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Service Performance Analysis and Improvement for a Ticket Queue with Balking Customers

Author

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  • Susan H. Xu

    (Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems, Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802)

  • Long Gao

    (Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems, Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802)

  • Jihong Ou

    (Department of Decision Sciences, Faculty of Business Administration, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117592)

Abstract

Queueing systems managed by ticket technology are widely used in service industries as well as government offices. Upon arriving at a ticket queue, each customer is issued a numbered ticket. The number currently being served is displayed. An arriving customer balks if the difference between his ticket number and the displayed number exceeds his patience level. We propose a Markov chain model of a ticket queue and develop effective evaluation tools. These tools can help management quantify the service level and identify the performance gap between the ticket queue and the conventional physical queue, in which a waiting line is formed. We gain insights about the ways customer service is affected by information loss in the ticket queue. In particular, we show that ticket and physical queues have significantly different balking probabilities when customer patience is low and the system traffic is heavy. We also propose an improvement to the ticket queue that provides each customer with his expected waiting time conditioned on his observed number difference, which is shown to raise the performance of the ticket queue to that of the physical queue.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan H. Xu & Long Gao & Jihong Ou, 2007. "Service Performance Analysis and Improvement for a Ticket Queue with Balking Customers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(6), pages 971-990, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:53:y:2007:i:6:p:971-990
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1060.0660
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Zeynep Akşin & Baris Ata & Seyed Morteza Emadi & Che-Lin Su, 2017. "Impact of Delay Announcements in Call Centers: An Empirical Approach," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 65(1), pages 242-265, February.
    2. Tesnim Naceur & Yezekael Hayel, 2020. "Deterministic state-based information disclosure policies and social welfare maximization in strategic queueing systems," Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 96(3), pages 303-328, December.
    3. Tetsuya Takine, 2022. "On level-dependent QBD processes with explosive state space," Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 100(3), pages 353-355, April.
    4. Kaan Kuzu & Refik Soyer, 2018. "Bayesian modeling of abandonments in ticket queues," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(6-7), pages 499-521, September.
    5. Li Xiao & Susan H. Xu & David D. Yao & Hanqin Zhang, 2022. "Optimal staffing for ticket queues," Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 309-351, October.
    6. Long Gao & Susan H. Xu & Michael O. Ball, 2012. "Managing an Available-to-Promise Assembly System with Dynamic Short-Term Pseudo-Order Forecast," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(4), pages 770-790, April.
    7. Chevalier, Philippe & Lamas, Alejandro & Lu, Liang & Mlinar, Tanja, 2015. "Revenue management for operations with urgent orders," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 240(2), pages 476-487.
    8. Long Gao, 2023. "Optimal Incentives for Salespeople with Learning Potential," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(6), pages 3285-3296, June.
    9. de Lange, Robert & Samoilovich, Ilya & van der Rhee, Bo, 2013. "Virtual queuing at airport security lanes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 225(1), pages 153-165.
    10. Yoav Kerner & Eliran Sherzer & Mor Ann Yanco, 2017. "On non-equilibria threshold strategies in ticket queues," Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 86(3), pages 419-431, August.
    11. Long Gao & Jim (Junmin) Shi & Michael F. Gorman & Ting Luo, 2020. "Business Analytics for Intermodal Capacity Management," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 22(2), pages 310-329, March.
    12. Rouba Ibrahim & Ward Whitt, 2009. "Real-Time Delay Estimation Based on Delay History," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 11(3), pages 397-415, May.
    13. Otis B. Jennings & Jamol Pender, 2016. "Comparisons of ticket and standard queues," Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 145-202, October.
    14. Shiliang Cui & Senthil Veeraraghavan, 2016. "Blind Queues: The Impact of Consumer Beliefs on Revenues and Congestion," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(12), pages 3656-3672, December.
    15. Daniel A. Asamoah & Ramesh Sharda & Howard N. Rude & Derek Doran, 2018. "RFID-based information visibility for hospital operations: exploring its positive effects using discrete event simulation," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 305-316, September.
    16. Wei Zhang & Long Gao & Mohammad Zolghadr & Dawei Jian & Mohsen ElHafsi, 2023. "Dynamic incentives for sustainable contract farming," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(7), pages 2049-2067, July.
    17. Gabi Hanukov & Shoshana Anily & Uri Yechiali, 2020. "Ticket queues with regular and strategic customers," Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 145-171, June.
    18. Gabi Hanukov & Michael Hassoun & Oren Musicant, 2021. "On the Benefits of Providing Timely Information in Ticket Queues with Balking and Calling Times," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(21), pages 1-16, October.
    19. Kaan Kuzu & Long Gao & Susan H. Xu, 2019. "To Wait or Not to Wait: The Theory and Practice of Ticket Queues," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 853-874, October.

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