10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The CSM exam has 100 questions and runs 2 hours.
These 10 free CSM questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Certified Service Manager blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A newly appointed team leader is responsible for reducing the repair backlog, but the service manager still approves every change in job sequence. Ready jobs wait whenever the manager is unavailable. The team leader has demonstrated sound scheduling judgment. Which replacement instruction establishes effective delegation?
Correct answer: A - “Sequence ready jobs within staffing and customer commitments; bring exceptions to me at agreed check-ins.”
An annual review covers repair quality, documentation, and customer communication as separate objectives. The technician’s full-year records show consistently strong repair quality and documentation. A missed callback in the final week prompts the supervisor to lower every category to “needs improvement.” The service manager should revise the review by:
Correct answer: D - Rating each objective against full-year evidence, then addressing the missed callback through specific feedback and follow-up.
A U.S. service company obtained an applicant’s written authorization for a third-party employment background report. The report lists a conviction under a different birth date, and the hiring manager is considering withdrawing the conditional offer because of it. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which step belongs before a final adverse hiring decision?
Correct answer: C - Provide the report and required rights summary, allowing the applicant an opportunity to address the discrepancy.
A bonus paid for each closed repair invoice has increased output, but same-fault return visits have also risen. Technicians favor quick repairs, leaving complex jobs for colleagues. Management wants to retain performance-based bonuses without changing base wages. Which redesign best addresses both distortions?
Correct answer: D - Reward accepted repairs using job-complexity standards, with a defined same-fault return quality measure.
Three days after a label-printer repair, a customer reports the same intermittent shutdown. The final bench test passed. “I’ve already lost a workday to this repair,” the customer says. The manager’s opening response should be:
Correct answer: C - “I’m sorry it has returned. Let’s record when it happens and arrange a recheck of the original fault.”
Repair turnaround has lengthened, but hands-on repair times and first-pass verification results are unchanged. A review of delayed jobs finds completed diagnoses waiting for customer authorization. Customers say they never received estimates; technicians believe the front desk sends them, while the front desk assumes technicians do. Where would a change most directly remove the demonstrated delay?
Correct answer: C - Assign ownership of estimate delivery and track approval status before scheduling the repair.
During a purchasing demonstration, a voltage tester measures a stable, verified 10.00 V reference as 10.31 V, 10.32 V, and 10.31 V under the same conditions. The supplier points to the closely grouped readings as proof of accuracy. Which assessment of that claim is supported?
Correct answer: D - The readings are repeatable but biased; close agreement does not establish accuracy against the reference.
A service department must recover $252,000 in annual labor-related costs, including its allocated overhead, through labor billing. It budgets 6,000 paid technician hours, of which 1,800 will be spent on paid leave, training, and nonbillable duties. Parts revenue and costs are accounted for separately. What hourly labor rate will recover these costs and leave 25% of labor revenue as operating profit?
Correct answer: D - $80.00
A parts department reorders when inventory position is at or below expected demand during supplier lead time plus safety stock. A control module averages 4 units of demand per working day; normal lead time is 6 working days, and safety stock is 8 units. There are 17 units on hand, 20 on a confirmed order arriving in two working days, and 2 backordered to customers. Which calculation and replenishment decision are correct?
Correct answer: A - Do not reorder: inventory position is 35 units, above the 32-unit reorder point.
At a customer’s facility, a technician is about to remove a guard and reach into a jammed pneumatic test fixture. The STOP button has been pressed, but electrical power and compressed air remain connected, and the reservoir is still pressurized. This maintenance task requires hazardous-energy control. What must happen before the technician reaches into the mechanism?
Correct answer: A - Have an authorized technician isolate and lock out energy sources, control stored energy, and verify isolation before work.
The CSM exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
The full bank has 1,020 more CSM questions with explanations.
Continue in the free practice test →
View plans