Logical Reasoning

PT135 · S2 · Q3 Banking analyst: Banks often

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Banking analyst: Banks often offer various services to new customers at no charge.

Conclusion

Offering free services to new customers is not an ideal practice.

Evidence

Regular, long-term customers who comprise the bulk of a bank’s business are excluded from these offers.

Evaluation

We might strengthen this argument by supporting the missing bridge idea: . But we could also strengthen by ruling out objections. How might someone defend giving freebies to new customers? They could say, , so we could strengthen by saying something like . A defender of this plan might say, , so we could strengthen by saying .

Goal

We want an answer that makes it sound like a bad idea to offer freebies to new customers while denying them to the majority of your customers, the regulars.

3.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the banking analyst's argument?

  1. Most banks have similar charges

    Irrelevant Distinction / Opposite

    If anything, someone might use this to weaken the argument by saying, “Look, banks are basically all offering the same thing: same charges / same rates. So, in order to win new customers, we need to offer them these special freebies.”

    1% picked this

  2. Correct

    Banks do best when offering

    Why this is right

    Is a free service a special privilege? That seems fair. If so, this answer says that banks would do better to only offer special stuff to the regular loyal customers. If offering special stuff to new customers is not how banks do best, then it’s not ideal.

    Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    85% picked this

  3. Offering services at no charge

    Opposite

    This comes from a weakening place. “You hate this idea? Well, what do you propose then, author? That we give free stuff to everyone? That’s not tenable.” The author isn’t asking us to choose between giving free stuff to newbies vs. free stuff to everyone. She could simply be arguing, “Don’t give free stuff to newbies (or anyone).”

    5% picked this

  4. Once they have chosen a

    Opposite

    This could somewhat weaken. It has the effect of, “Don’t worry about the regular customers, author. Once they’ve chosen this bank, they’re sticking with it. Missing out on the free stuff we offer to newbies isn’t going to motivate them to switch banks.”

    7% picked this

  5. Some banks that offer services

    Too Weak / Opposite

    Not only is this answer too weakly worded to likely be correct, it is going the wrong direction. Our author is trying to show that offering free stuff to new people is not ideal, but this answer is saying that some banks that do it are very successful.

    1% picked this

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