Re:What happens when you add a new teller? (2008)
by rahimnathwani on Tuesday December 03, 2019 @03:37PM
(#21696439)
"Seems to me the big problem with any kind of retail queue is highly inconsistent service times."
The article mentions that as one of the two problems: "If customer arrivals were exactly evenly spaced and each took exactly 10 minutes to serve, there would be no problem."
"It's also why so many businesses use a single queue with multiple tellers/ cashiers."
The article implicitly assumes a single queue. But, as long as any empty queue is immediately filled by someone switching from another queue, this assumption doesn't affect the expected total # of people waiting.
The article mentions that as one of the two problems: "If customer arrivals were exactly evenly spaced and each took exactly 10 minutes to serve, there would be no problem."
"It's also why so many businesses use a single queue with multiple tellers/ cashiers."
The article implicitly assumes a single queue. But, as long as any empty queue is immediately filled by someone switching from another queue, this assumption doesn't affect the expected total # of people waiting.