The local Publix Grocery has five regular lanes and one express lane (12 items or less only). Based on a sampling study, it takes 11 minutes on the average for a customer to go through the regular line and 4 minutes to go through the express line. The store opens at 9 am and closes at 9 pm each day. (I know these aren’t Publix’s normal hours, but it is easier to give it a 12 hour day).
1. What is the store’s maximum capacity in customer’s per day if they have all the lines open all the time?
2. The store has determined that it can install another express line for a minimum cost of $250,000. if the average customer spends $53 per visit on groceries, would you recommend that Publix install this line or not? Why or why not?