How do you assess retail store supervisors before the interview? One way is a 15-minute work simulation. The candidate puts right a customer's online order at the pick-up desk while a sales associate fears the blame, with two AI-played people. You get a scorecard against your minimums, the quotes and interview questions. A person decides.
Free account, no card. Advisory only: a person makes every hiring decision.
Laura GrantOnline order customerGavin ShawSales associate
Laura GrantAre you the one in charge here? I drove forty minutes to pick up my online order, and he just told me it's not here. …
Laura Grant: I took the afternoon off for this. I'm not leaving with a broken lamp and another "we'll call you," Sam.
Gavin ShawI packed it from the pick list exactly like it showed. And the lamp came off the delivery truck that way this morning, it wasn't me.
Page updated
Our reading of O*NET's public task list for the job we used, First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers. It shows which skills a pressure calls on, not that the scene measures how someone handles it.
A customer whose order went wrong wants it fixed now, in front of the queue. The supervisor has to read what the customer needs and offer a fix the store can keep.
Calls on: Service Orientation · Social Perceptiveness
Public task: “Provide customer service by greeting and assisting customers and responding to customer inquiries and complaints.”
Someone calls in sick on a Saturday. Tills, fitting rooms and the pick-up desk still need cover, and each associate should know where they stand and for how long.
Calls on: Coordination · Management of Personnel Resources
Public task: “Assign employees to specific duties.”
A new associate freezes with a difficult customer. The supervisor helps without taking the sale away, then shows them what to do next time.
Calls on: Instructing · Social Perceptiveness
Public task: “Instruct staff on how to handle difficult and complicated sales.”
The same packing error reaches three customers in a week. The supervisor notices the pattern, finds the cause and checks that the fix holds.
Calls on: Monitoring · Service Orientation
Public task: “Monitor sales activities to ensure that customers receive satisfactory service and quality goods.”
Our engine built the first of the two scenes the app suggests for this job. The store is a workplace we described for this example: a clothing and home goods store in a shopping centre with a pick-up desk for online orders. Every candidate gets the same type of situation, role card and two people, who improvise the details; in these two runs even the order problem differed (wrong and damaged items; an order handed to someone else).
Retail store supervisor Job title in public job standards (O*NET): First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
The suggested assessment's other scene tests Coordination and Monitoring.
“You are the retail store supervisor on shift at a clothing and home goods store in a shopping centre.”
Sam, the AI candidate, was told to mean well but do half the job: answer only the colleague who spoke last, speak in general terms, and never give an owner and a time in the same reply.
Laura Grant Online order customerAre you the one in charge here? I drove forty minutes to pick up my online order, and he just told me it's not here. …
Laura Grant: I took the afternoon off for this. I'm not leaving with a broken lamp and another "we'll call you," Sam.
Gavin Shaw Sales associateI packed it from the pick list exactly like it showed. And the lamp came off the delivery truck that way this morning, it wasn't me.
Gavin Shaw: I've also got three more pickups waiting at the desk. What do you want me to do?
Sam (AI candidate)Okay Gavin, I hear you, and I'm not saying it was your fault. …
Laura Grant Online order customer… Not after the others. Now.
Sam (AI candidate)I'm doing my best here, and I get that this is stressful. …
Laura Grant Online order customerAre you the one in charge here? I drove forty minutes to pick up my online order, and he just told me it's not here. Then he found it in the back, and half of it is the wrong color and the lamp is cracked.
Laura Grant: I took the afternoon off for this. I'm not leaving with a broken lamp and another "we'll call you," Sam.
Gavin Shaw Sales associateI packed it from the pick list exactly like it showed. And the lamp came off the delivery truck that way this morning, it wasn't me.
Gavin Shaw: I've also got three more pickups waiting at the desk. What do you want me to do?
Sam (AI candidate)Okay Gavin, I hear you, and I'm not saying it was your fault. Let's get those other pickups sorted so people aren't left waiting. We'll work out the rest of this order after that.
Laura Grant Online order customerSo he gets told it's not his fault, and the people who just walked in get served first. I've been standing here twenty minutes.
Laura Grant: That lamp and the cushions are for my mother's flat. She moves in tomorrow morning, and I'm driving her there.
Laura Grant: So what happens with my order right now, Sam? Not after the others. Now.
Sam (AI candidate)I'm doing my best here, and I get that this is stressful. We should get your order put right, so let's sort out the replacements and what's missing right now.
Laura Grant Online order customer"Your best." I'm not asking how you feel about it, I'm asking what you're actually going to do. I just watched you send off the only person who knows where my order is.
Laura Grant: I need the lamp and the blue cushions, the ones I paid for, before I leave today. My mum's got nothing in that flat. Do you even have them on the shop floor, or am I wasting another hour?
Laura Grant: Who's going to look, Sam, and how long am I standing here?
Sam (AI candidate)I'm trying to help you here, honestly. I'll go and look on the shop floor myself, and we should get the right items sorted for you today.
Laura Grant Online order customerYou're going to look yourself, and leave me standing here alone again? I already walked that aisle while I waited. There's one blue cushion on the shelf, not two, and the only lamp like mine is the display one with a scuff on the base.
Laura Grant: And here's my confirmation email. It says blue, clear as day. Your lad told me the grey ones were what the list said, so somebody's got this wrong, and it isn't me.
Laura Grant: So one cushion and a scuffed lamp. Is that the plan, Sam, or have you got something better?
Sam (AI candidate)I'm doing what I can with what we've got on the shelf right now. We should work out the best option for you, whether that's a replacement, a discount, or getting the rest sent on. Let's sort out the order properly so you're not left short.
Laura Grant Online order customerSent on? She moves in tomorrow at nine. Anything sent on gets there after she's already sitting in an empty flat with no lamp. And I don't want money off, I'm not here haggling.
Laura Grant: It's her first night on her own since my dad passed. I just wanted it to look like a home when she walks in. That's all this was.
Laura Grant: So stop giving me a menu, Sam. Which one are you actually choosing for me?
Sam (AI candidate)I'm honestly trying to do right by you here, and I get that this is a hard time. Let's go with getting you the right items today so you're not leaving without them. I'll take care of sorting it out.
Laura Grant Online order customerYou just said "the right items today," Sam, but I told you there's one blue cushion and a scuffed lamp out there. So where are the rest coming from? Another shop? The back room? Who's checking, and when do I hear?
Laura Grant: And "I'll take care of it" is exactly what the email said when I placed this order. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring my dad into it. I just need to know someone's actually got this.
Laura Grant: Your lad's still over at that desk with a queue. So is it you doing this or him, and what time can I tell my mum I'll be on the road?
Sam (AI candidate)I'm doing my best to get this right for you, and I get that this is a hard day. It'll be me doing the checking, not Gavin. We should find the rest of your order and get you on the road with it.
Laura Grant Online order customerRight. It's you, then. I'll wait here by the desk while you check, and then I'm phoning my mum with whatever you find.
Gavin Shaw Sales associateI'll keep the queue moving here so you're not pulled back over, Sam.
Made by our scene engine and not edited; the people in the scene and the photo are AI-generated too. Recorded on 5 November 2026.
0 of 2 minimums met in this AI-played example scene
Below means this scene showed less of the skill than the minimum. It is a reason to ask in the interview, not a decision.
The line on each bar marks the suggested minimum; the recruiter sets it.
Deferred the waiting customer's order at turn 1, then kept promising to sort it through turn 6 without a source, step or time.
Offered a discount or delivery at turn 4 after she needed the items today, and ignored her apology and time question at turn 6.
Service Orientation is below the minimum in this scene, so the scorecard suggests a question for your interview:
Ask: Tell me about a time a customer's order went wrong and they needed it fixed that day. What exactly did you do, and when?
Listen for: Prioritising that customer at once, naming a specific source or step and a realistic time, and confirming the outcome with the customer.
Service Orientation and Social Perceptiveness are both below the level the role requires; no required skill lacks evidence. The strongest evidence is composure: through sharp challenges at turns 2 to 4 the candidate answered calmly without a barb, as in "I'm doing my best here, and I get that this is stressful" (turn 2). The weakest is the opening move at turn 1: the candidate sent the associate to other pickups and deferred the waiting customer's order without acknowledging her.
One AI-played run shows what the scene and the scorecard look like, not how accurate the scoring is. The scoring AI read the conversation, not the brief. Our research notes · A full sample scorecard
A second AI candidate, told to stay calm, ask one sharp question, then give each task an owner and a time: 2 of 2 minimums met in this AI-played example scene.
Alex (AI candidate)Laura, you drove forty minutes for nothing, and that's on us to fix today, not with a phone call. Gavin, quick question first: do we have the same curtains and cushion covers on the shop floor or in the stockroom right now? Please check both and come back to me in five minutes, and on the way pull the collection record so we know who signed for the order. …
Laura Grant Online order customerAre you the supervisor? Good. I ordered a set of curtains and two matching cushion covers online, paid for them, got a text saying ready to collect, and drove forty minutes to get here.
Laura Grant: Now I'm told the order's been given to someone else, and nobody can tell me where my things are. I have people coming to my house tomorrow, Alex, and I am not leaving here with another "we'll call you."
Gavin Shaw Sales associateThe name on the slip looked right, okay? It was busy, there were three people at the desk, and the system said it was ready, so I handed it over.
Gavin Shaw: I already said sorry to her. So what do you want me to do now?
Alex (AI candidate)Laura, you drove forty minutes for nothing, and that's on us to fix today, not with a phone call. Gavin, quick question first: do we have the same curtains and cushion covers on the shop floor or in the stockroom right now? Please check both and come back to me in five minutes, and on the way pull the collection record so we know who signed for the order. Laura, while he looks, I'll stay with you, and if we have the items you'll leave with them today at no extra cost.
Laura Grant Online order customerOkay. That's the first straight answer I've had since I walked in.
Laura Grant: But they're the sage green ones, the long length, and last time I was here that shelf was nearly empty. That's why I ordered online in the first place.
Laura Grant: And honestly, your lad just shrugged at me, like I'd made a fuss over nothing. So if he comes back and says there's none, what happens then, Alex? Because "no extra cost" doesn't help me if I've got nothing to hang tomorrow.
Alex (AI candidate)Fair question, and I'm sorry you were made to feel like you were making a fuss; you weren't. If we have none here, I'll phone our nearest stores while you wait, and if one has the sage green long length, I'll have it held under your name and you choose: collect it today, or we get it to you by tomorrow morning. If no store has it, you get a full refund today and I'll help you pick something from the floor that works for tomorrow, at no cost to you. Either way, you won't leave with only a promise of a call, and I'll also be chasing the wrong collection with the record Gavin is pulling.
Laura Grant Online order customerRight. That's a plan I can actually work with, thank you.
Laura Grant: But "tomorrow morning" how, exactly? My family arrive at ten, I've still got to iron and hang these, and I can't do another forty-minute round trip with my mum's hip appointment first thing.
Laura Grant: And look, I don't want the lad sacked or anything. I just want to know somebody's going to get my things back from whoever walked off with them, because that order had my address on it.
Alex (AI candidate)Understood. If it comes from another store, I'll arrange a courier to your door before 8:30, and if I can't get that confirmed today, I'll bring them to you myself before my shift. On the address: once Gavin has the collection record, I'll contact whoever signed for it today to get your order back, log it as a data incident, and confirm to you by text before 6 tonight what's been done. Gavin's five minutes are nearly up, so I'll check where he's got to now. While I do, can you write your phone number and the best delivery time before ten on this slip for me?
Laura Grant Online order customerHang on, you said you'd stay with me while he looked. Now you're walking off as well? That's exactly how this started. Everyone disappears and I'm left stood at a desk.
Laura Grant: And something doesn't add up. I just found a text from this morning, nine forty, saying my order had been collected. Your lad told me he only started at eleven. So either he's covering for someone, or you lot can't keep track of anything.
Laura Grant: And "I'll bring them myself"? People say that. So which is it, Alex: do you actually know what's going on in your own shop, or are you just telling me what I want to hear?
Alex (AI candidate)You're right, I said I'd stay, so I'm staying and I'll call Gavin over to us instead. Honestly, I don't know yet what happened at 9:40, but that text changes things: if Gavin started at eleven, someone else handed your order over this morning, and I'll find out who from the collection record and the till log, not from guesswork. Gavin, bring whatever you've found to the desk now, plus the collection record and the name of whoever was on this desk before eleven. And about bringing the items myself, I'll put that in writing on your slip with my name and number, so you're not relying on my word alone.
Laura Grant Online order customerOkay. Writing it down, with your name on it, that I'll take. Thank you.
Laura Grant: But if he only started at eleven, then I've had a go at him for something he didn't even do. No wonder he looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him. I thought he was being rude, but maybe he was just panicking with me stood there glaring.
Laura Grant: So when he walks back over here, I don't want a telling-off happening in front of me, and I still need my curtains sorted. How are you going to handle him, and me, at the same time, Alex?
Alex (AI candidate)That's generous of you, and no, there'll be no telling-off here; anything about how the handover went, Gavin and I talk through privately later, as a learning point, not a blame. Gavin did say he handed an order over, so it may be a system timing issue or a second mix-up, and the record will tell us which. When he gets here, the only questions are about your curtains: do we have them, and who signed. Then I'll make the store calls right here beside you while I write and sign your slip.
Laura Grant Online order customerFair enough. But there's a queue building behind me, and your phone's been buzzing on the desk this whole time. I've also got to leave in fifteen minutes to fetch my mum, so you can't do the calls, my slip, chasing whoever took my order, and serve that lot all at once.
Laura Grant: And look over there. Your lad's been stood by the stockroom door with an empty box for a good minute, not coming over. He keeps glancing at me, then at you.
Laura Grant: So what comes first in the next fifteen minutes, Alex? Because if I walk out of here without knowing where my curtains are coming from, all that writing on a slip won't mean much.
Alex (AI candidate)You're right, so your curtains come first and everything else waits fifteen minutes. Gavin, come over please; if that empty box means we've none, that's fine, just tell me, then take the till and serve the queue while I handle this. I'll phone our two nearest stores now, right here, and before you leave you'll know which store has your sage green long length and that it's coming to your door before 8:30, or you'll have your refund and something from the floor. The slip I'll write and sign while I'm on hold, and chasing the 9:40 collection and that phone can wait until you've gone.
Gavin Shaw Sales associateYeah, there's none out back, just this empty box. I'll take the till and get the queue moving.
Laura Grant Online order customerRight, make your calls then. I'll wait here until I know which store it's coming from.
Two AI candidates with different briefs show how two scorecards can differ in the same set-up, not how accurate the scoring is. We wrote both briefs, and AI played and scored them, so the difference is not evidence about real candidates.
Each job gets the skills it needs most, with a suggested minimum, and its own scenes. You can change both. For example:
2 scenes · about 30 minutes · 4 credits per finished candidate (€9.80 on the 20-credit pack)
2 scenes · about 30 minutes · 4 credits per finished candidate (€9.80 on the 20-credit pack)
1 scene · about 15 minutes · 2 credits per finished candidate (€4.90 on the 20-credit pack)
1 scene · about 15 minutes · 2 credits per finished candidate (€4.90 on the 20-credit pack)
1 scene · about 15 minutes · 2 credits per finished candidate (€4.90 on the 20-credit pack)
See its example scene →3 scenes · about 45 minutes · 8 credits per finished candidate (€19.60 on the 20-credit pack)
Tell me about a time a customer's order went wrong and they needed it fixed that day. What exactly did you do, and when?
Service Orientation · from the scorecard of the AI-played example above
Tell me about a shift when you were short of staff. How did you decide who covered what?
Coordination · our suggestion
Describe a time you helped a new colleague with a difficult customer. What did you do, and what happened afterwards?
Instructing · our suggestion
Tell me about a mistake you noticed repeating in your store. What did you do about it?
Monitoring · our suggestion
Our suggestions for your interview, not part of the score. Ask every candidate the same questions and note answers against the same points.
The app suggests skills and scenes for the job. Keep the two or three that matter most in your stores, such as Service Orientation and Coordination.
Each candidate gets a private link and takes the scene on a phone or a computer, in their own time, before the interview.
Ask the scorecard's question for each skill below its minimum and note the answers against the same points. The scorecard is advice; a person decides.
Both. Each job gets its own suggested skills: for cashiers and stock associates the app suggests one 15-minute scene, for sales associates two. See the customer support page for a front-line example.
No. It is a written work scene about people and priorities. Keep your own checks of systems, cash handling and product knowledge.
Paste a list of candidates and each gets a private link by email at once (a new trial account sends up to 25 emails a day). A scene takes about 15 minutes, and the scorecard is ready a few minutes after the candidate finishes.
No shop knowledge is needed: the role card tells the candidate what they look after and may decide, and the scorecard rates how they deal with people under pressure, not product or till knowledge. The scene is set in a store, so it may feel more familiar to people who have worked in one.
Our demo is a 15-minute customer service scene: take the candidate's seat, then read your own scorecard. Free, no card.