AN APPOINTMENT-BASED SERVICE CENTER WITH GUARANTEED SERVICE

Customers are scheduled to arrive at periodic scheduling intervals to receive service from a single server system. A customer must start rec eiving service within a given departure interval; if this is not the c ase, the system will pay a penalty and/or transfer the customer to ano ther facility at the system's cost. A complete transient and steady-st ate analysis of the system is given, the optimal scheduling and depart ure intervals are determined, and the virtual work in the system is an alyzed.