“The Lovin’ Cupful franchises in our northeast region have begun servi

“The Lovin’ Cupful franchises in our northeast region have begun serving customers Almost, a brand new powdered instant tea, in place of brewed tea. Waiters report that only about 2 percent of the customers have complained, and that customers who want refills typically ask for ‘more tea.’ It appears, then, that 98 percent of the customers are perfectly happy with the switch, or else they cannot tell powdered instant from brewed tea. Therefore, in order to take advantage of the lower price per pound of Almost, all of our restaurants should begin substituting it for brewed tea.” (97)

In the preceding argument, the author states that the Lovin’ Cupful franchises have started serving their customers a brand new powdered instant tea called Almost, instead of the brewed category. According to the waiters’ report, 98% of the customers are satisfied with the new introduction else they are unable to recognize the variety of the tea which they have been served. Since, only a negligible 2% complained about Almost, the author concludes that all the restaurants should start selling the instant variety of tea in order to take advantage of the lower price of the same. The above argument falls short of considering relevant parameters before drawing the conclusion and therefore seems obscure and logically flawed.

To begin with, the author readily believes the validity of the report presented by the waiters to reach the above conclusion without verifying their claims. To evaluate the waiters’ statements the author should have considered direct feedback from the customers who have consumed both the brewed tea as well as the instant variety from any Lovin’ Cupful franchise. Moreover, apart from the 98% customers as mentioned in the argument, no exact figures have been provided to prove the total number of customers who visited the Lovin’ Cupful franchise restaurants, consumed Almost, the instant tea or other beverages for a particular time period. Hence, the waiters’ claims become totally unfathomable and in need of further assessment.

Secondly, the author fails to consider the fact that the customers who asked for ‘more tea’ might have stated their preference to the waiters at the beginning of their orders. Nowhere in the argument, it has been mentioned that those customers were specifically asking for the instant category. Some customers may fail to recognize the variety of tea being served while others might have not bothered to complain. The customers, who drank Almost, whether asked for the same tea on their next visits, need to be evaluated as well. In the absence of these data, it is difficult to analyze whether the switch from the brewed to instant category will work in the longer run for Lovin’ Cupful or any other restaurants.

In addition, every restaurant has a different kind of customer base on the basis of the variety of the cuisine they offer. Hence, the preference of the customers should be of primary importance. For instance, if in a particular restaurant or café, the customers prefer the brewed category of tea, it will be a high risk to the business if the oweners shift to the instant category just to add a few percentages to the profit and directly assuming that none of the customers will be able to recognize the difference. In a way, that will be a form of cheating. Customers’ choices are to be evaluated properly in a couple of trial runs before introduction of Almost, permanently to the menu. Therefore, it is premature to arrive at a conclusion just on the basis of the report of one particular franchise.

Furthermore, many companies during the introduction of their products in the market, often pay commissions or offer heavy discounts to their client base in return of positive feedback, to parlay the brand popularity within a short span of time. A similar case could have occurred with the Lovin’ Cupful where the waiters might have been offered commissions to covey good responses from the customers even when it was not the case. Finally, it can be said that the sole report by the waiters of only a single franchise is not sufficient enough to consider switching from the brewed category to the instant tea for all the restaurants.

To conclude, the argument is enfeebled by the assumptions based only on the unverified data of the waiters’ report. Better justifications should have been rendered by the the author for proper evaluation of the argument and to make the same more comprehensible to the readers. Otherwise it remains unconvincing and debatable in many aspects.