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Staffing and routing in a two-tier call centre

Author

Listed:
  • Sameer Hasija
  • Edieal J. Pinker
  • Robert A. Shumsky

Abstract

This paper studies service systems with gatekeepers who diagnose a customer problem and then either refer the customer to an expert or attempt treatment. We determine the staffing levels and referral rates that minimise the sum of staffing, customer waiting, and mistreatment costs. We also compare the optimal gatekeeper system (a two-tier system) with a system staffed with only experts (a direct-access system). When waiting costs are high, a direct-access system is preferred unless the gatekeepers have a high skill level. We also show that an easily computed referral rate from a deterministic system closely approximates the optimal referral rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Sameer Hasija & Edieal J. Pinker & Robert A. Shumsky, 2005. "Staffing and routing in a two-tier call centre," International Journal of Operational Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(1/2), pages 8-29.
    • Handle: RePEc:ids:ijores:v:1:y:2005:i:1/2:p:8-29
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Carri W. Chan & Linda V. Green & Suparerk Lekwijit & Lijian Lu & Gabriel Escobar, 2019. "Assessing the Impact of Service Level When Customer Needs Are Uncertain: An Empirical Investigation of Hospital Step-Down Units," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(2), pages 751-775, February.
    2. Tolga Tezcan & Banafsheh Behzad, 2012. "Robust Design and Control of Call Centers with Flexible Interactive Voice Response Systems," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 14(3), pages 386-401, July.
    3. Xiaofang Wang & Laurens G. Debo & Alan Scheller-Wolf & Stephen F. Smith, 2010. "Design and Analysis of Diagnostic Service Centers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(11), pages 1873-1890, November.
    4. Michael Freeman & Nicos Savva & Stefan Scholtes, 2017. "Gatekeepers at Work: An Empirical Analysis of a Maternity Unit," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(10), pages 3147-3167, October.
    5. Alfonso J. Pedraza-Martinez & Sameer Hasija & Luk N. Van Wassenhove, 2020. "Fleet Coordination in Decentralized Humanitarian Operations Funded by Earmarked Donations," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 68(4), pages 984-999, July.
    6. Michael Freeman & Susan Robinson & Stefan Scholtes, 2021. "Gatekeeping, Fast and Slow: An Empirical Study of Referral Errors in the Emergency Department," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(7), pages 4209-4232, July.
    7. Wang, Jian-Jun & Zhang, Xinmou & Shi, Jim Junmin, 2023. "Hospital dual-channel adoption decisions with telemedicine referral and misdiagnosis," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    8. Hsiao-Hui Lee & Edieal J. Pinker & Robert A. Shumsky, 2012. "Outsourcing a Two-Level Service Process," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(8), pages 1569-1584, August.

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