(Finance/Simulation) Whenever people form a line to wait for service, such as in a supermarket, a movie theater, or an airport, the service provider wants to minimize the number of agents it employs...

(Finance/Simulation) Whenever people form a line to wait for service, such as in a supermarket, a movie theater, or an airport, the service provider wants to minimize the number of agents it employs while keeping the customers’ wait time at a tolerable level.

a. The checkout area of a local store has eight checkout registers, each with its own line. Due to space constraints, each line can accommodate at most four people. As a result, when all the checkout lines are full, new customers leave the store without making a purchase. Simulate this checkout area. Assume an average service time of two minutes per customer. If a new customer arrives every t minutes, for what value of t will this store serve the most customers and lose the fewest during a 16-hour workday?

 b. You are hired to redesign the store’s checkout area. You realize that a customer’s average wait time is shorter when multiple agents service one line than when each agent has its own line. Simulate a checkout area that has one line served by eight checkout registers. When 32 people are waiting in the line, any additional customers leave the store without making a purchase. Assume an average service time of two minutes per customer. If a new customer arrives every t minutes, for what value of t will this store serve the most customers and lose the fewest?