Customer Service

In the ever-changing world of customer service, achieving excellence in delivering exceptional experiences is essential. When selecting representatives for your organization, ensuring they possess the essential skills and unwavering commitment to exceptional customer service is vital.

  • What is a customer service test?

    A comprehensive customer service test covers vital competencies required for success in customer service roles, including active listening, creative problem-solving, empathetic communication, and maintaining a positive and professional demeanor in various customer scenarios.

    A customer service test often goes beyond surface-level assessments, examining candidates' abilities to create memorable customer experiences and navigate diverse interactions effectively. The test not only measures understanding but also the practical application of skills in real customer interactions, ensuring that candidates possess both the knowledge and hands-on expertise required to excel in customer service roles.

    In today's competitive business landscape, exceptional customer service skills are the key differentiator that can set your team apart.

Jump to a section on this page:

  1. What is a customer service test?
  2. Why is a customer service test so important when hiring?
  3. How to assess customer service skills using our test
  4. Customer Service FAQs

Identify the best candidates and hire faster

Our pre-employment tests let you drill down to the best candidates at the click of a button.

  • Find those candidates who will excel in the role.

    Select the assessments that match the skills or behaviours for the position. You can test for software or coding competency, soft skills like teamwork, or personality traits, to be sure those who pass have high potential.

  • Reduce costs and time.

    No more laborious sifting of resumes or cover letters. Pick your ideal assessment mix, invite your applicants to take them, see the results in your dashboard. Get to the interview stage fast.

  • Eliminate bias.

    All your candidates take the assessments on a level playing field. Only their results determine whether they get shortlisted.

  • Why is a customer service test so important when hiring?

    When it comes to assessing soft skills, particularly those crucial for outstanding customer service, the traditional hiring methods like resume screening and interviews often fall short. This is where the integration of a customer service test can be a game-changer, saving both valuable time and resources.

    In a competitive job market, managing a flood of applications for highly sought-after positions can be a daunting task. Resumes, while useful for identifying experience and education, often lack the depth to gauge essential soft skills. A mere mention of "customer service" doesn't guarantee a candidate's true understanding and commitment.

    The customer service test provides a streamlined solution for efficiently evaluating a diverse candidate pool. It establishes a level playing field, ensuring fairness and eliminating bias. The test's quantifiable results arm recruiters with objective data to identify top performers with ease.

    The Customer Service Skills Test is particularly valuable when recruiting candidates for a variety of customer-facing roles, including call center representatives, customer service agents, and customer care positions.

Sample Customer Service question

You work as a customer service representative at a retail store, and a customer approaches you with a product they purchased 8 days ago. They explain that the product is not working as expected and request a refund. According to your store's policy, a refund can be issued within a week of purchasing a product.

What should you do?

  • Tell the customer that refunds are not allowed after a week and suggest they contact the manufacturer for warranty assistance.

  • Instruct the customer to find your supervisor and ask them directly for a refund.

  • Apologize for the inconvenience, ask the customer for their receipt and product packaging, and check with your supervisor if you could still offer the customer a refund.

  • Thoroughly inspect the product to understand why it's not working and then suggest ways to fix it.

How to assess customer service skills using our test

Our customer service test asks a variety of questions that vary in difficulty level. Candidates who demonstrate strong skills should be able to answer most of the questions correctly.

The test provides valuable data insight into the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate. The test is structured using multiple-choice questions: a familiar format for most test-takers, that allows for instant and objective scoring.

As well as the correct answer, there are typically 2-3 distractors, representing common misconceptions and mistakes. This helps make the test more challenging, so a candidate's ability can be measured more accurately.

Test scores are provided to the user and can be compared to other test-takers in your talent pool, to see how they perform relative to each other.

Each test has been thoroughly reviewed to ensure accuracy and validity in line with industry standards. It has been written, examined, and edited by I/O psychologists and psychometric professionals. It has also been reviewed by a diverse sample of job seekers to check for any issues including sensitivity, face validity, fairness, and accessibility.

This test is continually monitored so our team can optimize performance and regularly assess fairness issues.

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Validated

Predictor of job success

Picked provides evidence-based recommendations for tests to use for over 750 jobs. Our recommendation engine leverages data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

  • Assessments

    A full suite of assessments

    Our platform comes with 12 tests across both foundation and advanced levels so they’re suitable for everyone. Including aptitude, behavioural and personality tests, you’ll have a full range of tests to help you find the candidates you’re seeking.

  • Analytics

    An array of candidate metrics

    For each of your candidates, you’ll be given a comprehensive report. Included will be all the metrics you need to build a detailed picture of each candidate and ensure you’re making the right hiring decisions.

“The platform is so simple to use. I had used competitor providers for over six years and will never go back. Fast, efficient and friendly!”
Greg Chambers, HR Business Partner, Littlefish Ltd
Greg Chambers, HR Business Partner, Littlefish Ltd

Customer Service FAQs

What test format is appropriate for assessing customer service skills?

The situational judgement test format allows candidates to focus on behaviors and actions, rather than theoretical knowledge, and clearly demonstrate how they would respond to practical challenges. Additionally, this test format offers a consistent, scalable and objective assessment for multiple candidates, while addressing the complexity of customer service through diverse scenarios and nuanced interactions.

What does effective customer service look like?

Quality customer service needs to be accurate and dependable, professional, understanding of customers’ concerns, responsive to their needs, and conducted in a professional manner. It consists of Reliability, Assurance, Tangibility, Empathy and Responsiveness.

What is the benefit of using a customer service test?

The customer service test can streamline the recruitment process and help you identify the best people for a customer-facing role. It can help you to pick an individual who meets your required standards for effective customer service.

How is customer service different from interpersonal skills?

These two tests are certainly related to one another as excellent customer service entails effective interpersonal skills. Customer service requires a customer-first mindset and a genuine concern for the customer experience. Interpersonal skills apply generally to successful interactions with other people in any work context.

“An unbeatable service, impressive platform and fantastic value for money.”
Laurence Fishman, Partner, NLPCA
Laurence Fishman, Partner, NLPCA

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