Question

A campus deli serves 300 customers over its busy lunch period from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A quick count of the number of customers waiting in line and being served by the sandwich makers shows that an average of 10 customers are in process at any point in time. What is the average amount of time that a customer spends in process?

Answer 1

4 minutes

Explanation:

There are two hours from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m

The hourly rate of service is:

`r=(300)/(2)=150\ customers/hour`

If the average number of customers in the system (n) is 10, the time that a customer spends in process is given by:

`t=(n)/(r) =(10)/(150)=0.06667\ hours`

Converting it to minutes:

`t= 0.066667\ hours*(60\ minutes)/(1\ hour)\\t=4\ minutes`

A customer spends, on average, 4 minutes in process.