Balking

Modeling How-To's > Miscellaneous > Balking

Balking

Customers balk, i.e., they refuse to enter a waiting line, if the line is too long.

The model used for this example, as well as all of the modeling "how-to" examples, can be found in the ProModel Solutions Café (http://www.promodel.com/solutionscafe/howto/).

Solution

Set the In Buffer capacity of the activity that customers would like to enter to the limit that will be acceptable to a customer. If customers are arriving from outside of the system, they will automatically balk and exit the system if the In Buffer is full. If they are arriving from another activity via a routing, an outlet routing must be specified for them to go to.

Example

Customers arrive at the Spicy Thai restaurant located in a mall during the noon hour every E(.5) minutes. They will not get in the order line, however, if there are 10 or more customers already in line.

Solution

The In Buffer capacity of 10 automatically causes arrivals to be destroyed that try to arrive when it is full.