What looks like an employee with a bad attitude may be an employee who is sleepy and/or fatigued. Providing great customer service relies on employees who are willing to go
Sleepy and fatigued employees:
• can’t muster the physical and emotional energy to provide customer service. They know what they are required to do, but they are “too tired to care.”
• have little patience when interacting with customers. Their communication and relationship skills suffer and they are ineffective in interpersonal interactions.
• make more mistakes. This can create unnecessary customer-service problems.
• are absent more often, which overextends other employees who then become too tired to provide good customer service.
Here are steps that managers can take to ensure that efforts to provide great customer service are not sabotaged by tired employees:
• implement shift schedules that reflect best practice.
• reduce the amount of overtime required.
• ensure employees receive adequate rest breaks.
• develop a napping policy that allows for short naps.
• screen employees for sleep disorders that cause sleepiness and fatigue.
• provide employees with information on sleep disorders which can cause sleepiness and fatigue, and urge them to seek diagnosis and treatment if appropriate.