Seeking a competitive advantage, some professionalservice firms（for example, firms providi

Seeking a competitive advantage, some professional

service firms(for example, firms providing advertising,

accounting, or health care services) have considered

offering unconditional guarantees of satisfaction. Such

(5) guarantees specify what clients can expect and what the

firm will do if it fails to fulfill these expectations.

Particularly with first-time clients, an unconditional

guarantee can be an effective marketing tool if the

client is very cautious, the firm’s fees are high, the

(10) negative consequences of bad service are grave, or

business is difficult to obtain through referrals and

word-of-mouth.

However, an unconditional guarantee can sometimes

hinder marketing efforts. With its implication that fail-

(15) ure is possible, the guarantee may, paradoxically, cause

clients to doubt the service firm’s ability to deliver the

promised level of service. It may conflict with a firm’s

desire to appear sophisticated, or may even suggest that

a firm is begging for business. In legal and health care

(20) services, it may mislead clients by suggesting that law-

suits or medical procedures will have guaranteed out-

comes. Indeed, professional service firms with outstandin

reputations and performance to match have little to gain

from offering unconditional guarantees. And any firm

(25) that implements an unconditional guarantee without

undertaking a commensurate commitment to quality of

service is merely employing a potentially costly

marketing gimmick.

The primary function of the passage as a whole is to______

A．account for the popularity of a practice

B．evaluate the utility of a practice

C．demonstrate how to institute a practice

D．weigh the ethics of using a strategy

E．explain the reasons for pursuing a strategy