Customer interview questions: start with the last time

The best customer interview questions ask about something the person has already done. Start with "Tell me about the last time you..." and ask them to walk you through it.

Here is a made-up example used throughout: you are interviewing someone on a maintenance team about ordering replacement parts. "Tell me about the last part you ordered for a repair" gives you a real event to discuss, without assuming the process was painful or needs new software.

Pick the questions that help with your next decision, and follow an interesting answer instead of racing through the list.

1. Get the story of what happened

What led you to order that part?
What did you do first?
Who else was involved?
What information did you need, and where did you find it?
What happened after you submitted the request?
How did you find out it had been approved?
Did anything happen differently from what you expected?
How did the repair turn out?

When an answer is broad, ask for an example. If someone says "Approvals take forever," ask when they sent the last request and what happened next. If they can't remember, leave the timing unknown.

GOV.UK's guidance on in-depth interviews recommends exploring what people actually experienced, with follow-up questions. Ask about a specific recent event rather than what someone would do in theory: a real event gives you details to follow up on.

2. Then ask what it cost them

Once you know the steps, ask about the consequences:

What did you do while the part was unavailable?
Did anyone else have to change their plans?
Was there an extra expense? What was it for?
What worked well?
How similar was this to other parts requests?
Have you tried changing this process? What happened?

Boring answers count too. If the team borrowed a spare part and carried on, this may not be a problem worth solving.

3. Keep the answer out of the question

Instead of asking...	Try...
How frustrating is waiting for approval?	What happened between sending the request and receiving approval?
Would automatic reminders save you time?	How did you know whether the request had moved forward?
Would you use our tool?	What have you tried to change about this process?

GOV.UK's interview guidance recommends follow-up questions that explore the person's experience. Listen for a detail you don't understand and ask about it.

Say someone tells you: "I sent the request and then chased it in chat." You could ask:

What were you trying to find out in the chat message?
Who did you send it to?
What happened after they replied?
Can you remember a request where you did not need to chase anyone?

The answers might reveal a missing approver, an unanswered question or a process that usually works fine.

4. Ask about buying only when you need to

To understand how they buy software, ask about a real purchase: "Tell me about the last tool your team introduced for this work."

Then ask who suggested it, which alternatives they considered, who approved the spending and what they used before. If your interviewee doesn't know, ask which colleague was involved.

If you need people to ask

The maintenance example works best with someone who ordered a part last month, not a manager who heard about it later. If nobody like that is in your network, Instant Expert can send a paid invitation to people you describe, such as "maintenance planners who order replacement parts at manufacturing plants," or to specific people by LinkedIn URL or email. A 30-minute call leaves time for the story, the cost questions and a few follow-ups. They see the amount you offer, and you pay that plus our fee (a $100 offer costs you $125) once they book. Finding customers to interview covers other channels.

Before your next call

Circle the three questions you most need answered. Afterward, write down what you learned and what you still need to ask. That beats a longer list.