The following appeared as a letter to the editor from a Central Plaza store owner.
"Over the past two years, the number of shoppers in Central Plaza has been steadily decreasing while the popularity of skateboarding has increased dramatically. Many Central Plaza store owners believe that the decrease in their business is due to the number of skateboard users in the plaza. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of litter and vandalism throughout the plaza. Thus, we recommend that the city prohibit skateboarding in Central Plaza. If skateboarding is prohibited here, we predict that business in Central Plaza will return to its previously high levels."

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

Answer:

The above statement claims that there has been a downfall in the count of visitors at Central Plaza Mall in the last two years due to the rise in skateboarding – as stated by the author. Alongside, we also have to note the great possibilities that can affect the popularity other than skateboarding. A big reason could be the emergence of new malls and shops nearby which have come up with the trendiest collections making people opt for them. They are presumably offering great rebates and choices which are making the audience switch places, thereby causing the downfall in business.

Secondly, the claim has very faintly touched the point of skateboarding affecting the business. Skateboarding, as we are aware, is an activity savored for personal joy, and skateboarding inside the mall will indeed make people trip against each other and fall down. Here, the distinction between the normal skateboarders and the vandals will spring up. Vandals produce turmoil which disrupts the normal occurrence of business, thereby causing distress. There might have been infrequent cases of vandals disrupting the peace, and customers having launched complaints and the managers mistaking all the skateboarders as vandals.

Thirdly, a strong argument can be highlighted that the littering might not only be restricted to those skateboarders. Unknowingly, many customers might also have contributed to the act and the blame is completely shifted on the skateboarders. Not maintaining the hygiene and cleanliness of the mall will directly hit the customer’s attention and they will stop approaching.

All the facts catered above sums up the probable reasons for Central Plaza to lose its popularity. For the mall to develop its customer base to the previous level, a strong focus needs to be given to the customer’s preferences and tastes, discounts, collections and prices. Alongside, there should be a revamp of the whole mall pertaining to the latest decorations preferred by people.