During the morning hours at a catalog sales department, telephone calls come in at the rate (Poisson) of 40 per hour. Calls that cannot be answered immediately are put on hold. The system can handle eight callers on hold. If additional calls come in, they receive a busy signal. The three customer service representatives who answer the calls spend an average of three minutes with a customer.
a. What is the probability that a caller will get a busy signal? (Hint: Solve for log K or ln K using trial and error.)
b. What is the probability that a customer will be put on hold?