The Economics of Queues and Waiting
Managing Capacity: The Operations View
Firms cut waiting by matching capacity to demand through staffing, scheduling, self-service and forecasting.
Businesses can shorten queues, at a cost.
Peak demand
Demand often surges at certain times, like lunch or month-end.
Flexible staffing
More staff at peak hours, fewer at off-peak.
Self-service
Kiosks and apps shift work to customers.
Cost trade-off
Extra capacity costs money, so firms weigh the cost of waiting against the cost of service.
A lunch rush
A restaurant adds staff for the lunch hour to reduce waits.
Assuming zero waiting is the goal
Some waiting is efficient.
Key takeaways
- Demand peaks require flexible staffing.
- Self-service helps.
- Capacity costs money.
- Firms trade off waiting and cost.
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