An insurance company receives 220 calls per day from customers who lodge insurance claims. The call center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The arrival of calls follows a Poisson process. Looking at the intensity of arrival of calls, we can distinguish three periods during the day: the period 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., the period 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the period 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. During the first period, around 60 calls are received. During the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. period, 120 calls are received, and during the 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. period, 40 calls are received. A customer survey has shown that customers tend to call between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. because during this time they have a break at work. Statistical analysis shows that the durations of calls follow an exponential distribution. According to the company’s customer service charter, customers should not wait more than 1 min on average for their call to be answered.   •   Assume that the call center can handle 70 calls per hour using 7 call center agents. Is this enough to meet the 1-min constraint set in the customer service charter? Please explain your answer by showing how you calculate the average length of the queue and the average waiting time. •   What happens if the call center’s capacity is increased so that it can handle 80calls per hour (using 8 call center agents)?"

Practical Management Science
6th Edition
ISBN:9781337406659
Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Publisher:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Chapter12: Queueing Models
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 52P
icon
Related questions
Question

An insurance company receives 220 calls per day from customers who lodge insurance claims. The call center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The arrival of calls follows a Poisson process. Looking at the intensity of arrival of calls, we can distinguish three periods during the day: the period 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., the period 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the period 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. During the first period, around 60 calls are received. During the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. period, 120 calls are received, and during the 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. period, 40 calls are received. A customer survey has shown that customers tend to call between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. because during this time they have a break at work. Statistical analysis shows that the durations of calls follow an exponential distribution. According to the company’s customer service charter, customers should not wait more than 1 min on average for their call to be answered.

 

•   Assume that the call center can handle 70 calls per hour using 7 call center agents. Is this enough to meet the 1-min constraint set in the customer service charter? Please explain your answer by showing how you calculate the average length of the queue and the average waiting time.

•   What happens if the call center’s capacity is increased so that it can handle 80calls per hour (using 8 call center agents)?"

Expert Solution
trending now

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

steps

Step by step

Solved in 2 steps with 1 images

Blurred answer
Similar questions
Recommended textbooks for you
Practical Management Science
Practical Management Science
Operations Management
ISBN:
9781337406659
Author:
WINSTON, Wayne L.
Publisher:
Cengage,