“Fix delivery by Friday.” What would you do first?
A one-line instruction can point at three different problems. Read the complaints before you pick one.
The question
Pellbrook is a fictional online home-goods retailer. You coordinate customer-experience projects. You don’t manage the carrier contract or the warehouse. On Tuesday morning your manager sends a one-line message.
- Head of customer operations (your manager)Customers are furious about delivery. Fix it by Friday.
- Support leadMost of the angry tickets this week are about things arriving broken.
- Logistics coordinatorThe carrier’s on-time rate hasn’t changed this quarter.
| Reason | complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Arrived damagedincl. 15 were glass table lamps | 22 | |
| Arrived late | 9 | |
| Wrong item sent | 6 | |
| Other | 3 | |
| Total | 40 |
Invented data. Damaged 55%, late 22.5%, wrong item 15%, other 7.5%. The 15 glass lamps are part of the 22 damaged, about 68% of them. One week of complaints, not all orders.
“Your manager writes: “Customers are furious about delivery. Fix it by Friday.” What would you do?”
Not saved by this site. Your browser may restore text when you navigate back.
A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: Ask the one question that changes the plan
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Start pressing the carrier for faster delivery today.
Tempting, but it misses something. Speed is only one reading of “delivery”. Last week 9 of 40 complaints were late and 22 arrived damaged, so acting before asking may fix the smaller problem.
Ask my manager what “delivery” means here and what “fixed by Friday” should look like.
The strong move. One short question decides which of three problems you are solving. It costs minutes; guessing wrong costs the week.
Call a kickoff with support, logistics and the warehouse to hear everyone’s view.
Tempting, but it misses something. A meeting before you know what was asked spends Tuesday on an unclear scope. Ask the person who gave the instruction first.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Before I start, I’d ask my manager: by delivery, do you mean late parcels, broken ones, or one particular customer? And what would ‘fixed by Friday’ look like to you?”
Why it works: One short question costs minutes. Guessing wrong costs the week.
Step 2: Check the request against the facts
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Wait for my manager’s reply before looking at anything.
Tempting, but it misses something. Waiting idles the time you have. The complaints are already there to read: 22 damaged, 9 late, 6 wrong item and 3 other.
Take the support lead’s word that it’s breakage and move on.
Tempting, but it misses something. She is right on these numbers, but an impression isn’t a count. Reading 40 tickets takes minutes and shows 15 of the 22 damaged items were glass lamps.
Read last week’s 40 complaints while I wait: 22 damaged, 9 late, and 15 of the damaged were glass lamps.
The strong move. The count turns “fix delivery” into a specific problem, mostly broken lamps. A faster carrier would touch 9 complaints, not 22.
See how a strong candidate says it
“While I wait for the answer, I’d read last week’s complaints. 22 of 40 arrived damaged and 9 arrived late, and 15 of the 22 damaged were glass lamps. So ‘delivery’ here mostly means breakage.”
Why it works: The count changes what “fix delivery” means. Pushing the carrier for speed would touch 9 complaints, not 22.
Step 3: Scope what Friday can hold
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Propose a sturdier-packing test for glass lamps this week, plus replacements or refunds for the 22 damaged orders.
The strong move. Both fit in four days and both are yours to run. They aim at 22 of 40 complaints, and lamps are 15 of those 22.
Promise a new carrier by Friday.
Tempting, but it misses something. You don’t manage the carrier contract, and the carrier’s on-time rate hasn’t changed. Lateness is 9 of 40 complaints.
Commit to zero delivery complaints by Friday.
Tempting, but it misses something. No one fixes every cause in four days. A promise you can’t keep turns a fair request into a missed deadline.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I can’t fix breakage everywhere by Friday. I’d propose testing sturdier packing for glass lamps with the warehouse this week, and making sure the 22 customers with damaged items have a replacement or refund under way.”
Why it works: It turns a vague order into a bounded piece of work you can finish and own.
Step 4: Say what would change the plan
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Stick to the plan whatever my manager replies.
Tempting, but it misses something. If your manager meant one customer’s late order, a lamp-packing test answers the wrong question. The plan should move when the answer does.
Say what would change my plan: one customer’s late order, or lamp damage that doesn’t fall next week.
The strong move. Naming what would change your mind shows you are following the problem, and tells your manager what to report back.
Leave it out; the interviewer only wants the plan.
Tempting, but it misses something. “What if you’re wrong?” is a common follow-up. Answering it first shows you have already thought about the plan’s limits.
See how a strong candidate says it
“If my manager meant one important customer’s late order, I’d switch to that today. If lamp damage doesn’t fall next week, I’d bring the carrier into it.”
Why it works: It shows you are following the problem, not defending your first plan.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Ask what “fix delivery” means, then propose sturdier packing for glass lamps and replacements for the 22 damaged orders, not a faster carrier.
- Because
- Damage is 22 of 40 complaints and lateness 9, and 15 of the damaged items were glass lamps.
- What would change it
- Your manager meaning one customer or lateness, or a second week of complaints that looks different.
Common traps
- Acting on the first reading of a vague instruction.
- Asking so many questions that nothing starts.
- Fixing the loudest word, “delivery”, instead of the cause.
- Promising a Friday result you don’t control, such as a new carrier contract.
Check your answer
- Did I ask the one question that would change what I do?
- Did I check the request against the evidence while waiting?
- Did I scope work I can finish by the deadline?
- Did I say what answer would change my plan?
Last reviewed Nov 9, 2026