Simulation improves amusement park customer service

Abstract

Over the last half-century or more, simulation has established a splendid record of helping to improve complex systems. This fine record began historically with improvements to manufacturing processes, and in due course expanded to many other fields, including warehousing, transportation systems, health-care systems such as clinics and hospitals, and general customer-service systems such as banks, hotels, retail stores, and other venues where customer service is highly important. In this work, the application of simulation to improvement of customer service at an amusement park in Southeast Asia is documented, along with the contributions it made and indications for further work. The management of the park was justifiably concerned with operating costs, long customer waiting lines, and loss of potential customers via balking. Simulation pointed the way to significant process improvements and hence customer-service improvements with negligible increases in operating costs.