Evaluate the Argument

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BTGmoderatorRO: Moderator; Posts: 772; Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2017 6:29 pmFollowed by: 6 members

by BTGmoderatorRO » Fri Jan 19, 2018 1:53 am

In order to increase its profits, an Italian restaurant in Pastanton placed its advertisement in one of the local newspapers. After several months, the restaurant's management noticed that the number of customers had increased only slightly, and most of them had never seen the advertisement. Therefore, the management proposed to discontinue placing its advertisement in that newspaper.

Knowing which of the following would LEAST help to evaluate the proposal of the restaurant's management?

A. Whether the circulation of the newspaper is expected to increase any time soon.
B. Whether most new customers who came to the restaurant after seeing its advertisement in the newspaper generally made large orders that generated significant profits to the restaurant.
C. Whether most new customers who came to the restaurant after seeing its advertisement in the newspaper were satisfied with the quality of service in the restaurant.
D. Whether there are alternative ways to advertise the restaurant that would cost the same as placing the advertise in the newspaper but would generate more profits to the restaurant.
E. Whether the cost of the advertisement exceeds additional profits gained on customers who came to the restaurant after seeing the advertisement.

OA is C
Can an Expert explain this to me in details. Contributions will be highly appreciated. Thanks

Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Fri Jan 19, 2018 1:53 am

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:08 am

Roland2rule wrote:In order to increase its profits, an Italian restaurant in Pastanton placed its advertisement in one of the local newspapers. After several months, the restaurant's management noticed that the number of customers had increased only slightly, and most of them had never seen the advertisement. Therefore, the management proposed to discontinue placing its advertisement in that newspaper.

Knowing which of the following would LEAST help to evaluate the proposal of the restaurant's management?

A. Whether the circulation of the newspaper is expected to increase any time soon.
B. Whether most new customers who came to the restaurant after seeing its advertisement in the newspaper generally made large orders that generated significant profits to the restaurant.
C. Whether most new customers who came to the restaurant after seeing its advertisement in the newspaper were satisfied with the quality of service in the restaurant.
D. Whether there are alternative ways to advertise the restaurant that would cost the same as placing the advertise in the newspaper but would generate more profits to the restaurant.
E. Whether the cost of the advertisement exceeds additional profits gained on customers who came to the restaurant after seeing the advertisement.

Premise: After an ad was placed in the local newspaper, the number of customers increased only slightly, and most of them had never seen the advertisement.
Conclusion: The restaurant should discontinue the newspaper advertisement.

Rephrase the answer choices as STATEMENTS.
Eliminate the four rephrases that STRENGTHEN or WEAKEN the conclusion.

A, rephrased:
The circulation of the newspaper is expected to increase soon.
Here, an increase in circulation = more people seeing the advertisement, WEAKENING the conclusion that the restaurant should discontinue the advertisement.
Eliminate A.

B, rephrased:
Most new customers who came to the restaurant after seeing its advertisement in the newspaper generally made large orders that generated significant profits to the restaurant.
Here, the ad is linked to significant profits for the restaurant, WEAKENING the conclusion that the restaurant should discontinue the advertisement.
Eliminate B.

D, rephrased:
There are alternative ways to advertise the restaurant that would cost the same as placing the advertise in the newspaper but would generate more profits to the restaurant.
Here, alternative forms of advertising will generate more profits for the restaurant, STRENGTHENING the conclusion that the restaurant should discontinue the advertisement.
Eliminate D.

E, rephrased:
The cost of the advertisement exceeds additional profits gained on customers who came to the restaurant after seeing the advertisement.
Here, the cost of the ad exceeds any profits generated by the ad, STRENGTHENING the conclusion that the restaurant should discontinue the advertisement.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is C.

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