Cable Television Executive:Our service and reliability have increased

I came down to B and D,because clearly the second boldface casts a doubt on the first boldface. I was not able to decide if the first is the conclusion or is the evidence that leads to the conclusion. I marked D because I had a feeling a boldface question like this is supposed to have a conclusion in the argument hence it should be D and not B.

Am I correct in assuming the same ?

Good question - one I actually got wrong by answering E instead of D, but I understand my mistake I think and think I can answer somil -

From the word go - clearly the first sentence in first para is a conclusion - so that wipes out A and B.

Focusing on C, D and E below - clearly its not C as Para 2's boldface is rebutting the first para conclusion.

With E - which was my mistake - it's an "alternative conclusion" - in retrospect it isn't, because the first sentence in para 2 is more closer to an alternative conclusion (still not quite - it still casts doubt). When they say "it could be that xxx has lead to xxx disatisfied customers" it's more giving "evidence" (using that term loosely) to cast doubt on para 1. Hence it is D that's the right answer in reality.

Thanks for posting the question.

A)The first is evidence designed to lead to a conclusion; the second offers further evidence in support of that conclusion.
B)The first is evidence designed to lead to a conclusion; the second offers further evidence designed to cast doubt on that conclusion.
C)The first is a conclusion;the second offers evidence in support of that conclusion.
D)The first is a conclusion;the second offers evidence designed to cast doubt on that conclusion.
E)The first is a conclusion;the second is an alternative conclusion based on the same evidence

I was wavering between D and E as well. I went with D, but I'm not fully convinced. As some others already stated, I think its because the second BF isn't really a conclusion--it certainly is proving a counterpremise/evidence to the first conclusion.

IMHO,I have the same feeling with you.
The second bold face is more likely an alternative interpretation of the claim from Cable Television Customer.

GMATNinja I am stuck here between D and E. Option D definitely isn't an evidence. It is more of a speculation by cable television customer. Option E may not be a conclusion but still seems to be a better choice

Here is a very basic question:
Cable Television Executive: Our service and reliability have increased dramatically over the past year.Our customer service line is receiving 30 percent fewer reports of interrupted service, and the number of subscribers cancelling their accounts is barely half of what it was last year.

Applying the "premise therefore conclusion" I read "Our customer ... it was last year" as the conclusion.
Why did that not work here ?

daagh VeritasKarishma GMATNinja Bunuel GMATWhiz Can you please help us why E cannot be the correct option here as second bold part does not offer any evidence.

The second bold is a repudiation of the first opinion of the conclusion. It is not another or alternate conclusion to support the first one. You can see, the customer is opposing the claim of the official. Hence E is not the answer.
On the contrary, D makes it clear that the company may be at fault because of miscalculation.

Thanks a lot daagh. Your post is quite helpful in explaining the scenario. Can you give a few examples on how to identify an evidence in any given argument?

Executive:
Evidence: customer service line is receiving 30 percent fewer reports of interrupted service, and the number of subscribers cancelling their accounts is barely half of what it was last year.
Conclusion: Our service and reliability have increased dramatically over the past year.

Customer:
Alternative Explanation of the Evidence: customers don't bother to call your customer service line to report problems because they never get any assistance when they do.
the drop-off in the number of cancelled accounts could reflect the fact that nearly all of your dissatisfied customers have already cancelled their accounts.
Conclusion: Your service and reliability may not have improved

Note the roles being played by the two bold statements. Hope it is clear why answer is (D) and not (E).

hi can you further elaborate on D? second part doesnt mention new facts, rather it offers new explanation? how can we say that is evidence / fact?

Official Explanation:

D

Step 1: Identify the Question Type

This stem offers standard language for a Bolded Statement question—it asks us to determine the roles played in the arguments by each of the boldface statements.

Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus

The cable television executive uses evidence of fewer customer complaints and cancellations to conclude that the cable company’s service has improved over the past year. The customer disagrees, providing an alternative explanation for the executive’s evidence. According to the customer, there are fewer cancellations because all the dissatisfied customers have already canceled their accounts, and the decreased number of complaints indicates that frustrated customers have just given up.

Step 3: Predict the Answer

The first bolded statement is the cable executive’s conclusion, and the second bolded statement is evidence from the customer that would support a contradictory conclusion.

Step 4: Evaluate the Choices

(D) is correct; the second statement is designed to cast doubt on the validity of the conclusion in the first. Since the first bolded statement represents the executive’s conclusion, we can eliminate (A) and (B), which characterize this statement as evidence. The customer clearly disagrees with the executive, so we can eliminate (C). (E) is tricky; the second statement does provide an alternate explanation of some of the evidence, but the second statement is not a conclusion, merely a possible interpretation. Always read diligently so that you can avoid half-right, half-wrong answer choices. Choice (D) is correct.