The following memorandum is from the business manager of Happy Pancake House restaurants."Recently, butter has been replaced by margarine in Happy Pancake House restaurants throughout the southwestern United States. This change, however, has had little im

The decreased number of complaints from the customers at Happy Pancake House in concern with the replacement of butter with margarine is met with self-assumed explanations by the business manager. The lack of complaints could be due to alternative explanations - customer preference to the new taste, similar taste between the two brands, lack of concern to begin the day with a complaint, and habitual use of the term ‘butter’.

The business manager suggests that the reason for the decrease in complaints is because the customers cannot distinguish the difference between butter and margarine. Alternatively, this can be explained by the fact that the customers prefer the new taste of the pancakes with margarine instead of butter. Therefore, 98 % of the customers must be satisfied with the new taste and the other 2% prefer the taste of the previous pancakes with butter. Furthermore, the margarine may have been manufactured to look exactly alike butter. Advanced chemical techniques, although unhealthy, are able to achieve this transformation. Therefore, the customers may be under the impression that the margarine is in fact butter due to similarities in both taste and appearance.

Another alternative explanation for the inability to distinguish between the two could be simply the customer’s nonchalance towards the change. Most customers prefer to steer clear from complaints and arguments at restaurants. Therefore, the customers may prefer to enjoy their breakfast in peace rather than raise petty issues as to why margarine is being served instead of butter. Hence, the 2% who raised the complaints could have been the fastidious customers who prefer their pancakes to be exactly the same as before.

Lastly, the manager suggests that the customers are probably using the term butter to represent both butter and margarine. Alternatively, this could be because the customers prefer using the term butter which is shorter and easier to pronounce unlike margarine. Even if it isn't related to pronunciation or length, both butter and margarine ultimately are used for a similar purpose. Hence, even though the customers are aware that margarine will be served instead of butter their preference to use the term butter to represent either cannot account for the lack of complaints.

The business manager is too quick to assume why 98% of the customers are unable to notice the change from butter to margarine. The human race has a keen eye for detail and especially when it is related to food it is highly unlikely that one cannot spot a simple difference such as a switch from butter to margarine. Thus, the alternative explanations clearly indicate why the remaining customers are satisfied with the change.