Question

Regional Airlines is establishing a new telephone system for handling flight reservations. During the 10:00 A.M to 11:00 A.M time period, calls to the reservation agent occur randomly at an average of one call every 3.75 minutes. Historical service time data show that a reservation agent spends an average of 3 minutes with each customer. The waiting line model assumptions of Poisson arrivals and exponential service times appear reasonable for the telephone reservation system.

Regional Airlines’ management believes that offering an efficient telephone reservation system is an important part of establishing an image as a service-oriented airline. If the system is properly implemented, Regional Airlines will establish good customer relations, which in the long run will increase business. However, if the telephone reservation system is frequently overloaded and customers have difficulty contacting an agent, a negative customer reaction may lead to an eventual loss of business. The cost of a ticket reservation agent is $20 per hour. Thus, management wants to provide good service, but it does not want to incur the cost of overstaffing the telephone reservation operation by using more agents than necessary.

At a planning meeting, Regional’s management team agreed that an acceptable customer service goal is to answer at least 85% of the incoming calls immediately. During the planning meeting, Regional’s vice president of administration pointed out that the data show that the average service rate for an agent is faster than the average arrival rate of the telephone calls. The vice president’s conclusion was that personnel costs could be minimized by using one agent and that the single agent should be able to handle the telephone reservations and still have some idle time. The vice president of marketing related the importance of customer service and expressed support for at least two reservation agents.

The current telephone reservation system design does not allow callers to wait. Callers who attempt to reach a reservation agent when all agents are occupied receive a busy signal and are blocked from the system. A representative from the telephone company suggested that Regional Airlines consider an expanded system that accommodates waiting. In the expanded system, when a customer calls and all agents are busy, a recorded message tells the customer that the call is being held in the order received and that an agent will be available shortly. The customer can stay on the line and listen to background music while waiting for an agent. Regional’s management will need more information before switching to the expanded system.

Managerial Report

Prepare a managerial report for Regional Airlines analyzing the telephone reservation system. Evaluate both the system that does not allow waiting and the expanded system that allows waiting. Include the following information in your report:

1. A detailed analysis of the operating characteristics of the reservation system with one agent as proposed by the vice president of administration. What is your recommendation concerning a single-agent system?

2. A detailed analysis of the operating characteristics of the reservation system based on your recommendation regarding the number of agents Regional should use.

3. A detailed analysis of the advantages or disadvantages of the expanded system. Discuss the number of waiting callers the expanded system would need to accommodate.

4. This report represents a pilot study of the reservation system for the 10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. time period during which an average of one call arrives every 3.75 minutes. However, the arrival rate of incoming calls is expected to change from hour to hour. Describe how your waiting line analysis could be used to develop a ticket agent staffing plan that would enable the company to provide different levels of staffing for the ticket reservation system at different times during the day. Indicate the information that you would need to develop the staffing plan.

Answer 1

aAns :

The accompanying focuses might be noted from the contextual analysis:

The specialist requires a normal of 3 minutes amid a call

A pinnacle is noted on occasion i.e 10am to 11am where calls are arbitrarily dispersed at interims of 3.75 minutes

A gigantic surge is noted where numerous calls are obstructed as lines are occupied

The calls are identified with the consumer loyalty remainder

A solitary specialist can deal with the call and still have inert time

The single operator answers the calls taking a period of 3 minutes and the normal interim is 3.75 minutes.As the calls are irregular there will over-burden of the lines.The single specialist framework is occupied for a specific measure of time in the day.

This is a solitary server display which has the accompanying occasions:

The time taken to answer a query=3 mins

Time interims of calls=3.75 mins

So we have a normal usage of the framework as a poisson distribution=(3/3.75)*100=80%

Number of clients in the queue=3/(3.75-3)=4

Normal number of clients in the holding up line=0.8*4=3.2 clients

Proposals for the issue are as per the following:

Re-appropriating: The pinnacle long periods of client calling can be related to the assistance of past patterns and records.As the numbers increment we will see that redistributing of administrations can be an alternative accordingly opening up time.As the expense of a phone administrator is $20 every hour an additional administrator can overstaff the framework as calls are random.Outsourcing can accompany a few issues as information sharing must be finished with an outside party.This should be possible away with verified access mode in which the outsider can investigate the framework under severe supervison.Another method for providing information is by giving the required information by Regional Airlines.The model of installment will be hourly for the pinnacle hours.

bAns:

The advertising office has worried on the consumer loyalty level and this has been because of the first system.the requirement for two specialists for the calls can be comprehended as pinnacle hours are overcrowded.the target ought to be to give most extreme consumer loyalty least expenses incurred.Two operators can be an answer yet in times when the calls are less in count,the second specialist will be idle.This will prompt loss of worker hours thus we need to devise a legitimate arrangement to utilize the second administrator in these conditions.The organization can give preparing to other staff with the goal that they can go about as administrators to assist the principal administrator along these lines wiping out the opportunity of procuring a second administrator.

As per the holding up line demonstrate we have a limitless populace here thus reneging will e basic in this sort of holding up models.So inorder to circulate the quantity of guests the time the board becomes possibly the most important factor and this could be successfully conveyed to the customers.For example,the crossing out should be possible from 12pm to 2 pm and booking should be possible inside certain hours,though crisis calls can be acknowledged whenever.

cAns:

The normal sitting tight time for the clients are :1/(3.75-3)=1.33 mins

This can be limited by utilizing the extended model:

Preferences:

Consumer loyalty can be increments

Client feels favored as the calls are pausing and he/she will be replied

Increment in expenses can be obliged with increment in the quantity of clients

Detriments:

Costs will be expanded because of framework design

The hanging tight framework may be inactive for more often than not

The normal calling time may build which may expand the holding up time as administrators will know about not losing clients which can expand disappointment of the clients

We have seen that 4 clients are in the line and by the present usage of the framework we have around 3 clients

dAns:

The following information will be required:

Client landing rates

Kind of administration to be given

Changing the quantity of stages: utilize a multiphase framework where servers spend significant time in a segment of the absolute administration as opposed to having to realize the whole administration gave. Since a server has less assignments to learn, the individual server capability ought to improve. This returns to the idea of division of work.

Server effectiveness: improve server productivity through procedure enhancements or commitment of extra resources.The two techniques which can be utilized in such manner are scanners and devoting extra assets

Changing the need rule: The need rule figures out who ought to be served next.There are need runs other than first-come, first-served. In the event that you need to change need rules, consider the effect on those clients who will hold up longer

Changing the quantity of lines: Changing to a solitary line display from a multiline show is most proper when the organization is worried about decency for its clients. A solitary line guarantees that clients don't move trying to pick up leeway over another client. Multiline models effectively oblige forte servers.