How the Customer Service Skills Test works
Part 1: each scenario gives some background and a message from a customer. You choose the one of three replies you would be most likely to send, then the customer responds to it and you choose again from three more replies.
Part 2: six workplace scenarios, each with four actions to rate Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective. Some are videos.
Part 3: ten minutes of short customer records, such as addresses, account numbers and dates. You either spot where two versions differ or type in a requested detail exactly.
It is used for Administrative Assistant, Administrative Officer and Executive Officer jobs. Your score reflects how many questions you got right, how hard they were and your pattern of judgement answers, reported as a percentile.
How to approach each part
- Part 1: the best replies acknowledge the customer, explain clearly and commit to a specific next step. Avoid replies that argue, promise what you cannot deliver or pass the customer on without help.
- Part 1: the customer’s follow-up reacts to your first reply, so read it fresh. A calm, specific second reply can recover a weak start.
- Part 2: decide whether each action helps or not, then how much. Several actions can share a rating.
- Part 3: compare field by field in the same order every time: name, number, address, date.
Worked example: checking
Original: Mr D. Okonkwo, 14 Larch Close, LS6 2QT, account 40718823, 03/09/2025.
Copy: Mr D. Okonkwo, 41 Larch Close, LS6 2QT, account 40718283, 03/09/2025.
Two errors. The house number has its digits swapped (14 became 41), and so does the account number, where the sixth and seventh digits have changed places (…823 became …283). The name, postcode and date match.
Tips for the real Customer Service Skills Test
- Take your time on Parts 1 and 2. Only Part 3 has a clock.
- In Part 3, check each record once, carefully, and move on. Accuracy matters as much as how far you get.
- Swapped digits and letters are the most common copying errors. Read numbers in small groups.
- If you need more time on Part 3 because of a disability, ask the recruiter for extra time before you start.
- A pass is banked for six months for jobs in the same grade grouping.
Practise the Customer Service Skills Test on CogniPrep
Our version has all three parts: five branching customer exchanges where your first reply changes what the customer says next, six rated scenarios, and a 10-minute checking section of generated records and typed entries. Five exchanges is our number, because the Civil Service does not publish its own. Parts 1 and 2 are untimed, and in Part 3 items you do not reach are not marked wrong. The part weights are ours. Your result is a percentile against other CogniPrep users.