2025/02/27 by Wathsala Karunarathne, Karunarathne, Wathsala, Koopmans, Camiel +2
Business, Management and Accounting · #Advanced Queuing Theory Analysis #FOS: Mathematics #Facility Location and Emergency Management #Probability (math.PR) #Supply Chain and Inventory Management
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2502.20105
openalex publication_date 2025/02/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This paper examines a single-server queueing system that serves both scheduled and strategic walk-in customers. The service discipline follows a first-come, first-served policy, with scheduled customers granted non-preemptive priority. Each walk-in customer strategically chooses their arrival time to minimise their expected waiting time, taking into account the reservation schedule and the decisions of other walk-in customers. We derive the Nash equilibrium arrival distribution for walk-in customers. We also study the case where early arrivals are allowed and analyse its impact on equilibrium arrival patterns. By analysing various appointment schedules, we assess their effects on equilibrium arrival behaviour, waiting times, and server idle time. Finally, we compare different scheduling policies and evaluate their impact on overall system performance.