In order to reduce the number of items damaged while in transit to customers, packaging consultants recommended that the TrueSave mail-order company increase the amount of packing material so as to fi ll any empty spaces in its cartons. Accordingly, TrueSave offi cials instructed the company's packers to use more packing material than before, and the packers zealously acted on these instructions and used as much as they could. Nevertheless, customer reports of damaged items rose somewhat.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain why acting on the consultants' recommendation failed to achieve its goal?

• AThe change in packing policy led to an increase in expenditure on packing material and labor.  
• BWhen packing material is compressed too densely, it loses some of its capacity to absorb shock.  
• CThe amount of packing material used in a carton does not signifi cantly infl uence the ease with which a customer can unpack the package.  
• DMost of the goods that TrueSave ships are electronic products that are highly vulnerable to being damaged in transit.  
• ETrueSave has lost some of its regular customers as a result of the high number of damaged items they received.