PrepTest 105, Section 1, Question 5
Large discount chains can make a profit even(85 more words not shown)
The reasoning is flawed because(9 more words not shown)
- Anot all large(8 more words not shown)
- Bsome large discount(10 more words not shown)
- Csmall retailers are(10 more words not shown)
- Dnot all small(9 more words not shown)
- Eexceptional service is(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
I might keep shopping at a small store because it sells something the big chain doesn't. Or because I want to support a local business. Exceptional service could keep me coming back, but it isn't the only possibility.
The price problem makes sense. A chain buys in bulk at favorable cost, so a small retailer matching its selling prices could squeeze its own profit margin.
The author then gives the small store another route: retain customers through exceptional service without cutting prices. So far, that's one way to respond to the competition.
What we’re looking for
Then “can” turns into “must.” The conclusion says exceptional service is required to maintain profitability. Why rule out the shop with distinctive products or customers committed to buying locally? Those customers might accept higher prices even when the service is ordinary. The flaw question asks what possibility the author misses, and our prediction is another reason customers would keep choosing the small retailer.
Working the answers
- A
The argument says large chains can profit at low prices, not that every chain actually does. More importantly, a chain's failure doesn't identify the mistake in saying the competing small retailer must offer exceptional service. We need another way for that small retailer to keep its customers and profitability.
- B
A comparison of some chains' margins with some small retailers' margins doesn't show how a particular small retailer can maintain its own profitability under competition. Margins could differ for many reasons. This answer doesn't expose the claim that exceptional service is the required route.
- C
A retailer could care about community service as well as profit. That doesn't answer the conditional question the conclusion addresses: what must a retailer do if it is to maintain profitability? Having other goals doesn't show another way to meet this one.
- D
The conclusion expressly concerns small retailers that are forced to compete with the chains. Retailers outside that group don't test the claim about those inside it. We need a possibility involving a competing small store, not a store facing no such competition.
- ECorrect
Customers may prefer the small store for another reason, such as its distinctive goods or their commitment to supporting local businesses. That gives the store a possible way to retain customers without matching the chain's prices or providing exceptional service. The author has taken one way to preserve the business and treated it as the only way. E exposes the missing alternatives without denying that excellent service can help.
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