PrepTest 141, Section 2, Question 2
Jeneta: Increasingly, I've noticed that when a salesperson(40 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(14 more words not shown)
- ACustomers regard themselves(14 more words not shown)
- BSalespeople are often(16 more words not shown)
- CSalespeople do not(11 more words not shown)
- DThe way that(15 more words not shown)
- EIn a commercial(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
You give the restaurant ten dollars; the restaurant gives you a burrito. Both sides got something they wanted. It makes sense for both to say “Thank you.”
Now imagine picking up a friend at the airport as a favor. Your friend thanks you for spending the time and making the drive, and you say “You're welcome.” In that exchange, you aren't receiving a purchased product or service in return. You're acknowledging the favor you did.
What we’re looking for
That difference gives us a prediction for this explanation question: a purchase feels mutually beneficial, while doing a friend a favor feels like providing a benefit. We need to explain why the person being thanked responds differently in those two situations. Explaining only why a salesperson says thanks would leave the customer's response unexplained.
Working the answers
- A
This pushes toward the response we're trying to distinguish from a purchase. If customers view buying as doing salespeople a favor, we'd expect the same kind of acknowledgment as with a favor for a friend: “You're welcome.” It doesn't explain why the customers thank the salesperson instead.
- B
An employer's instructions could explain why the salesperson says “Thank you.” But that isn't the puzzling response. Why does the customer answer with thanks at the store and with “You're welcome” after doing a friend a favor? Being free to choose a response doesn't explain which response someone chooses.
- C
This tells us how salespeople view the purchase, not why customers feel moved to thank them. A salesperson's belief that the customer hasn't done a favor doesn't establish that the customer received a benefit or explain the contrast with a friend's favor. We still lack the customer's reason for the different response.
- D
People could have different habits for different situations, so habit doesn't require everyone to give the same response. But simply saying “It's habit” leaves the relevant difference unexplained. What about purchases produces one response, while favors produce the other? D doesn't tell us.
- ECorrect
This gives us the mutual benefit we predicted. The salesperson appreciates the business, and the customer appreciates the product or service. Both have something to thank the other for. In the favor situation, by contrast, the person who provided the favor acknowledges the friend's gratitude with “You're welcome.” The answer explains both responses through the different way the exchange feels.
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