Multiple Choice CH 5

File: ch5, Chapter 5: Service Design
True/False
1. The service sector accounts for over 80 percent of employment in the United States.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: LO 1
2. Service design and improvement techniques cannot be applied to societal problems

such as education, healthcare and government services.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Easy
3. It is widely accepted that the effective design and the efficient operation of services
are critical to the health of the U.S. economy.
Ans: True
4. In general, services are acts, deeds or performances that provide a customer time,
place, form or psychological utility.
Ans: True
5. Almost all consumer products consist of some combination of facilitating goods and
facilitating services.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Easy
6. Service companies are centralized and geographically concentrated.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Easy
7. In general, a service and its delivery system are inseparable.

Ans: True
Difficulty: Easy
8. A service package defines the target market and the desired customer experience.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Easy
9. The service concept also defines how a service differs from other similar products
and how it will compete in the marketplace.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Medium
10. When designing a service, performance specifications are converted into design
specifications, and finally, delivery specifications,
Ans: True
Difficulty: Medium
11. Service processes can be classified by the degree of labor intensity and customization.
Ans: True
12. The service-process matrix is based on two characteristics: labor intensity and
volume.
Ans: False
13. The negative exponential distribution is the probability distribution most commonly
used to describe service times.
Ans: True
14. The tradeoff between the cost of improved service and the cost of making customers
wait provides the basis of waiting line analysis.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Easy
15. A single waiting line model can be applied to every type of waiting line system.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Easy
16. Waiting lines form only when service operations are understaffed.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Easy
17. Waiting lines form because customers arrival times and service times are not always
equal.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Easy
18. The calling population is the source of customers used in waiting line analysis.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Easy
19. The number of arrivals per unit time to a service facility is often described by a
Poisson distribution.
Ans: True
20. Balking occurs when a customer waiting in a line moves from one line to another
because he believes it is moving faster.
Ans: False
21. If service times are exponentially distributed then service rates are normally
distributed.
Ans: False
22. If the average service rate is smaller than the average arrival rate an infinitely large
waiting line (queue) will form.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Easy
23. Queue discipline specifies the order in which waiting customers are served.
Ans: True
24. The number of parallel servers in waiting line analysis is referred to as the number of
phases.
Ans: False
25. The constant average values of operating characteristics a system attains after a long
time is referred to as a steady state.
Ans: True
26. As the level of service improves in a waiting line system the cost of service usually
increases.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Easy
27. Service quality in waiting line systems sometimes depends on the psychology of
waiting.
Ans: True
28. A waiting line system is said to have a finite calling population if the size of the
population of customers from which arrivals originate is known.
Ans: True
29. Waiting line analysis should be applied only to situations with an infinite calling
population.
Ans: False
30. Channels refers to the number of parallel servers in a waiting line system.
Ans: True
31. In general, as the level of service improves, the cost of service increases.
Ans: True
32. One of the basic assumptions for the single-server model is that the calling
population is finite.
Ans: False
Multiple Choice
33. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a service?

a. Intangible
b. Variable output
c. Difficult to emulate
d. Perishable
Difficulty: Easy
34. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a service?

a. Tangible
b. Variable output
c. Difficult to emulate
d. Perishable
Difficulty: Easy
35. In a waiting line system, the ___________ reflects the probability that the
server is busy and the customer must wait.
a. utilization factor
b. queue discipline
c. average number of customers in the system
d. probability the system is idle
Difficulty: Easy
36. A dentist office is an example of a

a. service factory.
b. mass service.
c. service shop.
d. professional service.
Difficulty: Easy
37. An airline is an example of a

a. service factory.
b. mass service.
c. service shop.
Difficulty: Easy
38. A grocery store is an example of a

a. service factory.
b. mass service.
c. service shop.
Difficulty: Easy
39. A teacher is an example of a

a. service factory.
b. mass service.
c. service shop.
Difficulty: Easy
40. Which of the following is not a basic element of a waiting line?

a. arrivals
b. servers
c. cost of waiting
d. waiting line structure
Difficulty: Easy
41. The ________________ is the source of customers for a waiting line

system.
a. calling population
b. arrival rate
c. service line channel
d. service line phase
Difficulty: Easy
42. The number of arrivals per unit of time at a service facility can frequently
be described by a
a. normal distribution.
b. Poisson distribution.
c. binomial distribution.
d. Beta distribution.
43. The ______________ refers to the order in which waiting customers are
served.
a. calling population
b. queue discipline
c. number of channels
d. service rate
44. The number of channels in a queuing process

a. denotes the number of servers in sequence a customer must go through.
b. denotes the size of the calling population.
c. denotes the number of parallel servers for servicing arriving customers.
d. denotes the average queue length.
45. In general, as the number of servers in a waiting line system increases,

a. service cost increases and waiting cost decreases.
b. service cost decreases and waiting cost increases.
c. both service cost and waiting cost increase.
d. both service cost and waiting cost decrease.
Difficulty: Easy
46. If the average time to serve a customer is 3 minutes, then the service rate,
µ, is
a. 3 per hour.
b. 12 per hour.
c. 16 per hour.
d. 20 per hour.
Solution: µ =6-/3=20 per hour
47. If, on average, it takes 90 seconds to serve a customer then the hourly
service rate, µ, is
a. 90 per hour.
b. 40 per hour.
c. 30 per hour.
d. 1.5 per hour.
Solution: µ=60/(90/60)=40 per hour
48. Consider an espresso stand with a single barista. Customers arrive at the rate
of 20 per hour according to a Poisson distribution. Service times are
exponentially distributed with a mean service time of 2 minutes per customer.
What is the service rate per hour for the espresso stand?
a. 30 customers
b. 20 customers
c. 15 customers
d. 2 customers
Solution: µ=60/2=30 per hour
49. Consider an espresso stand with a single barista. Customers arrive at the stand
at the rate of 28 per hour according to a Poisson distribution. Service times are
exponentially distributed with a service rate of 35 customers per hour. The
probability that the server is busy is
a. 0.20
b. 0.60
c. 0.80
d. 1.00
Solution: P=28/35=0.20
probability that the server is idle is
a. 0.20
b. 0.60
c. 0.80
d. 1.00
Solution: Po=1-28/35=0.20
probability that there are exactly 3 customers in the system is
a. 0.0000
b. 0.1024
c. 0.4096
d. 0.5120
Solution: P3=(28/35)*(28/35)*28/35*0.20=0.1024
probability that there are more than 2 customers in the system is
a. 0.128
b. 0.488
c. 0.512
d. 0.640
Difficulty: Hard
Solution: P2ormore=1-(P0+P1+P3)=1-(0.2+0.16+0.1024)=0.512
average number of customers waiting in line for service is
a. 4.0
b. 3.8
c. 3.5
d. 3.2
Solution: Lq=28*28/(35*7)=3.2
54. Consider an espresso stand with a single barista. Customers arrive at the stand at
the rate of 28 per hour according to a Poisson distribution. Service times are
average number of customers in the system (i.e., waiting and being served) is
a. 4.0
b. 3.8
c. 3.2
d. 2.0
Feedback: Waiting Line Analysis for Service Improvement
Solution: L=28/(35-28)=4.0
average time in minutes a customer spends waiting in line for service is
a. 0.114 minute.
b. 0.143 minute.
c. 6.84 minutes.
d. 8.58 minutes.
Difficulty: Hard
Solution: Wq=28/(35*7)*60=6.84
average time in minutes a customer spends in the system (i.e., waiting and being
served) is
a. 0.114 minute
b. 0.143 minute
c. 6.84 minutes
d. 8.58 minutes
Solution: W=1/(35-28)*60=8.58
57. Consider an espresso stand with a single barista. Customers arrive to the stand at
exponentially distributed with a service rate of 35 customers per minute. If the
arrival rate remains at 28 customers per hour and the stand’s manager wants to
have the average time a customer spends in the system (i.e., wait time and service
time) to be a maximum of 6 minutes on average, then the service rate must
a. decrease by 2 to 33 customers per hour.
b. decrease by 3 to 32 customers per hour.
c. increase by 3 to 38 customers per hour.
d. increase by 2 to 37 customers per hour.
Difficulty: Hard
Solution: 6/60=0.1hr; 0.1=1/( µ-28); µ=38
58. A small diner has one employee and a counter with seating for 8 customers. The
diner does not package food for takeout. Customers arrive at the diner at the rate
of 20 per hour (Poisson distributed). Service times are exponentially distributed
and average 24 per hour. Customers that arrive when all seats are taken do not
enter the diner. What is the probability that there are no customers in the diner?
a. 0.2067
b. 0.7933
c. 0.8333
d. 0.1667
Solution: Use Excel Exhibit 5.2
diner does not package food for take out. Customers arrive at the diner at the rate
enter the diner. What is the probability that the diner is full and an arriving
customer does not enter?
a. 0.8333
b. 0.1667
c. 0.2067
d. 0.0481
Difficulty: Hard
enter the diner. What is the average number of customers in the diner?
a. 2.0432
b. 2.8364
c. 3.7536
d. 5.4837
enter the diner. What is the average number of customers waiting (average queue
length)?
a. 2.0432
b. 2.8364
c. 3.9785
d. 5.9782
Difficulty: Hard
enter the diner. What is the average time a customer spends in the diner?
a. 3 minutes
b. 5.975 minutes
c. 6.44 minutes
d. 8.94 minutes
enter the diner. What is the average time a customer spends waiting?
a. 2.5 minutes
b. 3.0 minutes
c. 6.44 minutes
d. 24 minutes
Difficulty: Hard
64. A service counter employs two servers. On average, a server requires 8
minutes to process a customer and service times follow an exponential
distribution. Customers arrive at the counter at the rate of 12 per hour according
to a Poisson distribution. The service rate per server for this system is
a. 3.75 customers per hour.
b. 7.5 customers per hour.
c. 8 customers per hour.
d. 16 customers per hour.

to a Poisson distribution. The probability that there are no customers in the
system is
a. 0.800
b. 0.536
c. 0.369
d. 0.111
Difficulty: Hard

to a Poisson distribution. The probability that an arriving customer must wait for
service is
a. 0.7111
b. 0.8000
c. 0.8576
d. 0.9327
Difficulty: Hard

to a Poisson distribution. On average, the total number of customers in the system
(i.e., waiting and being served) would be
a. 1.600
b. 2.844
c. 3.200
d. 4.444
Difficulty: Hard

to a Poisson distribution. The average number of customers waiting to be served
would be
a. 4.444
b. 2.844
c. 1.600
d. 0.893
Difficulty: Hard
69. A service counter employs two servers. On average a server requires 8

to a Poisson distribution. The average amount of time, in minutes, spent in the
system (i.e., waiting and being served) is approximately
a. 0.237 minutes
b. 14.22 minutes
c. 22.20 minutes
d. 33.30 minutes
Difficulty: Hard
70. A service counter employs two servers. On average, a server requires 8 minutes
to process a customer and service times follow an exponential distribution.
Customers arrive at the counter at the rate of 12 per hour according to a Poisson
distribution. The average amount of time spent by a customer waiting in line is
approximately
a. 0.370 minutes
b. 2.844 minutes
c. 14.22 minutes
d. 22.20 minutes
Difficulty: Hard
Short Answer
71. Do waiting lines only form when the service operation is understaffed?
Explain?
Ans: No. Waiting lines form because people or things arrive at the servicing function,
or server, faster than they can be served. This does not mean that the service
operation is understaffed or does not have the capacity to handle the influx of
customers. Most businesses and organizations have sufficient serving capacity
available to handle its customers in the long run. Waiting lines result because
customers do not arrive at a constant rate, nor are they all served in an equal amount
of time. Customers arrive at random times, and the time required to serve each
individually is not the same. A waiting line is continuously increasing and decreasing
in length and in the long-run approaches an average length and waiting time.
72. What are the basic elements of a waiting line? Define each.
Ans: The basic elements of a waiting line are the arrivals, the servers, and the waiting
line structure. The simplest type of waiting line system is a single server with a
single queue.
73. What is a calling population in terms of a waiting line system?
Ans: The calling population is the source of the customers to the waiting line system.
The calling population can be either infinite or finite. An infinite calling population
assumes such a large number of potential customers that it is always possible for one
more customer to arrive and be served. A grocery store is an example of an infinite
calling population. A finite calling population has a specific, countable number of
potential customers. All the customers are waiting in line at the same time; that is, it
may occur that there is not one more customer to serve.
Difficulty: Hard
74. What is queue discipline and queue length?
Ans: The queue discipline is the order in which waiting customers are served. The
most common type of queue discipline is first come, first served. However, other
disciplines are possible. Sometimes customers are scheduled according to a
predetermined appointment, or parts are run through a machine center on a last in first
out basis. In manufacturing jobs are sometimes run with the shortest processing time
first. Queues can be of an infinite or finite size or length. An infinite queue can be of
any size, with no upper limit, and is the most common queue structure. A finite
queue is limited in size.
75. Briefly describe the traditional cost relationship in waiting line analysis.
Ans: There is generally an inverse relationship between the cost of providing service
and the cost of making customers wait. As the level of service, reflected by the
number of servers, goes up, the cost of service increases, whereas waiting cost
decreases. In the traditional view of waiting line analysis, the level of service should
coincide with the minimum point of the total cost curve.
Difficulty: Easy
76. How are waiting line costs and service quality related?
Ans: The contemporary approach to quality management is to assume that the

traditional quality-cost relationship is a short-run perspective that understates the
potential long-term loss of business from poor quality service. In the long run, a
higher level of quality will gain market share and increase business and thus is more
cost effective. Further, as the company focuses on improving service quality, the cost
of achieving good quality will be less because of innovations in processes and work
design that will result. This is the philosophy of “zero defects” which in waiting line
analysis means “no waiting”. This level of better-quality, quicker service, will, in the
ling run increase business and be more profitable that the traditional view implies.
77. How can psychology be used to improve waiting lines? Provide an example.
Ans: In some instances, it is not possible to reduce waiting times. When these
situations occur, the problem of providing quality service often depends more on
psychological solutions. In other words, the organization will try to make waiting
more palatable. For example, providing distractions while customers wait to make
the wait seem shorter, providing accurate estimates of wait times when a customer
joins the queue, making it possible for waiting customers to view television, listen to
music, look in a mirror, read magazines, or purchase snacks can all make waits seems
shorter. For especially long lines, line layout can make the wait seem shorter by
keeping the line moving. Thus, some amusement parks use lines that “snake” around
in order to keep moving which gives the customer the impression that they are getting
closer to the server (ride).

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File: ch5, Chapter 5: Service Design

2. Service design and improvement techniques cannot be applied to societal problems

7. In general, a service and its delivery system are inseparable.

33. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a service?

34. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a service?

36. A dentist office is an example of a

37. An airline is an example of a

38. A grocery store is an example of a

39. A teacher is an example of a

40. Which of the following is not a basic element of a waiting line?

41. The ________________ is the source of customers for a waiting line

44. The number of channels in a queuing process

45. In general, as the number of servers in a waiting line system increases,

65. A service counter employs two servers. On average, a server requires 8

66. A service counter employs two servers. On average, a server requires 8

67. A service counter employs two servers. On average, a server requires 8

Solution: Use Excel Exhibit 5.3

68. A service counter employs two servers. On average, a server requires 8

Solution: Use Excel Exhibit 5.3

69. A service counter employs two servers. On average a server requires 8

Solution: Use Excel Exhibit 5.3

Solution: Use Excel Exhibit 5.3

73. What is a calling population in terms of a waiting line system?

74. What is queue discipline and queue length?

Ans: The contemporary approach to quality management is to assume that the

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