A department store has long used an elevator to take customers to the

Question

A department store has long used an elevator to take customers to the four floors of the building, but the store’s owners are considering adding staircases to avoid the delays caused by large groups of people taking the elevator. According to a survey of the store’s customers, many said that they would prefer to take the stairs rather than the elevator to go from at least one floor to the next. This should lead to all customers being able to get much more quickly from one part of the store to another.

Which of the following is an assumption made by the store’s owners?

(A) It would not be less expensive to add escalators rather than staircases.
(B) The number of customers who shop at the store will not change substantially in the coming years.
(C) The customers who said they would prefer the stairs to the elevator when needing to go from one floor to the next tend to be the younger customers of the store.
(D) The most popular floor for customers is the second.
(E) The customers who participated in the survey took into account that they would be carrying items when going from one part of the store to another.

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Question 45: Department Store Stairs

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Official Answer

E

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callmeDP · Answer

I choose E

(A) It would not be less expensive to add escalators rather than staircases. - cost is not relevant to discussion

(B) The number of customers who shop at the store will not change substantially in the coming years.
- incorrect as I think it is too basic

(C) The customers who said they would prefer the stairs to the elevator when needing to go from one floor to the next tend to be the younger customers of the store. - young or old we are not concerned.

(D) The most popular floor for customers is the second. Nope

(E) The customers who participated in the survey took into account that they would be carrying items when going from one part of the store to another.
Yes, if this was not considered then the argument breaks. Correct

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ashu2526 · Answer

According to me the answer should be D
 
Passage review:  Owner is planning to setup stair as elevators are taking time when a large group comes in and people need to wait even they have to just go a single floor up. Survey says people have no problem in getting one floor by stair.

Now Pre thinking assumption : Large people wait nd this causes inefficiency and more hectic for customers.

Now options: 
A = owner is thinking of efficiency and making things more easy, so money is not a matter
B = owner is showing concerns about current customer than future so again out of scope.
C = In whole passage there is not mentioning of young or old people so again eliminated. Passage is taking customer in general.
D = This might be as its hinting why customers agreed that they can take stairs for a floor as they just have to go one up but they need to wait in general for elevators to have space or wait till it return. (Its the most closest we have got till now)

E = In general with bags no one would like to take stairs so it's a bit odd plus there is not any mentioning that how heavy or how much bags customer generally carry over there so this option also gets ruled out.

Only option so far is D

Answer D

madhsivalenka · Answer

I'd go with (C) - The customers who said they would prefer the stairs to the elevator when needing to go from one floor to the next tend to be the younger customers of the store.

The argument mentions the following -

Notice the jump (and clear generalisation) from "many of the customers" to "all customers".

Negate C - The customers who said they would prefer the stairs to the elevator when needing to go from one floor to the next  DID NOT  tend to be the younger customers of the store.

This weakens the conclusion that ALL customers will be able to get much more quickly from one part of the store to another.

winterschool · Answer

A department store has long used an elevator to take customers to the four floors of the building, but the store’s owners are considering adding staircases to avoid the delays caused by large groups of people taking the elevator. According to a survey of the store’s customers, many said that they would prefer to take the stairs rather than the elevator to go from at least one floor to the next. This should lead to all customers being able to get much more quickly from one part of the store to another.

Which of the following is an assumption made by the store’s owners?

(A) It would not be less expensive to add escalators rather than staircases.  Incorrect

cost is not a fact in argument

(B) The number of customers who shop at the store will not change substantially in the coming years.  Correct

so staircases help customer to get from one part of the store to another and reduce delays, support conclusion

(C) The customers who said they would prefer the stairs to the elevator when needing to go from one floor to the next tend to be the younger customers of the store.  Incorrect

it against argument, staircases less helpful for overall all customer

(D) The most popular floor for customers is the second.  Irrelevant

(E) The customers who participated in the survey took into account that they would be carrying items when going from one part of the store to another.  Incorrect

it weakens survey result

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Official Explanation:

A department store has long used an elevator to take customers to the four floors of the building, but the store’s owners are considering adding staircases to avoid the delays caused by large groups of people taking the elevator. According to a survey of the store’s customers, many said that they would prefer to take the stairs rather than the elevator to go from at least one floor to the next. This should lead to all customers being able to get much more quickly from one part of the store to another.
 
 Which of the following is an assumption made by the store’s owners? 
 
 (A) It would not be less expensive to add escalators rather than staircases. 
 (B) The number of customers who shop at the store will not change substantially in the coming years. 
 (C) The customers who said they would prefer the stairs to the elevator when needing to go from one floor to the next tend to be the younger customers of the store. 
 (D) The most popular floor for customers is the second. 
 (E) The customers who participated in the survey took into account that they would be carrying items when going from one part of the store to another.

Question Type:   Assumption
  Boil It Down:   To reduce wait times at elevators and allow people to traverse the store more quickly, a department store wants to add in staircases. Their main supporting evidence is a survey that showed people prefer using stairs to go from one floor to the next. 
  Goal:    Find the option that best highlights an assumption the department store made about the people participating in the survey that would, in turn, support their decision to add stairs to the store.

Analysis:  
This question asks for an assumption (unstated evidence) supporting the store’s owners conclusion.
 
 Conclusion:  The staircases should lead to all customers being able to get much more quickly from one part of the store to another.
 
 Evidence:  The staircases will be used by enough people that there will be fewer customers waiting for the elevator.
 
If the customers participating in the survey neglected to consider that they would be carrying items from one floor to another, then the survey would be likely to be inaccurate. Choice E states that the participants did NOT neglect to consider this, thus supporting the survey results and the conclusion.
 
(A) It would not be less expensive to add escalators rather than staircases.
 The cost of the plan is not discussed in the argument, so it’s irrelevant.

(B) The number of customers who shop at the store will not change substantially in the coming years.
 This does not need to be assumed. The number could increase, which could make the plan a greater success.

(C) The customers who said they would prefer the stairs to the elevator when needing to go from one floor to the next tend to be the younger customers of the store.
 The age of these people is irrelevant; it’s enough to say that “many” customers said they would prefer the stairs.

(D) The most popular floor for customers is the second.
 This does not need to be assumed. If the first or third floor was the most popular, the plan could still be effective.

(E) The customers who participated in the survey took into account that they would be carrying items when going from one part of the store to another.
 This is the correct choice. If this is true, then the survey results are an even stronger reason why the store should consider putting in stairs.

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A department store has long used an elevator to take customers to the

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