Exam 18: Waiting Line

A drive-through system at a fast food restaurant where the first facility takes the order,the second takes the money,and the third provides the food is an example of a:

An operations manager decides that customers should be processed based on the anticipated duration of their request instead of their arrival time.The system has been changed in what fashion?

Scenario B.1 A single ticket taker can tear tickets and direct movie patrons to their seats at a rate of 90 per hour.Customers arrive every minute for assistance and always wait,regardless of how long the line gets.Arrivals are governed by the Poisson distribution and service is governed by the exponential distribution. -Use the information in Scenario B.1.What is the probability that customers with tickets arrive and the ticket taker is not helping another patron?

The number of customers in line and being served also relates to service efficiency and capacity.

What are priority rules? Provide examples and indicate why a manager would choose to adopt one over another.

Scenario B.2 Weary travelers arrive at Will Rogers International Airport,pick up their luggage,stumble to their cars,and proceed to the parking lot attendant to pay for their parking.Traveler interarrival times are exponentially distributed,as are the service times of the attendant.On average,travelers arrive every 25 seconds.The attendant can process three travelers per minute,and processing rates follow a Poisson distribution. -Use the information in Scenario B.2.What is the average amount of time a customer spends waiting in line and being served?

Customers are serviced at a rate of five customers per hour according to an exponential distribution.What is the probability that customer service will require fewer than 20 minutes?

Scenario B.5 A trucking firm has five trucks that each requires service at an average rate of once every 50 hours,according to an exponential distribution.The firm has a mechanic who needs five hours to complete the average job with exponential service times. -Use the information in Scenario B.5.What is the average time a truck spends in the system?

A homemade-ice cream shop owner has noticed that,often,potential customers will stop outside the store,assess the wait in line,and then pass by.The shop has a(n):

The best example of a finite customer population is the:

A drive thru car wash can process cars at a rate of one every five minutes.When you arrive with your car,you see one car just leaving the washer and eight cars in line ahead of you.How long can you expect to wait before you will reach the car wash?

Customers are serviced at a rate of 10 customers per hour according to an exponential distribution.What is the probability that customer service will require fewer than two minutes?

A customer support call center grades their employees on how quickly they resolve customer problems (average call time)and how many times the customer request escalates to the point that a supervisor must be summoned to resolve the dispute.What might an employee do to perform well on these metrics without actually providing good customer service? What could management do to prevent such behaviors?

Scenario B.2 Weary travelers arrive at Will Rogers International Airport,pick up their luggage,stumble to their cars,and proceed to the parking lot attendant to pay for their parking.Traveler interarrival times are exponentially distributed,as are the service times of the attendant.On average,travelers arrive every 25 seconds.The attendant can process three travelers per minute,and processing rates follow a Poisson distribution. -Use the information in Scenario B.2.What is the average number of customers in line?

The single,multiple,and finite waiting line models all assume that the:

Customers arrive every three minutes governed by a Poisson distribution.A single server is capable of handling twenty-five customers per hour and this service time is exponentially distributed.About how long do customers wait in line?

Scenario B.5 A trucking firm has five trucks that each requires service at an average rate of once every 50 hours,according to an exponential distribution.The firm has a mechanic who needs five hours to complete the average job with exponential service times. -Use the information in Scenario B.5.What is the average waiting time of trucks in line?

Scenario B.6 The Jackson Machine Company has four cutting tools that need to be refurbished after an average of 30 hours,according to an exponential distribution.The single machine that refurbishes the tools needs 15 hours for each tool on the average,with exponential service times. -Use the information in Scenario B.6.What is the average utilization of the refurbishing machine?

A phase represents a single step in providing a service.

India Sisson wants to grab a latte before heading to her marketing class,knowing that the jolt of a double tall mocha is the only thing that can possibly keep her eyes open during today's presentation on the four P's.The server is slower than molasses in January and India notes that the pace of the line won't permit her to grab her favorite seat in the back row of her class.She decides to risk marketing without a latte and leaves the line before getting served.India's behavior is best described as: