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Jeff Toister

Customer Service Tip of the Week: Take a break and recharge

Published 2 months ago • 1 min read

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Hi Reader,

When do customers get the best service?

  • At the start of your shift
  • At the end of your shift
  • Any time, my service is consistent!

One customer service manager helped answer this question. He let me evaluate his team's customer service survey scores by time of day.

The answer? Survey scores averaged 8% worse during the second half of each person's shift.

It's natural for our performance to lag when we get a little tired. This week's tip can help you even things out.

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Take a Break and Recharge!

Serving customers is more difficult when you're tired.

The fast-paced nature of customer service wears us out. Continuously jumping from one task to another can ultimately lead to something called Directed Attention Fatigue.

Here are some of the symptoms:

  • Distractibility
  • Irritability
  • Impatience
  • Indecisiveness
  • Difficulty starting or finishing tasks

Yikes!

It doesn't get better if you go on break and continue to multitask. Spending time on your phone texting, surfing the web, checking social media, or playing games can make Directed Attention Fatigue even worse.

The only way to recover is to rest.

Try taking a real break. Unplug. Read a book or listen to music. Take a walk outside if it's a nice day.

Let your brain stop spinning for just a moment and you'll feel better.

Bonus Info: I nerded out a bit researching this topic. You can take a deeper dive.

Have a great week!
Jeff

PS. Global Gurus just published their 2025 World's Top 30 Customer Experience Professionals list. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me!

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Jeff Toister
The Service Culture Guide
619-955-7946
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Jeff Toister

The Service Culture Guide

I help leaders build customer-focused teams. Get weekly customer service tips to sharpen your skills or share with your team.

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