How many staff it takes to keep people from waiting depends not only on how long each job takes but on where people wait for a free hand (a styling chair, a bed, a consulting room, a door, the concessions). Here are five examples an AI simulated in earlier articles, with the tool it calls over MCP (sweep_process_parameters); each figure is the mean of 20 runs.
1. By the staff
| Example | Set-up | What is measured | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| A hair salon's Saturday (six chairs, 3 bookings an hour) | Two stylists | Time in the salon | 107.8 minutes |
| A hair salon's Saturday (six chairs, 3 bookings an hour) | Three stylists | Time in the salon | 78.7 minutes |
| A hair salon's Saturday (six chairs, 3 bookings an hour) | Four stylists | Time in the salon | 77.3 minutes |
| A bonesetter clinic's evening (four beds, 6 patients at 18:00) | One therapist | From arriving to leaving | 33.5 minutes |
| A bonesetter clinic's evening (four beds, 6 patients at 18:00) | Two therapists | From arriving to leaving | 22.0 minutes |
| A bonesetter clinic's evening (four beds, 6 patients at 18:00) | Three therapists | From arriving to leaving | 21.1 minutes |
| An animal hospital's morning (24 visits) | One vet | Waiting for a vet (mean) | 53.0 minutes |
| An animal hospital's morning (24 visits) | Two vets | Waiting for a vet (mean) | 5.8 minutes |
| An animal hospital's morning (24 visits) | Three vets | Waiting for a vet (mean) | 1.1 minutes |
| A banquet course (200 guests, three plates at a time) | Six servers, one door | To the last plate | 20.4 minutes |
| A banquet course (200 guests, three plates at a time) | Eight servers, one door | To the last plate | 15.1 minutes |
| A banquet course (200 guests, three plates at a time) | Ten servers, one door | To the last plate | 12.5 minutes |
| A banquet course (200 guests, three plates at a time) | Six servers, two doors | To the last plate | 16.4 minutes |
| A cinema's 19:00 show (120 people, two ticket windows) | Two concession tills | Not in their seats at 19:00 | 32.3 people |
| A cinema's 19:00 show (120 people, two ticket windows) | Three concession tills | Not in their seats at 19:00 | 16.0 people |
| A cinema's 19:00 show (120 people, two ticket windows) | Four concession tills | Not in their seats at 19:00 | 9.3 people |
2. What they show
- The one person too few makes the big difference. A third stylist cuts the salon's time from 107.8 minutes to 78.7, and a second vet cuts the animal hospital's wait from 53.0 minutes to 5.8.
- After that, something else decides. A fourth stylist cuts the time only from 78.7 minutes to 77.3, and a third therapist from 22.0 to 21.1; what remains is the work itself.
- Change the way of working, not only the staff. Two doors to the kitchen cut the banquet from 20.4 minutes to 16.4 with the same six servers.
- Add staff where the queue forms. A third concession till cuts the people not in their seats at 19:00 from 32.3 to 16.0.
3. The articles
- How many stylists does a hair salon need?
- How many therapists for a bonesetter clinic?
- How long is the wait at an animal hospital?
- How long does it take to serve a banquet course?
- How many tills at the cinema's concessions?
4. How to ask an AI
In this hair salon (as drawn, six chairs) on a Saturday with 3 bookings an hour, compare the time customers spend in the salon with two, three and four stylists, 20 runs each.
5. What this does not cover
- How many people come and when, and the times for treatment, consultation, serving and paying, are each article's assumptions. Put your own shop's or clinic's records in their place.
