn't matter; the compliments are what countsA warning sign: the topic may not matter much to them, so the compliments deserve less weightThey are protecting their friends from being sold toThe interviewer should have asked this at the start

You

My friend Dmytro is a PM at an HR software startup in Kyiv. He's asking HR managers exactly the same kind of questions.

Alex Tutor

Everyone does. In B2B the pattern is the same, plus one more question matters a lot: “Where does the budget come from, and who approves a purchase like this?”

You

Because the HR manager he's talking to might not be able to buy anything.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. Try fixing his main question.

Alex Tutor

Question 7Short answer · AI-checked task

Dmytro asks HR managers: “How much would you pay per month for automatic vacation tracking?” Rewrite it into one or two better questions.

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You

One more from my notes. A customer said: “Buying food is such a hassle, I'd pay anything to fix it!” That's a great sign, right?

Alex Tutor

Lovely energy, and worth nothing yet. “Anything” is a feeling, not a price, and it's about the future.

You

So I ask what he's tried and what it costs him now?

Alex Tutor

Yes. One or two questions, neutral, about the past. Strong emotion is a great place to start asking, not a place to stop.

Alex Tutor

Question 8Short answer · AI-checked task

A customer says: “Buying food is such a hassle, I'd pay anything to fix it!” Write the one or two questions you'd ask next.

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You

OK. I'm rewriting the whole list now.

Alex Tutor

Do it. Six or seven questions are plenty; the best parts of the call will be follow-ups you can't script.

You

And the idea itself?

Alex Tutor

Stays in your pocket until the end, if it comes up at all.

Alex Tutor

Question 9Case · AI-checked task

Rewrite Sofia's question list for next week's calls.

Sofia's original list for calls with CatChow customers:

Do you think a food subscription is a good idea?
Would you buy a subscription if it saved you trips to the shop?
How much would you pay for it per month?
Don't you hate it when you run out of food at the worst moment?
What features would your ideal subscription have?
Thanks for your time!

Write a new list of 5–7 questions in the order Sofia would ask them. After the list, explain in 2–3 sentences what the new list will tell the team that the old one couldn't.

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You

My new list doesn't mention the subscription once. It feels strange.

Alex Tutor

It'll feel less strange when the answers start surprising you. That's how you know you're learning something.

Alex Tutor

In module 2 we'll deal with what comes back: compliments, vague answers and feature requests, and how to dig beneath them.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: Compliments and how to deflect them