Chimney & fireplace services interview questions

Most of your revenue comes in [four] months of the year. How would you decide whether to add a service, like hearth product sales or masonry work, to even out the year?

Situational · Evening out a seasonal business

Strong answer

Looks at local demand, margin, the skills and equipment already on hand, capital and inventory needs and brand fit, then tests it on a small scale with clear measures.

Red flags

Adds whatever a competitor offers.

A local news story accuses chimney companies in your area of scare tactics and names a competitor. What do you do inside your company?

Situational · Responding to an industry scandal

Strong answer

Audits its own practices (photo or video evidence for every repair recommendation, how technicians are paid), reinforces standards and uses openness in its marketing without attacking the competitor.

Red flags

Gloats, or assumes it couldn't happen in their company.

Walk me through the numbers you'd watch to know whether a chimney company is healthy, beyond revenue.

Technical · Reading the business beyond revenue

Strong answer

Revenue per technician-day, repair conversion and callback rates, fall booking lead time, gross margin by service, cash reserves for the off-season and how many past customers come back.

Red flags

Only revenue or the bank balance.

Tell me about a time you promoted your best chimney technician to run the field team and it didn't work out. What did you change in how you choose leaders?

Behavioral · Choosing field leaders

Strong answer

Names what they missed, such as strong technical skill but no coaching or planning ability, and a specific change like a trial lead role, leadership training or structured interviews for managers.

Red flags

Blames the person entirely, or still promotes the best technician by default.

Tell me about a time a serious claim or close call tied to your work, like a chimney fire after a service visit, forced a change in how the company operates. What changed?

Behavioral · Learning from a serious claim

Strong answer

Got the facts and inspection records, worked with the insurer and counsel, treated the family with respect, found the gap in procedures or records, and changed standards such as photo records and post-sweep checks.

Red flags

Blamed the homeowner without reviewing the work, or settled and changed nothing.

Tell me about a time you expanded into a new area and had to find or move certified technicians to serve it. What would you do differently?

Behavioral · Expanding into new areas

Strong answer

What they planned (local demand, a leader, CSIA-certified technicians, drive time, pricing), what went wrong and honest lessons.

Red flags

Says it all went perfectly, or expanded before having technicians to serve it.

An audit shows technicians often skip fall protection on low-pitch roofs. What do you do?

Situational · Fixing skipped fall protection

Strong answer

Finds out why (missing gear, time pressure, training), fixes those causes, sets a clear rule, enforces it the same way for everyone and keeps auditing.

Red flags

Sends a reminder email.

The company wants a second location. What has to be in place in operations before it opens?

Situational · Opening a second location

Strong answer

A leader, trained technicians, written standards and inspection practices, equipment, supplier accounts, scheduling and routing, and measures to compare both locations.

Red flags

Opens and copies whatever happens to work.

Walk me through how you'd design the flow of a job from the first call to a finished repair so nothing is dropped.

Technical · Designing the job flow

Strong answer

Booking, inspection with photos or video, a proposal within a set number of days, approval, materials ordered, scheduling, completion photos, invoice and follow-up, each step with an owner and a check in the software.

Red flags

Relies on people remembering.

Walk me through how you'd set a fair daily target for sweeps and inspections per technician.

Technical · Setting fair productivity targets

Strong answer

Uses past job times by type, drive time and roof difficulty, adjusts by season, and watches callbacks and customer ratings alongside the target so it doesn't cut quality.

Red flags

Picks a number and pushes for more.

Tell me about an operations change that improved results you could measure, such as jobs per technician-day or days from inspection to proposal.

Behavioral · Improving operations

Strong answer

Names the bottleneck, such as reports written at night or proposals waiting on the office, the change, like building proposals on a tablet at the job, how technicians took to it and the measured result.

Red flags

Vague, with no numbers.

Tell me about a time one of your managers fell behind in the fall rush, with repair proposals or callbacks piling up. What did you do?

Behavioral · Leading managers through the rush

Strong answer

Spotted it early in the numbers, found the cause with the manager (staffing, an office bottleneck, not delegating), agreed on a short plan with weekly checks, added support and made a change if it didn't improve.

Red flags

Took over the manager's work, or waited until the season ended to deal with it.

Walk me through how you'd plan cash and financing for a business that earns most of its money in the fall.

Technical · Funding a seasonal business

Strong answer

A monthly cash forecast, a credit line set up before it's needed, timing of inventory pre-buys, off-season payroll, prepaid plans and collections, and a reserve target.

Red flags

Plans to borrow when the account runs low.

Labor costs rose, and the owner wants to raise sweep prices. How would you decide how much, and on which services?

Situational · Setting prices

Strong answer

Calculates cost per job type, looks at competitor pricing and booking demand, tests changes, considers plan members and plans how to explain it to customers.

Red flags

Raises everything by the same amount without analysis.

Your company sells caps and dampers and also charges for labor. How would you make sure sales tax is handled correctly?

Situational · Getting sales tax right

Strong answer

Knows the rules for parts and labor differ by state and locality, confirms them with a tax advisor, sets up invoices and software to split them and reviews it periodically.

Red flags

Charges the same tax on everything, or none.

Tell me about a control you put on field payments, technician discounts or prepaid sweep plans that caught a real problem. What was it?

Behavioral · Putting controls in place

Strong answer

Names the control, such as daily payment reconciliation by technician or discount approvals, what it caught and how it changed behavior.

Red flags

Relies on trust, can't say what the control caught, or set a rule nobody checked.

Tell me about a time an owner wanted to buy trucks, hire or pre-buy liners in the spring, and the cash forecast said no. How did you handle it?

Behavioral · Saying no to the owner

Strong answer

Showed the cash forecast through the slow months, explained the risk in plain terms, offered alternatives such as phasing, timing or financing, and reached a decision together.

Red flags

Avoided the conversation.

Tell me about a cost you cut, such as fuel, liner waste or equipment repairs, that didn't hurt customers or crews. How did you find it?

Behavioral · Cutting costs without hurting service

Strong answer

A specific cost, the analysis behind it and the result, with callbacks and customer ratings checked afterward.

Red flags

Cut something that hurt service later, like cheaper parts or fewer technicians in the fall.

In August, the booking calendar already runs [four] weeks out for October. How do you plan staffing and scheduling for the fall?

Situational · Planning for the fall rush

Strong answer

Forecasts from last year, hires and trains early, moves repair work into late summer, sends reminders to past customers, sets overtime limits and protects inspection quality.

Red flags

Waits until the backlog is out of control.

A homeowner says your technician invented a cracked flue to sell a liner and has a second opinion saying it's fine. What do you do?

Situational · Handling disputed findings

Strong answer

Reviews the video personally, offers a re-inspection by a senior technician or a joint review, admits it if the company was wrong, stands behind correct findings respectfully and checks the technician's other reports.

Red flags

Defends the technician without looking, or refunds without reviewing anything.

Walk me through the inspection standards you'd set for your technicians, including when a Level 2 is required and how findings get recorded.

Technical · Setting inspection standards

Strong answer

Level 2 for the NFPA 211 triggers (property sale, fuel or appliance change, relining, after a chimney fire or damaging event), saved video, photos for every finding, standard report language and a second review on big repair proposals.

Red flags

Leaves it up to each technician.

Tell me about a time you found that a type of job, like masonry repair or relining, was losing money once all costs were counted. What did you change?

Behavioral · Job costing by service

Strong answer

Costed real labor, materials, return trips and warranty work by job type, then fixed estimating, pricing or crew assignment, and tracked margin afterward.

Red flags

Raised all prices across the board without finding the problem, or credits a good season.

Tell me about how you got experienced technicians to follow roof and ladder safety rules they'd ignored for years.

Behavioral · Enforcing roof safety with veterans

Strong answer

Explained why, made the gear easy to use, enforced it the same way with top performers and checked in the field.

Red flags

Let veterans keep their habits.

Tell me about a time you had to let go of a technician who sold a lot of repairs but cut corners, like skipping camera checks. How did you handle it?

Behavioral · Letting go of a top seller

Strong answer

Documented the problem, gave clear warnings, made the decision and explained the standard to the team.

Red flags

Kept them because of the numbers.

You need [four] more sweep technicians trained by September. How do you find, hire and train them in time?

Situational · Hiring ahead of the season

Strong answer

Starts in spring, uses referrals, trade schools and related trades, runs structured interviews, builds a training plan with ride-alongs and certification prep, and sets checkpoints.

Red flags

Starts posting ads in August.

A technician falls from a ladder at a customer's home. Walk me through what HR does first and over the next week.

Situational · Responding to an injury at a customer's home

Strong answer

Makes sure the technician gets care, reports to the workers' comp carrier, meets OSHA recording and reporting rules, investigates the cause without blame, works with the manager on the customer side and plans return to work.

Red flags

Blames the technician or delays reporting.

Walk me through how you'd track and support certifications like CSIA and NFI across the team.

Technical · Tracking certifications

Strong answer

A record with expiration dates and continuing education due, reminders, study support and a clear written policy on exam fees and any pay change for certification.

Red flags

Leaves it to each technician.

Tell me about how you kept good technicians through the slow spring and summer months.

Behavioral · Keeping staff through the slow season

Strong answer

Planned off-season work such as masonry, caps and dryer vents, cross-training or steady hours, kept in touch, and can share retention results.

Red flags

Laid everyone off and rehired in the fall.

Tell me about a time you looked into a customer's complaint about how an employee acted inside their home. How did you decide what happened?

Behavioral · Investigating complaints about staff in homes

Strong answer

Took it seriously, got the customer's account and records like arrival times and photos, heard the employee's side, kept it confidential, decided on the facts under the usual policy and closed the loop with both.

Red flags

Disciplined the employee on the customer's word alone, or brushed off the customer to protect the technician.

Tell me about a time you set up respirator use for crews exposed to soot or masonry dust. How did you get people to follow it?

Behavioral · Making respirator rules stick

Strong answer

Explained the reason, involved leads, set up what the rule needs (for required respirators, medical evaluation and fit testing under OSHA's respirator standard), trained in person and checked follow-through.

Red flags

Posted it and moved on, or handed out masks with no fit testing or training.

Calls spike from September to December and drop the rest of the year. How do you plan the marketing calendar?

Situational · Planning around a strong season

Strong answer

Reminders to past customers before the rush, early-booking pushes, off-season campaigns for crowns, caps and masonry, real estate partner outreach, and spending timed to capacity rather than the busiest weeks.

Red flags

Spends the same every month, or the most when the schedule is already full.

Reviews in your market mention companies that scare customers into repairs. How do you market your company so people trust it?

Situational · Earning trust in a skeptical market

Strong answer

Shows credentials like CSIA and NFI, uses real photos and video of findings, explains pricing clearly, publishes helpful education and avoids fear-based ads.

Red flags

Uses scary chimney fire messages to drive calls.

Walk me through how you'd measure whether reminder emails and postcards to past customers pay off.

Technical · Measuring reminder campaigns

Strong answer

Holds out a control group, compares bookings and revenue from the list with the group that got nothing, and weighs that against cost.

Red flags

Looks at open rates only.

Tell me about an off-season campaign, such as for crowns, caps or waterproofing, where you had to prove to the owner that it paid for itself. What numbers did you use?

Behavioral · Running local campaigns

Strong answer

Tracked booked jobs and revenue from the campaign against its cost, separated them from jobs that would have come anyway, and says what they'd change.

Red flags

Reported impressions or likes only.

Tell me about a time the company was booked weeks out, like in a fall rush. What did you do with marketing?

Behavioral · Marketing when you're booked out

Strong answer

Paused or shifted spend, focused on future bookings or off-season work and protected the brand.

Red flags

Kept spending and built a waitlist of angry customers.

Tell me about educational content you made for homeowners, like when a chimney needs sweeping or what an inspection covers. How did you know it brought in business?

Behavioral · Creating useful content

Strong answer

Names a specific piece, such as a short video on what a Level 2 inspection covers, how calls or bookings from it were tracked, and what it brought in.

Red flags

Made content and never measured it.

A real estate agent calls, upset that an inspection report promised yesterday hasn't arrived. What do you do?

Situational · Handling a late inspection report

Strong answer

Apologizes, checks the status, gets a firm time from the technician, sends it as soon as it's ready and fixes the step in the report process that slipped.

Red flags

Blames the technician or promises a time without checking.

It's late August. What do you do in the office to get ready for the fall rush?

Situational · Getting the office ready for fall

Strong answer

Plans phone coverage, sends reminders to past customers, checks supply levels with operations, updates scripts and price sheets and sets up a waitlist.

Red flags

Waits for the phones to ring.

Walk me through how you'd handle billing on a relining job that needs a deposit, a special-order liner and a final payment.

Technical · Billing a relining job

Strong answer

Takes the deposit per policy and records it against the job, orders the liner only after the deposit, tracks the order, invoices on completion with photos and follows up on payment.

Red flags

Orders before the deposit, or loses track of what's been paid.

Tell me about a time you ran a waitlist or cancellation list during a booked-out season. How did you decide who got an opening first?

Behavioral · Filling openings fairly

Strong answer

Kept one list with dates and needs, put safety concerns and real estate deadlines first, then the oldest requests, called quickly when slots opened and noted outcomes.

Red flags

Gave openings to whoever called last or complained loudest.

Tell me about an office process you fixed that was losing fall bookings, like missed callbacks or voicemails left too long. What changed?

Behavioral · Improving office processes

Strong answer

A specific gap, such as messages left in voicemail or no callback list, the fix and the result in fewer missed calls or more bookings.

Red flags

Blames staff for missed calls, or the fix depended on one person remembering and fell apart in the next rush.

Tell me about a time a customer disputed a charge because the technician found more work than expected, like a damper or smoke chamber repair. How did you resolve it?

Behavioral · Resolving billing disputes

Strong answer

Got the facts, photos and any signed approval, explained clearly, fixed real mistakes, tightened how extra work is approved on site and kept the customer.

Red flags

Refused to discuss it, or gave in without checking.

Tomorrow includes a crown rebuild, a stainless liner install, [12] sweeps and [two] Level 2 inspections. You have [three] two-person crews and [two] solo technicians. How do you assign them?

Situational · Assigning crews for a mixed day

Strong answer

Matches skills and certifications to each job, puts two-person crews on roof-heavy work, uses realistic times, groups jobs by area and stages materials the night before.

Red flags

Assigns at random or by who asks first.

A liner install is taking twice as long because of an offset in the flue that wasn't caught earlier. What do you do?

Situational · Managing a job that runs long

Strong answer

Supports the crew with tools or help, updates customers on later jobs, documents the miss so inspections and estimates improve, and follows the contract on any change order.

Red flags

Pushes the crew to rush it.

Walk me through how you'd keep cameras, vacuums, rotary cleaning systems and ladders ready for every crew in the fall rush.

Technical · Keeping equipment ready

Strong answer

Daily and weekly checks, spare cameras and vacuums, filter stock, maintenance logs, fast repair turnaround and equipment assigned to each truck.

Red flags

Fixes things when they break.

Tell me about how you've controlled dust from cutting or grinding brick and mortar on a job.

Behavioral · Controlling masonry dust

Strong answer

Silica controls: wet cutting or tools with vacuum shrouds, respirators per the written plan, and HEPA cleanup.

Red flags

Paper dust masks only, or never thought about it.

Tell me about a change you made that cut drive time or waiting for technicians, such as routing, truck stock or parts pickups. What did it save?

Behavioral · Cutting wasted time

Strong answer

Spotted where time went, made a specific change such as standard truck stock or zone routing, and measured the result in jobs per day or drive time.

Red flags

No numbers, or technicians never adopted it.

Tell me about a time a technician's callbacks or complaints ran well above the rest of the team. How did you handle it?

Behavioral · Addressing a technician's quality problems

Strong answer

Reviewed the jobs and video first, found the pattern (skipped steps, rushing or a skill gap), talked privately with specifics, set a plan with ride-alongs or rechecks and followed the numbers.

Red flags

Ignored it because the technician was fast, or criticized them in front of the crew.

One rep turns far more inspections into relining sales than anyone else on the team. What do you check?

Situational · Checking an unusually high close rate

Strong answer

Reviews the video and photos behind each sale, rides along, calls customers, looks at complaints and callbacks and has a senior technician spot-check, to tell real skill from overselling.

Red flags

Celebrates the numbers and asks others to copy them.

Sales drop every spring. How would you keep the team productive from March to August?

Situational · Keeping the team busy off-season

Strong answer

Off-season campaigns for crowns, caps and masonry, follow-up on last fall's quotes, real estate and home inspector outreach, training, and getting repairs done before fall.

Red flags

Cuts hours and waits for fall.

Walk me through the numbers you'd track to manage a chimney sales team and what each one tells you.

Technical · Tracking sales numbers

Strong answer

Inspections to proposals, proposals to sales by repair type, average ticket, days to proposal, cancellations and callbacks, broken out by rep and lead source.

Red flags

Revenue only, with no view of conversion or callbacks.

Tell me about a time you coached a salesperson to sell more repairs without scare talk.

Behavioral · Coaching honest selling

Strong answer

The specific behavior they changed, such as showing photo and video evidence and giving clear options, and the results in sales and complaints.

Red flags

Told them to close harder.

Tell me about a referral partnership you built, such as with real estate agents or home inspectors. What made it work?

Behavioral · Building referral partners

Strong answer

Fast, reliable service for partners, clear reports, regular contact and tracked referrals.

Red flags

Dropped off business cards once.

Tell me about a salesperson you hired who had to learn chimney systems from scratch. How did you get them ready to present findings alone?

Behavioral · Ramping up new salespeople

Strong answer

Hired for honesty and the ability to learn, paired them with technicians on inspections, had them practice presenting sample findings, and reviewed their proposals and evidence before solo work.

Red flags

Gave them a price list and a territory, or let them learn on customers.

Every technician truck needs a standard set of parts, ladders and safety gear before fall. How do you set that up?

Situational · Stocking trucks before fall

Strong answer

A standard stock list per truck, a check-in and check-out routine, weekly restocking, harness and ladder inspections and one person responsible for each truck.

Red flags

Technicians grab what they need.

Crews bring back bags of soot and creosote. How do you handle them at the shop?

Situational · Handling soot and creosote waste

Strong answer

Keeps waste in sealed bags or metal containers away from anything that can burn, watches for hot material, uses gloves and masks, and disposes of it the way local rules require.

Red flags

Tosses the bags in a plastic bin by the door.

Walk me through how you receive a shipment of liner kits and top-sealing dampers.

Technical · Receiving shipments

Strong answer

Checks it against the purchase order, counts and inspects for damage, confirms sizes and labels, records it and reports shortages the same day.

Red flags

Signs for it without checking.

Tell me about a time a worker kept skipping a step, like logging gear inspections or checking in tools. What did you do?

Behavioral · Correcting staff

Strong answer

Found out why, retrained, made the step easier, documented it and followed up until it became routine.

Red flags

Ignored it or did it themselves.

Tell me about a hazard you fixed in a shop, such as ladder storage, hot ash or blocked exits. What did you change?

Behavioral · Fixing safety problems

Strong answer

Names the hazard, a lasting fix such as racks, metal ash bins or marked walkways, and how they made sure it stayed fixed.

Red flags

Only posted a sign or told people to be careful, so the hazard came back, or can't name one.

Tell me about how you used the slow months to get a shop ready for the fall rush, such as counts, pre-buys, equipment repairs or a new layout.

Behavioral · Preparing for the busy season

Strong answer

A plan made in the off-season: counts, pre-buys, equipment repairs, layout changes and staffing, and how the busy season went.

Red flags

Waited until the rush started.

A caller says their chimney is roaring, there's smoke in the room and sparks are coming out the top. What do you tell them?

Situational · Handling a chimney fire call

Strong answer

Tells them to get everyone out and call 911 now, then follows up later to book an inspection. Doesn't try to schedule while the fire is happening.

Red flags

Starts booking an appointment.

A caller says another company advertised a very cheap sweep and asks why yours costs more. What do you say?

Situational · Explaining price differences

Strong answer

Explains what's included (inspection level, camera check, certified technician, dust control) without badmouthing anyone, and lets the caller decide.

Red flags

Drops the price on the spot or trashes the competitor.

It's October, the schedule is booked [five] weeks out, and a customer wants a sweep before a party this weekend. What do you say?

Situational · Setting expectations in the fall rush

Strong answer

Is honest about the wait, offers the earliest slot and a cancellation list, and suggests booking earlier next year. Doesn't promise what dispatch can't deliver.

Red flags

Overbooks a technician or promises a slot that doesn't exist.

Walk me through what you ask a new caller before booking a chimney appointment.

Technical · Booking the right appointment

Strong answer

Appliance type (wood, gas, pellet, insert or factory-built), how often it's used, last sweep, problems like smoke, smells, water or animals, whether the home is being sold, roof height and pitch, and pets.

Red flags

Name, address and a time.

Tell me about a time a customer called angry because they felt a technician had used scare talk to sell a repair. How did you handle the call?

Behavioral · Handling trust complaints

Strong answer

Listened without arguing or blaming the coworker, got the facts and any photos or video, set a callback with a manager by a clear time and followed up.

Red flags

Defended the coworker before hearing the customer out, or promised a refund they couldn't approve.

Tell me about a time you called past customers to book their yearly sweep or service before the busy season. What did you say?

Behavioral · Bringing back past customers

Strong answer

A specific approach, such as reminder calls before the fall rush, what they said and the bookings it brought.

Red flags

Has never made outbound calls, or read a script without listening.

It's the peak of the fall rush. A technician calls in sick with [six] sweeps on the board. What do you do?

Situational · Covering a sick technician

Strong answer

Moves what fits onto other routes by area and skill, keeps priority jobs like real estate deadlines and safety concerns, calls customers early with honest options and updates the board.

Red flags

Calls customers after their window has passed.

Freezing rain is forecast for the afternoon. Which jobs do you keep, and which do you move?

Situational · Scheduling around weather

Strong answer

Moves roof work like top-down sweeps, caps, crowns and masonry, keeps work that can be done from inside and tells customers early.

Red flags

Keeps everything and lets technicians decide on site.

A real estate agent calls: closing is in [three] days, and the buyer needs a Level 2 inspection report. The schedule is full. What do you do?

Situational · Handling real estate deadlines

Strong answer

Checks what's realistic, offers the earliest slot, asks a manager about overtime, is honest about when the report will be ready and doesn't bump a safety call without reason.

Red flags

Promises it without checking.

Walk me through how you build a day's route for a sweep technician.

Technical · Building a sweep route

Strong answer

Groups jobs by area, uses realistic times for each job type, flags tall or steep roofs that need two people, sets arrival windows with buffers and makes sure parts are on the truck.

Red flags

Books them in the order the calls came in.

Tell me about a day when one job ran hours long, like an inspection that turned up serious damage, and the rest of the schedule had to move. How did you handle customers?

Behavioral · Rebuilding the day when a job runs long

Strong answer

Got a realistic finish time from the technician, moved or reassigned the later jobs, called each customer before their window with honest options, and updated the board.

Red flags

Customers found out when nobody showed up, or the technician was pushed to rush the inspection.

Tell me about a time a technician arrived and couldn't safely do the sweep, like a fire still burning or no safe roof access. How did you handle the rest of the day?

Behavioral · Backing field safety calls

Strong answer

Backed the technician's call, rebooked the customer with clear instructions such as no fire before the visit, filled the gap with another job and added a reminder to bookings.

Red flags

Pushed the technician to do it anyway, or left the gap and the customer without a new date.

Walk me through how you'd show the owner whether there's enough cash to get through the slow spring and summer.

Technical · Planning cash for the slow season

Strong answer

Builds a month-by-month cash forecast from past seasons, fixed costs and payroll, booked repairs and deposits, and shows the lowest point and how much reserve or credit is needed.

Red flags

Points to today's bank balance.

Walk me through how you process a stack of supplier invoices for liners, caps and mortar.

Technical · Processing supplier invoices

Strong answer

Matches each to the purchase order and receiving record, codes it to the job or inventory, gets approval, pays on terms and takes early-payment discounts when cash allows.

Red flags

Pays them in the order they arrived.

Technicians take checks and card payments in the field. Two days of payments don't match the jobs completed. What do you do?

Situational · Reconciling field payments

Strong answer

Compares the job list with payments and deposits, asks the technicians and office about each gap, follows up with customers if needed and tightens the daily check-in.

Red flags

Assumes it will sort itself out next week.

Customers prepay for annual sweep and inspection plans. How do you record those payments and track what's owed?

Situational · Recording prepaid service plans

Strong answer

If the books are on accrual, records them as prepaid customer balances until the service happens, tracks each plan by customer and visit, and confirms the setup with the company's accountant.

Red flags

Counts it all as income the day it arrives and loses track of who is owed a visit.

Tell me about a time a supplier's statement for liners, caps or dampers didn't match your books, such as a missing credit for returned parts. How did you find the cause?

Behavioral · Finding supplier statement errors

Strong answer

Matched it invoice by invoice, found the specific cause such as an unapplied credit or a duplicate charge, got it corrected and changed the process so it didn't repeat.

Red flags

Paid the supplier's balance to avoid a fight, or forced the books to match without finding the cause.

Tell me about a month-end close you finished on time even though technicians were late turning in job tickets or payments. How did you get what you needed?

Behavioral · Closing on time with field paperwork

Strong answer

Asked early, made it easy for technicians to send tickets and photos, followed up daily, told the manager about gaps in time and closed on schedule.

Red flags

Missed the close and blamed the technicians, or booked guesses without telling anyone.

A technician calls from a roof: the cap you staged is the wrong size. What do you do?

Situational · Fixing a wrong part on the roof

Strong answer

Finds the right size fast from stock or a supplier, gets it there or helps reschedule, and adds a staging check against the measurements on the work order.

Red flags

Tells the technician to make it work.

Your main supplier says stainless liners are backordered for [six] weeks in October. What do you do?

Situational · Handling backorders in the busy season

Strong answer

Checks other suppliers for an equivalent listed product, tells scheduling and sales right away and helps put safety jobs first for what's in stock.

Red flags

Waits for the backorder without telling anyone.

You find bags of mortar and crown repair material that got wet in storage. What do you do?

Situational · Handling damaged masonry materials

Strong answer

Doesn't use them, disposes of them, logs the loss and fixes storage so bags stay dry and off the floor, oldest used first.

Red flags

Sends them out anyway.

Walk me through how you'd keep the right liner kits and caps in stock when sizes vary from job to job.

Technical · Stocking liner kits and caps

Strong answer

Tracks usage by size, stocks the common sizes, special-orders the rest after measurement, watches supplier lead times and pre-buys for fall.

Red flags

Buys in bulk without looking at usage.

Tell me about a time liner or cap counts on the shelf didn't match the system right before the fall rush. What caused the gap?

Behavioral · Finding count errors

Strong answer

Traced it to a cause such as unrecorded truck pulls or receiving errors, fixed the records and changed the process before the rush.

Red flags

Adjusted the numbers and moved on.

Tell me about how you got technicians to report the caps, dampers and liner parts they pulled from trucks so your records stayed right.

Behavioral · Getting usage from technicians

Strong answer

Made reporting easy, explained why it mattered and followed up.

Red flags

Blamed technicians and gave up on accurate records, or made reporting so hard nobody did it.

During a pre-sale inspection, the seller asks you to leave a problem out of the report. What do you do?

Situational · Keeping findings honest

Strong answer

Says no politely, explains the report has to be accurate for safety and liability, and offers to quote the repair before the sale.

Red flags

Softens or drops the finding.

A homeowner has your relining quote and a competitor's much lower one. How do you respond?

Situational · Responding to a lower quote

Strong answer

Compares scope (liner type, insulation, a listed system, cap, warranty, permits), explains differences honestly without trashing the competitor and lets the customer decide.

Red flags

Matches the price blindly or attacks the competitor.

Walk me through how you present inspection findings when there's a mix of urgent safety items and nice-to-have upgrades.

Technical · Presenting mixed findings

Strong answer

Separates must-fix-before-use items, preventive repairs like water entry and optional upgrades, shows photos or video for each, prices each one and lets the customer choose.

Red flags

Bundles everything as urgent.

A homeowner says their open fireplace smokes and heats poorly. Walk me through how you'd figure out what to recommend.

Technical · Diagnosing a smoky fireplace

Strong answer

Checks causes such as flue size against the opening, chimney height, the house pulling air, a cold flue or a bad damper, suggests matching fixes like a smoke guard, a taller chimney or makeup air, and an insert only if they want heat.

Red flags

Sells an insert right away.

Tell me about a large repair, like a reline or chimney rebuild, that a hesitant homeowner agreed to. What helped them decide?

Behavioral · Closing hesitant customers

Strong answer

Clear evidence, honest options and answers to their concerns, not pressure.

Red flags

Used a deadline or a discount to push them.

Tell me about a time you talked a customer out of something, like a full reline when a smaller repair would do, because it wasn't right for them.

Behavioral · Talking a customer out of a purchase

Strong answer

Describes a case where a smaller fix, such as a new cap or a crown repair, met the safety need, explains how they showed why, and how it built trust, a callback or referrals.

Red flags

Has never steered a customer to a smaller job, or the example is really an upsell.

A customer declined a relining proposal [two] months ago after an inspection found cracked flue tiles. How do you approach the follow-up call?

Situational · Following up on a declined safety repair

Strong answer

Stays calm, refers to the findings, asks whether they're using the fireplace, restates the safety facts without scare tactics, offers options such as phasing or a second opinion and respects the decision.

Red flags

Uses fear ('your house could burn down') or pushes a discount.

It's June, and you have a list of [200] customers who got repair quotes last fall. How do you plan the outreach?

Situational · Planning off-season outreach

Strong answer

Sorts by safety and value, points out off-season benefits like shorter waits and better masonry weather, personalizes messages, tracks it in the CRM and follows texting consent rules.

Red flags

Sends one mass blast.

A customer says, 'You people just want to scare me into spending money.' What do you say?

Situational · Handling a scare-tactics accusation

Strong answer

Acknowledges the concern, offers to walk through the photos or video, welcomes a second opinion and keeps the door open without pushing.

Red flags

Argues or gets defensive.

Walk me through how you'd set up your follow-up list in the CRM so no declined proposal falls through the cracks.

Technical · Organizing follow-ups in the CRM

Strong answer

Every declined proposal gets a reason, a next-contact date and a priority based on safety, with a daily view of who is due and notes after every contact.

Red flags

Relies on memory or a spreadsheet nobody updates.

Tell me about a declined repair you won back after another rep gave up, like a homeowner who wanted a second opinion first. What did you do differently?

Behavioral · Winning back a lead

Strong answer

A specific approach, such as a new reason to call, a different contact time or answering an unspoken concern, and the outcome.

Red flags

Won it with pressure, a fake deadline or scare talk, or gave up after a call or two.

Tell me about a time many customers gave the same reason for turning down repairs. What did you bring to your manager?

Behavioral · Sharing patterns with management

Strong answer

Names a pattern such as slow proposals or unclear photos, backs it with numbers from their calls and says what the company changed.

Red flags

Kept it to themselves.

You're carrying a full soot bag through a customer's living room, and it tears, spilling onto a light carpet. What do you do?

Situational · Containing a soot spill

Strong answer

Stops, tells the technician, doesn't rub or wipe it in, cleans it with the HEPA vacuum the way they've been shown, and is honest with the customer about what happened.

Red flags

Tries to hide it, or scrubs it with a wet rag and spreads it.

The technician asks you to foot the ladder while they climb to the roof, but the ground is wet and sloped. What do you do?

Situational · Footing a ladder on bad ground

Strong answer

Points out the problem before anyone climbs, helps move the ladder or set a leveler on firm footing, then holds it properly the whole time the technician is on it.

Red flags

Holds it anyway without saying anything.

A homeowner asks you whether their chimney needs a new liner. You don't know. What do you say?

Situational · Handling questions you can't answer

Strong answer

Says honestly that the technician will explain after the inspection, and lets the technician know the customer asked.

Red flags

Guesses, or says whatever they think will sell.

Walk me through how you'd clean and pack the sweeping tools and vacuum at the end of the day so the next job starts clean.

Technical · Caring for tools at day's end

Strong answer

Empties the vacuum outdoors into a sealed bag, checks filters, cleans brushes and counts rods, shakes drop cloths outside, organizes the truck and reports anything damaged.

Red flags

Throws everything in the truck to sort out in the morning.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to keep a room clean while doing dusty or sooty work, like cleaning out a fireplace, grill or shop. How did you do it?

Behavioral · Keeping things clean during messy work

Strong answer

Specific steps: covered surfaces, worked carefully, cleaned as they went and checked the space at the end.

Red flags

Let dust or dirt spread and cleaned only at the end, didn't protect floors or furniture, or can't name an example.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you set up and packed up the same gear many times in one day, like moving drop cloths and tools between jobs. How did you keep doing it right?

Behavioral · Doing repeat setups right

Strong answer

A routine or checklist, care with each setup even late in the day, and catching their own misses before someone else did.

Red flags

Admits quality slipped and didn't notice until someone else did.

During a sweep, you find puffy, honeycomb-like creosote and a cracked flue tile. The homeowner mentions a loud, roaring fire last winter. What do you do and tell them?

Situational · Recognizing signs of a chimney fire

Strong answer

Recognizes signs of a past chimney fire, advises not using the fireplace until a Level 2 inspection with video is done, photographs everything and calmly explains what was found and what repairs may follow.

Red flags

Sweeps it and says it's fine, or pressures the homeowner into a relining sale on the spot.

While you're checking a gas fireplace, your carbon monoxide detector goes off near the appliance. What do you do?

Situational · Responding to a carbon monoxide alarm

Strong answer

Shuts the appliance off if it's safe to, gets everyone out into fresh air, follows company protocol on calling 911 or the gas utility, advises against using it until it's fixed and documents the readings.

Red flags

Ignores it or just writes it on the invoice.

Walk me through how you sweep a wood-burning fireplace chimney in a finished living room, from walking in the door to leaving.

Technical · Sweeping without a mess

Strong answer

Protects floors and furniture, sets up a HEPA or negative-air vacuum to control soot, seals the opening, sweeps with the right brush and rods, cleans the smoke chamber and damper, vacuums the firebox and inspects with a light or camera before showing the customer.

Red flags

Says little about dust control, or skips the smoke chamber and damper.

A family just bought a house and wants their wood fireplace checked before using it. Walk me through which inspection you'd recommend and how you'd explain why.

Technical · Choosing the inspection level

Strong answer

Recommends a Level 2 inspection because NFPA 211 calls for one on a property sale, and explains in plain words that it adds a camera check inside the flue and a look at accessible attic, basement or crawl space areas. No scare tactics.

Red flags

Does a quick look with a flashlight, or uses fear to sell repairs.

Tell me about a time you had to tell a customer that something in their home wasn't safe to use. How did you explain it?

Behavioral · Explaining unsafe conditions

Strong answer

Used plain words and photos, gave options without pressure, documented it and checked that the customer understood.

Red flags

Was vague to avoid conflict, or used fear to sell.

Tell me about a roof or chimney you decided was too risky to climb that day. What did you do instead?

Behavioral · Judging roof safety

Strong answer

Explains what they weighed (pitch, ice, wind, ladder footing), then used fall protection, swept from below with a camera check, or rescheduled and told the office.

Red flags

Climbs everything, or says they've never had to make that call.

A customer wants a wood stove insert set into their masonry fireplace, with the pipe pushed a little way up the old flue to save money. What do you tell them?

Situational · Refusing an unsafe install

Strong answer

Explains that the insert's listing and the code your area enforces require a proper connection to the flue, usually a full liner sized to the insert, describes the draft, creosote and carbon monoxide risks, offers proper options and declines the unsafe install.

Red flags

Installs it the customer's way.

A newer technician's report for a home sale says 'flue OK,' but you see a gap between two flue tiles in the video. What do you do?

Situational · Catching an error in a report

Strong answer

Rechecks the footage, corrects the report before it goes out (or tells the customer or agent if it already went), and coaches the technician privately on what to look for.

Red flags

Lets the report go out to avoid embarrassment.

Walk me through how you decide between a stainless steel liner, a cast-in-place liner or rebuilding a clay tile flue for a damaged chimney.

Technical · Choosing a relining method

Strong answer

Considers the appliance and fuel, flue size against the appliance's needs, offsets and chimney condition, clearances and insulation, listing and code requirements, cost and the customer's plans, and sizes the liner to the appliance.

Red flags

Gives the same answer for every chimney.

A customer has water stains on the wall beside the fireplace after rain. Walk me through how you find the cause.

Technical · Tracing a water leak

Strong answer

Checks the crown, cap, flashing, brick and mortar, the chase cover on a factory-built unit and wind-driven rain, uses a moisture meter or water test, fixes the source and uses a breathable water repellent, not a sealer that traps moisture.

Red flags

Coats everything with a waterproof sealer.

Tell me about a technician you trained to do inspections on their own. How did you know they were ready?

Behavioral · Training inspectors

Strong answer

Ride-alongs, reviewing their video and reports, having them lead while being watched, and a clear sign-off.

Red flags

Sent them out after a few days of watching.

Tell me about a repair of yours that failed or came back. What did you learn?

Behavioral · Learning from a failed repair

Strong answer

Honest about the cause, such as a crown with no bond break or the wrong mortar, and the change they made.

Red flags

Blames the weather or the customer.