Queuing Models
In today’s fast-paced environment, individuals are continually trying to do more with the
same limited time constraints. In a retail store like Wal-Mart, explain how components of
queuing systems can influence customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. How might the
queuing process positively or negatively impact customer loyalty? Respond to at least two
of your classmates’ postings.
In this discussion post, with society’s fast paced environment in mind, we are asked to
explain the components of queuing systems in large retail stores like Wal-mart while
taking into consideration the customers satisfaction or dissatisfaction and how store
lines may positively or negatively impact customer loyalty.
We read in the text this week that queuing theory is the study of waiting lines or
queues and takes into account the randomness of the arrival and service process and
the perception customers have in regards to waiting in lines. According to Lawrence
and Pasternack (2002), queuing systems have three basic components:
 Arrivals, a queue is formed when customers arrive faster than the can be served and are forced to wait to be
served.  Waiting in a queue, is simply the time waiting in a queue to obtain service. There are different queue
configurations that can be applied to reduce the customer frustrations, boredom, and limit customer
balking. Service, this takes place when customers are helped by the organization’s agents and then leave the
system.
In regards to retail stores like the Wal-Mart chain, the store’s queuing decision in
regards to service operations often involves a trade-off between the operating cost and
the service level offered to customers. Obviously, most people do not wish to wait in
lines to checkout however, it is not economically efficient to have clerks sitting at
registers not working so the store management must make staffing decisions that
balance the labor costs with revenues.
In many stores that I frequent, a common rule that I have observed is the practice to
open additional checkouts when the length of the queue surpasses a given
threshold. What is that threshold? That seems to be the million-dollar question, I can
vouch that it is normally at the point where I am too close to checking out that it is not
beneficial for me to “jockey” to other lane and I end up seeing the people that were
behind me in the queue leave the store ahead of me.
Another consideration is the perceived price savings, an example being the Black
Friday, oops sorry, the Black Thursday sale at after Thanksgiving. First, we wait in
line to get into the store, and then wait to get the “prized” product that is deeply
discounted; finally, we wait in the long queues to checkout. In the mean time while
waiting, you end up picking one or two impulse buys along the way, is this an
accident, nope it is another method the stores use to increase sales and their revenue.
If we the customer feel we are getting a significant deal, we will be much more
tolerable to the large queues as long as it fair and equitable for all customers. Let oneperson try to jump the line though and see how fast an uproar begins.
In most cases, customers (me included) tend to focus primarily on the length of the
line when deciding to join a queue instead of how fast the queue is actually
moving. This is the reason many stores have multiple queues instead of a pooling
queue that is serviced by multiple servers. This gives the appearance the lines are
smaller and reduces the number of customers that balk (walk out) without making a
purchase. If a store like Wal-Mart can give the customers the satisfaction that they
have an appropriate number of servers available to meet the normal demands, they
will continue to gain customer loyalty, especially if the prices meet or exceed the
competition.
References
Lawrence, J., & Pasternack, B. (2002). Applied Management science: Modeling,
Spreadsheet Analysis, and Communication for Decision Making (2nd ed.) [with
accompanying CD-ROM]. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.