Welz Business Machines sells and services a variety of copies, computers, and other

office equipment. The company receives many calls each day for service, sales,

accounting, and other departments. All calls are handled centrally through customer

service representatives and routed to other individuals as appropriate. A number of

customers complained about long waits when calling for service prompting a market

research study, which found that customers became irritated if the call was not answered

within five rings. Scott Welz, the company president, authorized the customer service

department manager, Tim, to study this problem and find a method to shorten the call

waiting time for its customers. Tim met with the service representatives who answered

the calls to attempt to determine the reasons for long waiting times. The following

conversation ensued: