M&G Assessment Tests

M&G Online Aptitude Test: Practice Questions (2026) Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an account assistant at a catering supplier. A regular client has booked food for a conference on Thursday. On Tuesday you discover the order was entered for eighty covers rather than the hundred and eighty confirmed in the client’s email. Production can make up the difference only if the kitchen is told today, and the client’s contact is travelling with intermittent phone signal. Your account manager is on leave until Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave the order at eighty covers, since that is what the system says and the client's own contact cannot be reached to authorise a change before the kitchen's deadline.
   2. Email the client's contact setting out the discrepancy and asking her to confirm the correct number before you ask the kitchen to increase the production run.
   3. Tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction and asking her to flag any change.
   4. Ask the kitchen to produce the full hundred and eighty covers now, and tell the client on Thursday morning that there was an ordering error which has already been resolved.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction and asking her to flag any change.

   Least effective: A. Leave the order at eighty covers, since that is what the system says and the client's own contact cannot be reached to authorise a change before the kitchen's deadline.

   A: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: you know the written confirmation says a hundred and eighty and let a conference go a hundred covers short without telling anyone. Hiding behind the system record is concealment, not caution.

   B: Delays the decision: she is travelling with poor signal and the kitchen needs today's instruction. Waiting for a confirmation that may not arrive spends the only window in which the shortfall can be fixed.

   D: Hides the problem: the covers get made and the client is told after the event she could no longer influence. She loses any say in a change to her own order, and learns of the error only once it cannot matter.

   The most effective response is to tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction: her written confirmation is the best evidence of what she ordered, the kitchen’s window closes today, and reaching her on two channels at once means she is informed and can still correct you. Acting and informing together is what the situation allows; only one of them is not enough. It beats emailing her contact and asking her to confirm the number before you tell the kitchen, because waiting for a reply from someone with intermittent signal spends the kitchen’s window on a confirmation you already hold in writing. It beats producing the full number now and telling her on Thursday morning, because that takes a decision about her order out of her hands when she could still have had a say. The least effective response is leaving the order at eighty covers because that is what the system says: it lets a conference go a hundred covers short, against a written confirmation you have read, and tells nobody, using the system record as cover for doing nothing. That is worse than emailing for confirmation, which at least asks, and worse than telling her afterwards, which at least gets the food right. The principle: when the evidence is clear and the window is closing, act on the evidence and tell the client at the same time, not instead.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a facilities coordinator for an office building. At 9am you learn that the lift has failed with nobody inside, that a meeting room booked for a client presentation at 10am has no working projector, and that the quarterly fire alarm test is scheduled for 11am. A wheelchair user works on the third floor and is due in at 9.30am. The lift engineer can attend within two hours if called now. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Call the lift engineer immediately, tell the third-floor colleague and her manager before she travels in, then deal with the projector and confirm the alarm test.
   2. Deal with the projector and the alarm test as planned and wait to see whether the lift resets itself, since calling an engineer out is expensive and it may come back on its own.
   3. Sort the projector first since the client presentation is at 10am and is the nearest deadline, then call the lift engineer and confirm the alarm test.
   4. Call the lift engineer, then postpone the fire alarm test since a failed lift makes evacuation arrangements unreliable, and deal with the projector afterwards.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Call the lift engineer immediately, tell the third-floor colleague and her manager before she travels in, then deal with the projector and confirm the alarm test.

   Least effective: B. Deal with the projector and the alarm test as planned and wait to see whether the lift resets itself, since calling an engineer out is expensive and it may come back on its own.

   B: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: it leaves a wheelchair user arriving at a building she cannot move around in, and gambles the two-hour repair window on the lift fixing itself, to save a call-out fee.

   C: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: the projector is the nearest deadline and the smallest consequence. A colleague who cannot use the stairs is due in at 9.30 and the engineer's two-hour window starts only when he is called.

   D: Escalates prematurely: postponing a scheduled alarm test is a decision with its own consequences, taken before anyone has checked whether the test is affected, while a colleague is still travelling in to a building she cannot get around.

   The most effective response is to call the lift engineer immediately, tell the third-floor colleague and her manager before she travels in, then deal with the projector and the alarm test: the lift is the only item with both a closing window, the engineer’s two hours, and a person affected who is already travelling. Calling starts the clock, and warning her before she sets off is the part that cannot wait. The projector and the alarm test both still fit afterwards. It beats sorting the projector first for the 10am presentation, because that puts the smallest consequence first and leaves a colleague to discover on arrival that she cannot reach her desk. It beats calling the engineer and then postponing the fire alarm test, because postponing it is a further decision with its own effects, taken before checking whether it is even affected. The least effective response is waiting to see whether the lift resets itself to avoid a call-out charge: that spends the repair window and leaves a wheelchair user stranded on arrival. That is worse than the other two, which misorder the work but call the engineer. The principle: start the longest lead time first, warn the person affected before they are committed, and fit the rest around it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a production coordinator at a print and mail house. At 11am three things need you. A mailing of 20,000 renewal notices must reach the Royal Mail collection at 2pm or the legal notice period is missed. A colleague needs help fixing a jammed inserter on a different job. And your manager wants headcount figures for a meeting at noon. The renewal job needs ninety minutes of your attention. The headcount figures take fifteen minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Help your colleague with the jammed inserter first, since a stopped machine is costing time on the floor, then do the renewals and the headcount figures.
   2. Work on the renewals and the inserter together, moving between them, and do the headcount figures if the mailing is finished before the 2pm collection.
   3. Do the fifteen minutes of headcount figures for the noon meeting, then give the renewal mailing your full attention until the 2pm collection, and pass the inserter to another operator.
   4. Start the renewal mailing immediately and tell your manager the headcount figures will have to wait until after the 2pm collection.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Do the fifteen minutes of headcount figures for the noon meeting, then give the renewal mailing your full attention until the 2pm collection, and pass the inserter to another operator.

   Least effective: B. Work on the renewals and the inserter together, moving between them, and do the headcount figures if the mailing is finished before the 2pm collection.

   A: Abandons own committed work: an unquantified machine fix is taken on ahead of a ninety-minute job with a 2pm legal deadline, which leaves no margin if the jam takes longer than expected.

   B: Splits effort so nothing finishes: a mailing with a legal notice period is left to compete for attention with a machine fault, which risks missing a deadline that cannot be recovered and is the most costly of the four outcomes.

   D: Splits the wrong thing: it protects the deadline that matters and sacrifices a fifteen-minute task that fits inside the margin anyway, so the manager goes into a noon meeting without figures for no gain.

   The most effective response is to do the fifteen minutes of headcount figures for the noon meeting, then give the renewal mailing your full attention until the 2pm collection, and pass the inserter to another operator: there are three hours, the mailing needs ninety minutes of them and has a legal deadline, and the figures are needed at noon. Both fit if the short one goes first, and the machine fault is work someone else can take. It beats starting the mailing immediately and telling your manager the figures must wait, because that protects the same deadline while needlessly sacrificing a fifteen-minute task that comfortably fits. It beats helping your colleague with the jammed inserter first, because taking on a machine fault of unknown length ahead of a legally timed mailing risks the one deadline that cannot be moved. The least effective response is moving between the renewals and the inserter and fitting the figures in afterwards: it lets a mailing with a legal notice period compete for attention with a machine jam, which is the most likely way to miss the collection entirely. That is worse than the other two, which mis- sequence but keep the mailing whole. The principle: check what actually fits in the time, protect the deadline that cannot move, and hand off what someone else can do.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an office administrator at a commercial printing company. While filing paperwork you notice that the shared template the sales team uses for customer quotes still contains last year’s paper prices, which rose noticeably in January. Nobody has been asked to look at the template, and two salespeople are preparing quotes with it this week. The current prices are held in the purchasing system, which you can access. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Update the template now with the January price rises you remember, marking the new figures as provisional to be checked later, so the salespeople are at least closer to the current rates.
   2. Mention to this month's new starter that the template could do with tidying up when they get a chance, without explaining that the prices are wrong, and return to your filing.
   3. Email the sales manager to explain the template still shows last year's prices and that quotes are being prepared this week, leaving the correction with them as owner of the quoting process.
   4. Check the current prices in the purchasing system, update the template to match, and tell the two salespeople and the sales manager what you found and changed.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Check the current prices in the purchasing system, update the template to match, and tell the two salespeople and the sales manager what you found and changed.

   Least effective: B. Mention to this month's new starter that the template could do with tidying up when they get a chance, without explaining that the prices are wrong, and return to your filing.

   A: Acts on assumptions without checking: even flagged as provisional, remembered figures are still guesses in a live quoting template, and the purchasing system could give you the accurate prices in roughly the time the guesswork takes.

   B: Dumps the problem on the least able person: a vague request to tidy up the template, with no mention that its prices are wrong or that live quotes depend on it, buries the risk you spotted with the one person who cannot recognise it. That is abandonment, not a handover.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: the sales manager does own the quoting process, but leaving the whole correction in their inbox lets this week's quotes go out on old prices, when you could fix the figures accurately now and simply tell them.

   The most effective response is to check the current prices in the purchasing system, update the template to match, and tell the salespeople and their manager what you found: you spotted the problem, the accurate figures are within your reach, and quoting is live this week, so fixing it and informing the owners removes the risk. It beats updating the template from the prices you remember and marking them provisional, because the purchasing system could supply the real figures just as quickly, and the salespeople would otherwise be quoting from flagged guesses. It beats emailing the sales manager and leaving the correction with them, because that gives the owner the full picture but leaves the fix waiting in an inbox while this week’s quotes are prepared, when you could complete it accurately straight away. The least effective response is asking the new starter to tidy the template up sometime: unlike using remembered figures, which at least moves them closer to reality and flags the doubt, and unlike emailing the manager, which tells the responsible person exactly what is wrong, it hands a vague job to the one person who cannot know the prices are wrong, so the risk you spotted disappears with nobody equipped to act on it. The principle: when you spot an unowned problem you can fix, verify the facts, fix it, and tell the people it affects. Never bury it with someone who cannot recognise it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You work in a bank’s complaints team. You have spent the morning on difficult calls about a systems failure that left customers without access to their accounts. Your team leader tells you that a complaint you handled last week has been escalated to the ombudsman and asks for your full file notes by the end of the day. Your call queue is still at record length. You believe you handled the case correctly. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Come off the queue and write the ombudsman file notes now while the case is fresh, since a regulatory deadline outranks the call queue.
   2. Get on with both as best you can and say nothing, since the whole team is under pressure from the systems failure and raising it would look like complaining.
   3. Tell your team leader the queue is at record length, ask whether the file notes can be done tomorrow or the queue covered, and keep taking calls while she decides.
   4. Work the queue all day and write up the ombudsman notes this evening after your shift, so that neither the customers nor the deadline is let down.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell your team leader the queue is at record length, ask whether the file notes can be done tomorrow or the queue covered, and keep taking calls while she decides.

   Least effective: B. Get on with both as best you can and say nothing, since the whole team is under pressure from the systems failure and raising it would look like complaining.

   A: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it assumes the file notes outrank the queue because they sound more serious, when your team leader set both without weighing them and can rebalance in a minute.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: it stays silent about a workload that cannot be delivered, for fear of how it looks, so both the file notes and the calls are done badly and the one person who could rebalance it is not told.

   D: Hides the strain until failure: it meets both demands by absorbing the overload privately, so your team leader never learns the day was undeliverable and plans the next one identically.

   The most effective response is to tell your team leader the queue is at record length and ask whether the file notes can be done tomorrow or the queue covered, while you keep taking calls: she set that deadline without knowing the queue had reached record length, that is the missing fact, and she is the only person who can decide between them or find cover. Continuing to take calls while she decides means nothing stops. It beats coming off the queue to write the ombudsman file notes now, because that settles the ranking yourself on the basis that a regulator sounds more important, when the person who owns both has not been asked. It beats working the queue all day and writing the notes this evening after your shift, because doing them unpaid conceals that the day was undeliverable and guarantees the same demand next week. The least effective response is getting on with both as best you can and saying nothing: it neither raises the conflict nor resolves it, so both pieces of work suffer, and the reason is how raising it would look. That is worse than the other two, which pick badly but do complete the work. The principle: when two demands cannot both be met, give the person who set them the fact they are missing and let them choose, while you keep working.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a research assistant in a university laboratory. You and a postdoctoral colleague, Wei, disagree about whether a set of anomalous results should be included in a paper being submitted next week. He wants to exclude them as experimental error; you think they are real and should be reported. The principal investigator is at a conference and reachable by email. Wei is drafting the paper now. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Defer to Wei since he is more experienced and it is his paper to draft, and keep your own record of the anomalous results in case they matter later.
   2. Email the principal investigator now setting out the disagreement, since inclusion of data is her decision and the submission deadline is next week.
   3. Say nothing further and let the paper go out without the anomalous results, since Wei is confident they are experimental error and challenging him would strain a working relationship you rely on.
   4. Set out to Wei why you think the results are real, and if you still disagree put the question to the principal investigator by email before the paper is submitted.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Set out to Wei why you think the results are real, and if you still disagree put the question to the principal investigator by email before the paper is submitted.

   Least effective: C. Say nothing further and let the paper go out without the anomalous results, since Wei is confident they are experimental error and challenging him would strain a working relationship you rely on.

   A: Prioritises the record over the outcome: a private note protects you while a paper goes out without data you believe are real, which is a question about the published science rather than about seniority.

   B: Escalates prematurely: Wei has not yet heard your reasoning in full, and taking it straight to the principal investigator at a conference makes a formal dispute of something a conversation may settle.

   C: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: it lets data you believe are real be excluded from a publication because raising it would be uncomfortable. Silence about what goes into the scientific record is a different order of wrong from raising it clumsily.

   The most effective response is to set out to Wei why you think the results are real, and if you still disagree put the question to the principal investigator before submission: whether the anomalies are error or signal is a scientific question with evidence behind it, he has not yet heard your full reasoning, and there is time to reach her. Talking first is proportionate and escalating on continued disagreement is proper. It beats emailing the principal investigator now to set out the disagreement, because doing that before he has heard the argument turns a scientific discussion into a dispute referred over his head. It beats deferring to him while keeping your own record of the anomalous results, because a private record protects you and does nothing about what is published. The least effective response is saying nothing further and letting the paper go out without them: it allows data you believe are real to be excluded because the conversation would be awkward, which is a decision about the scientific record taken for social reasons. That is worse than the other two, which handle it imperfectly but keep the question alive. The principle: argue the evidence with your colleague first, then take it to whoever owns the decision, before the work is committed.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a sales assistant at a garden centre. Your manager asked you this morning to price and shelve a delivery of spring bulbs before you finish at 5pm; the bulbs are not on promotion and no customer is waiting for them. At 2pm the till supervisor tells you the card terminal on the main till has failed, a queue is building at the single working till, and you are the only other member of staff trained to open the second one. Your manager is running a planting workshop outside for the next hour. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Open the second till straight away to clear the queue, then go back to the bulbs and let your manager know afterwards that the pricing may run past 5pm.
   2. Carry on pricing the bulbs because your manager asked for them personally, and leave the till supervisor to manage the queue without mentioning that you are trained on the second till.
   3. Serve at the second till between trips to the stockroom, pricing a few trays of bulbs each time the queue drops, so that both jobs keep moving through the afternoon.
   4. Interrupt your manager's planting workshop to ask whether the bulbs or the till queue should come first, and wait for her decision before doing anything else.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Open the second till straight away to clear the queue, then go back to the bulbs and let your manager know afterwards that the pricing may run past 5pm.

   Least effective: B. Carry on pricing the bulbs because your manager asked for them personally, and leave the till supervisor to manage the queue without mentioning that you are trained on the second till.

   B: Hides the problem: you hold the one fact that would fix the queue and you withhold it, so the supervisor cannot solve a problem she does not know is solvable. That is concealment, not a priority call.

   C: Splits effort so nothing finishes: customers are waiting now and the queue only clears if someone stays on the till, so stepping away repeatedly leaves the queue growing and the bulbs still unpriced.

   D: Escalates prematurely: a queue at the only working till against unpriced stock nobody is waiting for is a call you can make yourself, and interrupting a customer workshop costs more than it settles.

   The most effective response is to open the second till straight away and tell your manager afterwards: customers are waiting now, the bulbs are waiting for nobody, and the pricing deadline is internal and movable while the queue is neither. Telling her afterwards keeps her informed without pulling her out of a workshop. It beats serving at the second till between trips to the stockroom, because serving in bursts never clears a queue; the till needs someone sitting at it, and dividing yourself leaves both jobs half done. It beats interrupting her planting workshop to ask which comes first, because this is a straightforward call between a waiting customer and a task nobody is waiting on, and it does not need a manager pulled away from a customer event to make it. The least effective response is carrying on with the bulbs without mentioning that you are trained on the second till: you are the only other trained operator and you keep that to yourself, so the supervisor is left unable to fix something you could have fixed in seconds. That is worse than serving in bursts, which at least serves some customers, and worse than asking your manager, which at least surfaces the clash to someone. The principle: when one task has people waiting on it and the other does not, serve the people, then tell the person whose deadline slipped.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You work in the membership office of a golf club. Members’ subscriptions are due, and a discounted rate applies to anyone who joined before 2015. A member who joined in 2018 asks you to record him as a pre-2015 member, saying he has been coming as a guest since 2012 and that nobody would ever check. He is friendly and well known at the club. The club secretary is in her office. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him you cannot change the joining date and suggest he takes it up with the club secretary himself if he believes his guest years should count.
   2. Record him at the pre-2015 rate, since he has genuinely been coming to the club since 2012 and the discount is meant to reward long- standing members.
   3. Apply the standard rate but note on his file that he has attended since 2012, so that the club can consider a discretionary discount at some point in the future.
   4. Tell him the joining date is a matter of record and you cannot change it, and offer to ask the secretary whether guest years have ever been counted towards the discount.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell him the joining date is a matter of record and you cannot change it, and offer to ask the secretary whether guest years have ever been counted towards the discount.

   Least effective: B. Record him at the pre-2015 rate, since he has genuinely been coming to the club since 2012 and the discount is meant to reward long- standing members.

   A: Passes responsibility to others: the refusal is right and the handoff is thin. He has raised a question about how guest years are treated, and sending him to make his own case leaves you having merely declined.

   B: Falsifies a membership record: his joining date is a fact, and rewriting it to produce a discount he is not entitled to is dishonesty dressed as fairness. It also charges every other member for the shortfall.

   C: Delays the decision: it charges him correctly, which is right, and parks his actual question on a file note that nobody is due to read. The secretary is in her office today.

   The most effective response is to tell him the joining date is a matter of record and offer to ask the secretary whether guest years have ever counted: the date is a fact and not yours to alter, but the question underneath it is legitimate and the secretary can answer it. Refusing clearly and taking the question forward does both jobs. It beats telling him to take it up with the club secretary himself, because that refuses in the same way but leaves him to make his own case, when you are standing beside the person who decides. It beats applying the standard rate and noting on his file that he has attended since 2012, because a note for future consideration answers nobody today, and the secretary is available now. The least effective response is recording him at the pre-2015 rate: it rewrites a factual record to create an entitlement that does not exist, and the reasoning offered, that he has been around a long time, is exactly the reasoning that makes small falsifications feel reasonable. That is worse than the other two, which charge him correctly. The principle: refuse to alter a record, then take the fair question underneath it to the person who can actually decide it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You work in a picture framing shop. A customer brought in a print for framing, promised for Saturday, for a birthday on Sunday. On Thursday you discover the moulding she chose is discontinued and none is left. A very similar moulding is in stock and could be ready for Saturday. She is contactable by phone. Your shop owner is in this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing and carry on looking for the original moulding, and tell her on Saturday if none has turned up by then.
   2. Ring her today, explain the moulding is discontinued, describe the similar one that could still be ready for Saturday, and ask which she would prefer.
   3. Frame the print in the similar moulding so it is ready for Saturday, and explain the substitution when she comes in to collect it.
   4. Ring her to say there is a problem with the moulding she chose and that you will call back once you have looked into what else is available.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ring her today, explain the moulding is discontinued, describe the similar one that could still be ready for Saturday, and ask which she would prefer.

   Least effective: A. Say nothing and carry on looking for the original moulding, and tell her on Saturday if none has turned up by then.

   A: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: she needs the frame for a birthday on Sunday, and being told on Saturday that it does not exist leaves her no time at all. Searching quietly is not a reason for silence.

   C: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: she chose that moulding deliberately, and framing it in another and explaining at collection presents her with a decision already taken and a frame already cut.

   D: Delays the decision: you already know the moulding is discontinued and that a close alternative could meet Saturday, so calling without those facts leaves her unable to decide and shortens her time.

   The most effective response is to ring her today, explain the moulding is discontinued, describe the similar one that could still be ready for Saturday, and ask which she would prefer: she chose that moulding herself, the substitution changes what she ordered, and on Thursday she still has time to pick the alternative or take the print elsewhere. Giving her the facts and the option is what preserves the choice. It beats framing the print in the similar moulding and explaining the substitution at collection, because that takes the decision out of her hands. It beats ringing to say there is a problem and that you will call back once you know what else is available, because you already hold everything she needs to decide. The least effective response is carrying on looking for the original and telling her on Saturday if none turns up: it leaves her expecting a frame for a Sunday birthday and tells her only when nothing can be done. That is worse than the substitution, which at least delivers a frame, and worse than the holding call, which at least makes contact. The principle: when what someone ordered is no longer possible, tell them at once, tell them what is possible instead, and let them choose.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a groundworker in a landscaping crew of three. You are laying a patio that must be finished today because the client is holding a party tomorrow. Your colleague Josh has cut the paving slabs to the wrong dimension for one edge and has not noticed; there is enough spare stone to recut them, which takes about an hour. It is 11am and the crew leader is collecting materials and back at noon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Lay the slabs as cut and leave the edge slightly short, since the client is unlikely to notice under furniture and the party is tomorrow.
    2. Tell Josh what you have spotted, and start recutting the slabs with him now so the edge is right and the patio is still finished today.
    3. Wait until the crew leader is back at noon and let him tell Josh, since he runs the job and it is not your place to correct a colleague's cutting.
    4. Recut the slabs yourself over the next hour without mentioning it, so the edge is right and Josh is not shown up in front of the crew.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Tell Josh what you have spotted, and start recutting the slabs with him now so the edge is right and the patio is still finished today.

    Least effective: A. Lay the slabs as cut and leave the edge slightly short, since the client is unlikely to notice under furniture and the party is tomorrow.

    A: Hides the problem: it builds a known defect into a patio for a client holding a party, and relies on furniture hiding it. That is concealment of poor work, not a decision about time.

    C: Delays the decision: an hour of recutting is lost waiting for somebody else to deliver the message, on a patio that has to be finished today.

    D: Prioritises harmony over honesty: it fixes today's edge and leaves Josh cutting to the same wrong dimension on the next job, because nobody has told him.

    The most effective response is to tell Josh what you have spotted and start recutting the slabs with him now: there is an hour of recutting, spare stone and a whole afternoon, so the patio can still be right, and he needs to know what went wrong. Doing it together solves today and the next job. It beats recutting the slabs yourself without mentioning it, because that fixes this edge and leaves him measuring the same way tomorrow. It beats waiting until the crew leader is back at noon to let him tell Josh, because that spends an hour of the day you need, to have someone else say what you can say now. The least effective response is laying the slabs as cut and leaving the edge slightly short: it builds a known defect into a client’s patio and depends on it not being noticed, the one response that leaves bad work in the ground. That is worse than the other two, which manage it awkwardly but produce a proper patio. The principle: tell your colleague, fix it together while there is still time, and never build in a defect because it might not be seen.