Customer discovery
Customer interview questions you can use on your next call
Ask about a recent experience, follow what happened and learn how buying decisions get made. Includes a question bank and examples of useful follow-ups.
Start with something the person has actually done: “Tell me about the last time you…” Then ask them to walk you through it.
Imagine 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 specific event to discuss. You can find out what happened without assuming the process was painful or needed new software.
Choose the questions that help with your next decision. Leave room to follow an interesting answer instead of trying to finish the whole list.
Understand 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 submitted the last request and what happened while they waited. If they cannot remember, leave the timing unknown.
YC's guide to talking to users recommends asking about specific experiences rather than hypothetical behavior. A recent event gives you details you can follow up on.
Find out what mattered
Once you understand 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?
Give ordinary answers room too. The team may have borrowed a spare part and carried on with little trouble. Knowing that helps you judge whether this is a problem worth solving.
Avoid putting the answer in 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 do not yet understand and ask about it.
For example, someone says: “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?
Their answers may reveal a missing approver, an unanswered question or a process that usually works well.
Ask about buying when it matters
If you need to understand software purchasing, 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 does not know, ask which colleague was involved.
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 will make the next conversation more useful than simply adding more questions.