V38-13

Question

Health Club Advertisement: Other health clubs in the area pay their personal trainers based on the number of clients they see each day, which may encourage trainers to rush through sessions to fit in more clients. However, at Fitness Hub, our personal trainers are paid a fixed salary regardless of the number of clients they train each day, so they have no incentive to rush sessions. Therefore, when you join Fitness Hub, you can be sure that you will receive thorough and unrushed training sessions, maximizing your fitness results.
 
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the advertisement's reasoning?

A. Trainers at Fitness Hub are evaluated based on client satisfaction, which can lead to trainers spending more time with each client to ensure positive feedback.
B. Other health clubs in the area offer a wider range of fitness classes than Fitness Hub, attracting a broader clientele.
C. Many of the personal trainers at Fitness Hub are inexperienced and recently certified, which could affect the quality of the training sessions.
D. Fitness Hub has a significantly higher membership fee compared to other local health clubs, which could deter potential members.
E. Fitness Hub allocates a fixed amount of time for each session, and trainers are required to adhere strictly to these time slots.

Bunuel · Answer

Official Solution:

Health Club Advertisement: Other health clubs in the area pay their personal trainers based on the number of clients they see each day, which may encourage trainers to rush through sessions to fit in more clients. However, at Fitness Hub, our personal trainers are paid a fixed salary regardless of the number of clients they train each day, so they have no incentive to rush sessions. Therefore, when you join Fitness Hub, you can be sure that you will receive thorough and unrushed training sessions, maximizing your fitness results.
 
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the advertisement's reasoning?

A. Trainers at Fitness Hub are evaluated based on client satisfaction, which can lead to trainers spending more time with each client to ensure positive feedback.
B. Other health clubs in the area offer a wider range of fitness classes than Fitness Hub, attracting a broader clientele.
C. Many of the personal trainers at Fitness Hub are inexperienced and recently certified, which could affect the quality of the training sessions.
D. Fitness Hub has a significantly higher membership fee compared to other local health clubs, which could deter potential members.
E. Fitness Hub allocates a fixed amount of time for each session, and trainers are required to adhere strictly to these time slots.

Correct Answer: E. Fitness Hub allocates a fixed amount of time for each session, and trainers are required to adhere strictly to these time slots. 
 
(E) undermines the advertisement's claim that trainers at Fitness Hub will not rush their sessions. The argument states that customers will experience thorough and unrushed training sessions, which in turn produce great results.
 
The conclusion is that you will receive thorough and unrushed training. Maximizing results is not the conclusion but a side effect. Note that the argument does not say that quality instructors produce great results or that cheap or expensive or wide selection of training sessions produce great results - only thorough and unrushed sessions is the recipe. However, if there is a strict adherence to fixed session times, this would limit trainers’ ability to provide thorough and unrushed training, regardless of their salary structure. Inevitably trainers will have to either be rushed or provide an incomplete session if the client starts a few minutes late, takes longer to complete the training, chats with the trainer takes a slightly longer break, or a myriad of other reasons that will some sessions to be rushed, thus challenging the advertisement's main selling point and weakening the reasoning.
 
 A. Trainers at Fitness Hub are evaluated based on client satisfaction, which can lead to trainers spending more time with each client to ensure positive feedback. 
 
(A) actually supports the advertisement’s argument by suggesting that trainers have a motive to focus on quality, not weaken it. Eliminate.
 
 B. Other health clubs in the area offer a wider range of fitness classes than Fitness Hub, attracting a broader clientele. 
 
(B) is irrelevant for the argument as we are not concerned with attraction or clientele or options offered. Eliminate.
 
 C. Many of the personal trainers at Fitness Hub are inexperienced and recently certified, which could affect the quality of the training sessions. 
 
Trap answer. We need to weaken advertising reasoning. You may be tempted to jump to the conclusion of great results. However, we are not concerned with the quality of the sessions but with thorough and unrushed training, where great results is a resulting effect of those two ingredients. Thus we cannot skip thorough and unrushed sessions and jump to the conclusion of great results. Great results is not the conclusion by itself but a part of the package, making this choice a subtle but wrong option.
 
 D. Fitness Hub has a significantly higher membership fee compared to other local health clubs, which could deter potential members. 
 
(D) does not weaken the argument that Fitness Hub trainers provide unrushed sessions and help maximize fitness results. Higher fees do not change the reasoning. Irrelevant. Eliminate.

Answer: E

Chimz · Answer

GMAT Olympics verbal question, glad that I got right this time

terminatork07 · Answer

With E you are making an assumption that the allocated fixed time is not enough to provide a unrushed session. E is vague at best, subject to both positive and negative interpretations.
 
Fitness Hub allocates a fixed amount of time for each session? 
1. Positive interpretation - Fixed time allocation is enough to train the people in an unrushed manner.
2. Negative interpretation - Maybe they rush the sessions if the allocated time is not enough.

It all depends on how you define the allocated time...

hr1212 · Answer

You're right,  terminatork07 . Option E could be interpreted in more than one way. But in the context of a weaken question, the bar isn’t as high as it is for inference or assumption questions. A weakener doesn't need to completely dismantle the argument; even one plausible way in which it casts doubt on the conclusion can make it a valid contender.
As you pointed out, option E specifically addresses the time factor, which is central to the conclusion claiming that the sessions are “unrushed.” The way E is framed suggests there's some limitation to this session, which introduces a direct challenge to the conclusion’s main point. Compared to the other options, E is the only one that directly targets the core of the argument, making it the strongest candidate.

Prashrat · Answer

should we also choose E because
 option E(they have to strictly adhere to restrictions) weakens the claim, "so they have no incentive to rush sessions"

hr1212 · Answer

Yes, that's exactly the point. The advertising message is completely at odds with the strict instructions given to trainers.

liberoasperiores · Answer

Hi @hr1212

Now I totally get why E over C; but this is what went through in those few minutes.

It was down to option C and E for me.

"if there is a strict adherence to fixed session times, this would limit trainers’ ability to provide thorough and unrushed training, regardless of their salary structure."

I eliminated option E because condition is unknown. It may be that given the fixed slot the practice could be flexible.

I chose C to tackle "thorough" part of the session.

Please help in clarifying.

hr1212 · Answer

I think this is an example of getting carried away with the options, which is fairly common. My advice is to pause on the argument and pick out the key details.

Other health clubs -> pay per client -> rush through sessions
 Fitness Hub -> fixed salary -> thorough and non rushed sessions

What’s the assumption here?

The argument is mainly focusing on rushed vs non rushed sessions, so that’s an important detail we need to pick up, and that is what the right choice should revolve around. Does a fixed salary lead to thorough and non rushed sessions? Not really. What if these trainers become lax because there are no incentives, or what if some external factor forces them to rush even if they are not paid per client.

This is the kind of analysis you should do before jumping to the options, because now you have narrowed down the possibilities.

Now, if you read E, you know it directly fits in your initial analysis. Remember, you are right in assuming that these fixed slot sessions could be structured in multiple flexible ways, but the point here is whether that limits the trainer’s ability to be flexible with clients. If yes, then I would say it’s not thorough and non rushed.

With C, it’s a possibility that these trainers are new, but is the advertisement even claiming otherwise? Also, I don’t completely agree that new trainers cannot deliver good quality sessions, because even if they were not previously certified, they could still easily be a good coach. So that option is trying to pull your thoughts tangentially into topics that are not core to the argument, if you missed what you needed to focus on.

V38-13

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