The following appeared in an Avia Airlines departmental memorandum.
"On average, 9 out of every 1,000 passengers who traveled on Avia Airlines last year filed a complaint about our baggage-handling procedures. This means that although some 1 percent of our passengers were unhappy with those procedures, the overwhelming majority were quite satisfied with them; thus it would appear that a review of the procedures is not important to our goal of maintaining or increasing the number of Avia's passentere."
Discuss how well reasoned...etc.
Gina's argument:
This memorandum begins with the impressive statistic that on average, 9 out of every 1,000 passengers who traveled on Avia Airlines last year filed a complain about its baggage-handling procedures. This less than perfect rating has led the writer of the memo to conclude that a review of the procedures is not important to its goal of maintaining or increasing the number of Avia's passengers. I do not find this memo well reasoned because the statistics presented here misrepresent the seriousness of the problem.
First of all, it is a well-known fact that not all unhappy customers file a compleint. The complaint filed by 9 out of every 1,000 passengers is like to be seen as merely the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, Avia Airlines should not take such a complacent attitude toward its baggage-handling service. Second, a passenger angry enough to file a complaint is most likely not going to be an Avia frequent flyer. That is, if 9 out of every 1,000 passengers never choose Avia Airlines again, the memo's claim that no review of its current service is necessary is wrong. Last but not least, word-of-mouth is by far the most potent form of advertising as well as the cheapest. The unsatisfied customers will undoubtedly tell their friends and co-workers to avoid travelling on Avia, thereby contributing to a decline in passengers.
In conclusion, the argument is not entirely logically convicing because it ignores the so-called silent majority. The fact that only one percent of the passengers were unhappy with Avia's service does not necessarily mean that the overwhelming majority were quite satisfied with the airline. Finally, it is hoped that success-oriented airlines should strive toward a goal of flawlessness to serve their passengers.
