bsudharsan wrote:
It was widely speculated that business at The Treatery, which happened to be the only restaurant on Hailey's Lane a year ago, would decline upon the opening of Coftea Times, its sole competitor at the moment, on the very same lane just opposite it. Surprisingly, the average number of meals served at The Treatery has gone up remarkably in the past 12 months.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the increase in the number of meals served at The Treatery?
(A) The Treatery serves more meals on weekends than it does on weekdays, unlike Coftea Times, which actually serves more meals on weekdays than it does on weekends.
(B) Several waiters formerly employed at The Treatery now work for Coftea Times.
(C) Taking a leaf out of Coftea Times's book, The Treatery has brought in many discount offers in the past 12 months.
(D) Almost all the patrons of The Treatery had never dined on Hailey's Lane before Coftea Times opened.
(E) The number of people coming to Hailey's Lane has quadrupled in the past one year.
To solve this question, you may adopt
IMS's four-step technique.
STEP #1:
IDENTIFY THE QUESTION TYPE BY READING THE QUESTION STEMThe question stem states, 'Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the increase in the number of meals served at The Treatery?' Clearly, we are dealing with a resolve/explain/paradox question. Now that we know what the question type is, we may proceed to the second step.
STEP #2:
FIGURE OUT THE PARADOXIn a paradox question, it is a must to figure out the paradox. In order to that, we must understand what the surprise element in the para is.
PARADOX: Despite the opening of Coftea Times a year ago, the average number of meals served at The Treatery, which is the sole competitor of Coftea Times, has gone up remarkably in the past 12 months.
Ideally speaking, the average number of meals should have gone down considering a competitor has come up; however, there is an increase in the average number of meals. What we need to do as solvers is simply resolve this paradox! Now that the paradox is figured out, we may proceed to the third step.
STEP #3:
KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT ANSWER OPTION SHOULD DOIn a paradox question, the right answer must explain the surprise element. In this case, the right answer should be introducing a situation that explains how the increase in the average number of meals happened at The Treatery after the opening of Coftea Times, its sole competitor. Now that we know what the right answer needs to be doing, we may proceed to the final step.
STEP #4:
ELIMINATE INCORRECT ANSWER OPTIONSAnswer options that are one-sided, those that make the paradox worse instead of resolving, and the ones that go beyond the scope of the para can be eliminated.
(A) The Treatery serves more meals on weekends than it does on weekdays, unlike Coftea Times, which actually serves more meals on weekdays than it does on weekends. -
OUT OF SCOPE -
Whether the restaurants serve more meals on weekdays or weekends is irrelevant. By this logic, it is possible for The Treatery to serve 100 meals on weekends and just 75 on weekdays, and for Coftea Times to serve 75 meals on weekends and 100 on weekdays. The paradox will still remain unresolved! -
ELIMINATE(B) Several waiters formerly employed at The Treatery now work for Coftea Times. -
OUT OF SCOPE -
The fact that Coftea Times has recruited waiters that worked for The Treatery before does not explain why the average number of meals at The Treatery went up remarkably in the past 12 months. -
ELIMINATE(C) Taking a leaf out of Coftea Times's book, The Treatery has brought in many discount offers in the past 12 months. -
ONE-SIDED -
That discount offers allure customers is a given, not stated! Also, it is not something that can help us explain why the remarkable increase in the average number of meals happened. Keep in mind that Coftea Times too has discount offers, so the customers still have a choice. Bringing in discount offers could have been a strategy to even avoid losing more customers. -
ELIMINATE(D) Almost all the patrons of The Treatery had never dined on Hailey's Lane before Coftea Times opened. -
EXPLAINS THE INCREASE -
So, if the The Treatery has 100 patrons (customers) at the moment, we can say 98 of them had never dined on Hailey's Lane before Coftea Times opened. More patrons dining translates to increase in the average number of meals. This resolves the paradox by explaining the increase. -
KEEP(E) The number of people coming to Hailey's Lane has quadrupled in the past one year. -
OUT OF SCOPE -
People coming to the lane where the restaurant is situated cannot explain the remarkable increase unless they came to dine at The Treatery, which, by the way is not given. -
ELIMINATEHence, D is the right answer.