The M/M/1+M queue with a utility-maximizing server

We consider an M/M/1+M queue with a human server, who is influenced by incentives. Specifically, the server chooses his service rate by maximizing his utility function. Our objective is to guarantee the existence of a unique maximum. The complication is that most sensible utility functions depend on the server utilization, a non-simple expression. We derive a property of the utilization that guarantees quasiconcavity of any utility function that multiplies the server’s concave (including linear) “value” of his service rate by the server utilization.