Advertisement: Our competitors' computer salespeople are paid according to the value of the products they sell, so they have a...

GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions

Source: Official Guide

Critical Reasoning

Weaken

HARD

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Notes

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Advertisement: Our competitors' computer salespeople are paid according to the value of the products they sell, so they have a financial incentive to convince you to buy the most expensive units—whether you need them or not. But here at Comput-o-Mart, our salespeople are paid a salary that is not dependent on the value of their sales, so they won't try to tell you what to buy. That means when you buy a computer at Comput-o-Mart, you can be sure you're not paying for computing capabilities you don't need.

Which of the following would, if true, most weaken the advertisement's reasoning?

Some less-expensive computers actually have greater computing power than more expensive ones.

Salespeople who have a financial incentive to make sales generally provide more attentive service than do other salespeople.

Extended warranties purchased for less-expensive computers can cost nearly as much as the purchase price of the computer.

Comput-o-Mart is open only limited hours, which makes it more difficult for many shoppers to buy computers there than at other retail stores.

Comput-o-Mart does not sell any computers that support only basic computing.

Solution

Passage Analysis:

Text from Passage	Analysis
Our competitors' computer salespeople are paid according to the value of the products they sell, so they have a financial incentive to convince you to buy the most expensive units—whether you need them or not.	What it says: Competitor salespeople get paid based on what they sell, so they want customers to buy expensive computers even if customers don't need them What it does: Sets up the problem with competitors that Comput-o-Mart claims to solve What it is: Author's claim about competitor practices
But here at Comput-o-Mart, our salespeople are paid a salary that is not dependent on the value of their sales, so they won't try to tell you what to buy.	What it says: Comput-o-Mart pays salespeople a fixed salary not tied to sales value, so they won't push customers toward any particular purchase What it does: Contrasts Comput-o-Mart's approach with the competitor problem just mentioned What it is: Author's claim about Comput-o-Mart's practices Visualization: Competitor: $\mathrm{Sale\ value = \$3,000 \rightarrow Salesperson\ commission = \$300}$; Comput-o-Mart: $\mathrm{Sale\ value = \$3,000\ or\ \$1,000 \rightarrow Salesperson\ salary = \$2,000/month\ (same\ either\ way)}$
That means when you buy a computer at Comput-o-Mart, you can be sure you're not paying for computing capabilities you don't need.	What it says: Because of their salary structure, customers at Comput-o-Mart won't end up buying more computer than they actually need What it does: Draws the final conclusion from the salary comparison, promising a benefit to customers What it is: Author's main conclusion

Argument Flow:

The argument starts by criticizing competitors for having commission-based pay that motivates salespeople to oversell, then contrasts this with Comput-o-Mart's fixed salary system, and concludes that this salary difference means customers won't buy unnecessary features.

Main Conclusion:

When you buy a computer at Comput-o-Mart, you can be sure you're not paying for computing capabilities you don't need.

Logical Structure:

The argument assumes that the only factor influencing whether salespeople oversell is their pay structure. It links competitor commission → overselling motivation, then links Comput-o-Mart salary → no overselling motivation → customers get exactly what they need.

Prethinking:

Question type:

Weaken - We need to find information that would reduce our belief in the conclusion that customers at Comput-o-Mart won't pay for computing capabilities they don't need

Precision of Claims

The argument makes specific claims about payment structures (commission vs salary) and their effects on salesperson behavior, leading to a definitive conclusion about customer outcomes at Comput-o-Mart

Strategy

To weaken this argument, we need to find scenarios that show why the salary-based payment system might NOT lead to customers getting exactly what they need. We should look for alternative reasons why Comput-o-Mart salespeople might still push customers toward unnecessary purchases, or why the salary system might create different problematic incentives

Answer Choices Explained

Some less-expensive computers actually have greater computing power than more expensive ones.

This doesn't weaken the argument because the argument isn't about the relationship between price and computing power. The argument is about whether salespeople will push customers to buy more than they need. Even if some cheaper computers are more powerful, this doesn't address whether Comput-o-Mart customers avoid unnecessary features.

Salespeople who have a financial incentive to make sales generally provide more attentive service than do other salespeople.

This is irrelevant to the argument. The argument is about whether customers buy unnecessary computing capabilities, not about service quality. Better service doesn't weaken the claim about avoiding unnecessary purchases.

Extended warranties purchased for less-expensive computers can cost nearly as much as the purchase price of the computer.

This is about warranties, not computing capabilities. The argument specifically concludes that customers won't pay for computing capabilities they don't need. Warranty costs are separate from the computer's computing features.

Comput-o-Mart is open only limited hours, which makes it more difficult for many shoppers to buy computers there than at other retail stores.

This affects accessibility but doesn't weaken the argument about whether customers who do shop there avoid unnecessary computing capabilities. Limited hours don't relate to the purchasing decision once customers are in the store.

Comput-o-Mart does not sell any computers that support only basic computing.

This directly weakens the argument because it means all computers at Comput-o-Mart have advanced features beyond basic computing needs. Even if salespeople don't push expensive models due to their salary structure, customers will still end up paying for computing capabilities they don't need simply because basic computers aren't available. The salary system becomes irrelevant when the product selection itself forces customers to buy more than they need.

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