Kurelis Interior Design provides home and office decorating assistance. In normal operation an average of 2.5 customers arrive per hour. One design consultant is available to answer customer questions and make product recommendations. The consultant averages 10 minutes with each customer. Use the Single Server Queue or Multiple Server Queue Excel templates as appropriate to answer the following questions:

a. Compute operating characteristics for the customer-waiting line. 

b. Service goals dictate that an arriving customer should not wait for service more than an average of five minutes. Is this goal being met? What action do you recommend?

c. Should they hire a second consultant?

d. If the consultant can reduce the average time spent with customers to eight minutes, will the service goal be met?

e. How would opening the fourth cash register have impacted service?