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Java Java Data Structures Efficiency! Call Center Queue

Does anyone know why the system is giving me an error saying "Did you remember to call the assist method"?

I feel like everything I have in my code should work. I am clearly calling the assist method on the customer support rep (csr), but for some reason it does not accept it. Any ideas?

CallCenter.java
import java.util.ArrayDeque;
import java.util.Queue;

public class CallCenter {
  Queue<CustomerSupportRep> mSupportReps;

  public CallCenter(Queue<CustomerSupportRep> queue) {
    mSupportReps = queue;
  }

  public void acceptCustomer(Customer customer) {
    CustomerSupportRep csr;
    /********************************************
     * TODO (1) 
     * Wait until there is an available rep in the queue.
     * While there is not one available, playHoldMusic
     * HINT: That while assignmentcheck loop syntax we used to 
      *      read files seems pretty similar
     ********************************************
     */
    while (mSupportReps.poll() == null) {
      playHoldMusic();
    }
    /********************************************
     * TODO (2) 
     * After we have assigned the rep, call the 
     * assist method and pass in the customer
     ********************************************
     */
    csr = mSupportReps.poll();
    csr.assist(customer);
    /********************************************
     * TODO (3) 
     * Since the customer support rep is done with
     * assisting, put them back into the queue.
     ********************************************
     */
    mSupportReps.offer(csr);
  }

  public void playHoldMusic() {
    System.out.println("Smooooooth Operator.....");
  }

}
CustomerSupportRep.java
import java.util.List;
import java.util.ArrayList;

public class CustomerSupportRep {
  private String mName;
  private List<Customer> mAssistedCustomers;

  public CustomerSupportRep(String name) {
    mName = name;
    mAssistedCustomers = new ArrayList<Customer>();
  }

  public void assist(Customer customer) {
    System.out.printf("Hello %s, my name is %s, how can I assist you.%n",
                      customer.getName(),
                      mName);
    System.out.println("...");
    System.out.println("Is there anything else I can help you with?");
    mAssistedCustomers.add(customer);
  }

  public List<Customer> getAssistedCustomers() {
    return mAssistedCustomers;
  }

}
Customer.java
public class Customer {
  private String mName;

  public Customer(String name) {
    mName = name;
  }

  public String getName() {
    return mName;
  }

}

1 Answer

Felix Sonnenholzer
Felix Sonnenholzer
14,654 Points

Hey there,

that's a tricky one.

The problem is the while loop. You check if the first element is null, and if it is you play music. But poll() retrieves AND removes the first element, so when you break out of the loop your Queue is actually empty, so you can't call the assist method.

Solution: Use peek() instead of poll() in your while loop. This just returns the value, but does not remove it.

Hope this helped