SajjadAhmad wrote:
A poll conducted last month suggested that a McDonald’s branch with a displayed specials menu was more likely to sell super-size meals, even if they weren’t specials. The manager of McDonald’s came to the conclusion that having a displayed specials menu makes customers more likely to super-size orders since the specials menu features large, mouth-watering images of food.
Which of the following, if true, would bolster the McDonald’s manager’s interpretation?
A. According to the poll, customers who ordinarily super-sized their orders tended to order less food when the specials menu was not displayed.
B. 80% percent of those surveyed who ordered the super-sized meals did not order a special.
C. When the specials menu was taken down to be cleaned, no one purchased any specials.
D. Most of the customers who super-sized their orders responded that they had seen the specials menu prior to ordering.
E. The Burger King restaurant next door without a specials menu reported fewer “super-size” sales than the surveyed restaurant.
Source: Www.GmatPracticeQuestions.Com
Difficulty Level: 750
- A poll suggested that a branch with a displayed specials menu was more likely to sell super size meals
- the specials menu features large, mouth-watering images of food
Conclusion: Hence, displaying specials menu makes customers more likely to super-size orders
We need to strengthen this cause - displaying "specials menu" leads to more "super size orders"
A. According to the poll, customers who ordinarily super-sized their orders tended to order less food when the specials menu was not displayed.
The absence of specials menu led to fewer super sized orders. So it does make sense that the displaying of specials menu was leading to more super-size orders. Hence this makes our conclusion more likely.
"Customers who ordinarily super-sized their orders" means "people who usually bought big meals". So it says that the same people who bought big meals usually started buying small meals when the specials menu was not displayed. So it does seem that their buying big meals had something to do with the display of specials menu. Otherwise, same people, same place, the only difference was the display of that menu.
B. 80% percent of those surveyed who ordered the super-sized meals did not order a special.
Whether people ordered special meals or not is irrelevant. They ordered big meals is the only thing under scanner.
C. When the specials menu was taken down to be cleaned, no one purchased any specials.
Again, whether people purchased specials meals or not is irrelevant. We needed info on what happened to super-size orders when the specials board was taken down.
D. Most of the customers who super-sized their orders responded that they had seen the specials menu prior to ordering.
Note that if you display a board, it is likely that most people who walk in will see it. People ordering super sized food had seen it does not help much. If we additionally get to know that people who did not order super size meals had NOT SEEN the board, then that would create the link. People who saw the board ordered big meals, people who did not see it did not order big meals.
E. The Burger King restaurant next door without a specials menu reported fewer “super-size” sales than the surveyed restaurant.
What happens at the Burger King does not impact us at all. Different brands.
Answer (A)
This reminds me of another question:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/studies-in-r ... dit%20cardThank you for your response.
Author just tells us that display of something led to more order. What I thought is that we have to strengthen this link. That is why I Thot that for this link to be effective people actually have to notice the display ... But now I think it is actually implicit and not some new info ...am I right??? Also I Thot that seeing the display me actually give us that feeling of ordering more. Now is this already implicit??
Choice A is the classic : no cause no effect... But why precisely isn't D right?? If the customers actually did see the display then that connect the cause and effect even more... We are just given 2 instances and then concluded a cause and effect but we are not given any actual cause and effect...so D actually gives us a link right, albeit a very indirect one... please explain...
Also in A we are only talking about a specific group "who ORDINARILY order supersizrf food" so can we safely assume that this group is representative of entire group??