Reference no: EM132804794

Starbucks has decided to pilot an "early bird" opening at one of their busiest locations, opening at 4:30 a.m. to attract a population they cannot service with their standard opening time of 5:30 a.m. They believe they can service the customers with a single cashier / barista (i.e. one person). The Store Operations group at headquarters has estimated that the single barista can service 55 customers per hour. The local Starbucks marketing team has estimated that customers will arrive at this store at an average rate of one customer every 1.25 minutes (48 customers per hour), even at this early time.

Five months into their Early Bird pilot, Starbucks found that average arrival rate at the store had plateaued at 1 customer/1.5 minutes. Concerned about the lack of future growth Starbucks reluctantly decided to accelerate installation plans for a service window to accommodate drive-thru traffic. Store Management was concerned about the effect on the brand of a customer experience that didn't involved Starbuck's classic cafe setting. Despite these concerns the installation was authorized and the affect was immediate. The average arrival rate increased 7% each week with no change in service rate at 60 customers/hr. However, in granting the food service permits for the drive thru operation, local health officials stipulated that the store management insure the line of vehicles not extend into the heavily-traveled commuter parkway on which Starbucks was located. Due to the location of the hastily installed service window, the maximum allowable vehicle queue was 10 cars

At what week after the start of drive-thru operations will the store's utilization meet or exceed 95%?

If 85% of the Early Morning store traffic is serviced at the drive thru window, how many vehicles-on average - are waiting in line at the end of the . . . . (Round your answers to 1 decimal place)

a) 2nd week of operation (week #2)

b) 4th week of operation (week #4)

What week - if any - will the store be in violation of its traffic permit?

Starbuck's policy is that all store manager's have extensive experience as former baristas. The store manager is contemplating serving as an additional barista during peak hours, thus doubling the store's service rate.

Assuming she serves as a supplemental barrista, what week after start-up of the drive-thru operations should the store manager assume the store's utilization meet or exceed 95%?

If 85% of the Early Morning store traffic is serviced at the drive thru window, how many vehicles-on average are waiting in line at the end of the . . . . (Round your answer to 1 decimal place)

a) 2nd week of operation (week #2)

b) 4th week of operation (week #4)

How many weeks of extension does the store manager's new Peak Demand staffing model extend the regulatory compliance status of the Early Morning program?