LSAT 141 – Section 2 – Question 02

LSAT 141 - Section 2 - Question 02

September 2014

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT141 S2 Q02
+LR
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
2%
157
B
1%
153
C
2%
155
D
5%
156
E
91%
163
128
138
149
 +Easier 146.882 +SubsectionMedium

Jeneta: Increasingly, I’ve noticed that when a salesperson thanks a customer for making a purchase, the customer also says “Thank you” instead of saying “You’re welcome.” I’ve even started doing that myself. But when a friend thanks a friend for a favor, the response is always “You’re welcome.”

"Surprising" Phenomenon

Why do we say “You’re welcome” when a friend thanks us for doing him a favor, but when a salesperson thanks a customer for buying something, the customer also says, “Thank you,” instead of “You’re welcome”?

Objective

The correct answer should tell us about a difference between the salesperson-customer context and the friend-friend context that could explain why a customer says “Thank you” whereas a friend says “You’re welcome.”

A
Customers regard themselves as doing salespeople a favor by buying from them as opposed to someone else.

This would lead us to expect customers to say “You’re welcome.”

B
Salespeople are often instructed by their employers to thank customers, whereas customers are free to say what they want.

Even if customers are free to say whatever they want, why do they say “Thank you” instead of “You’re welcome”? This answer doesn’t provide a theory.

C
Salespeople do not regard customers who buy from them as doing them a favor.

This relates to the salesperson’s motivations for she says. But it doesn’t tell us about the customer’s.

D
The way that people respond to being thanked is generally determined by habit rather than by conscious decision.

We have no reason to think that customers would develop a habit of saying “Thank you” instead of “You’re welcome.” This doesn’t provide a theory for how customers began to say “Thank you” to salespeople.

E
In a commercial transaction, as opposed to a favor, the customer feels that the benefits are mutual.

In the salesperson-customer context (commercial transaction), the customer feels benefited, which is why they say “Thank you.” In the friend-friend favor context, the person who does the favor doesn’t necessarily feel mutual benefit. This is why he says “You’re welcome.”

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LSAT PrepTest 141 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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