At the End of Each Quarter, Merkin's Tire Shop Rewards

Multiple Choice

At the end of each quarter, Merkin's Tire Shop rewards its top salespersons with a $100 gift card to an expensive restaurant. In previous years, at least five salespersons qualified each quarter. In the past year, an average of two salespersons qualified for the $100 gift card. Worried about the effect of declining motivation on his sales staff, Merkin's owner issued a bulletin reminding the sales staff that despite the decline in the number of gift cards distributed, the criterion for issuing the gift cards has never changed, and encouraged them to try to improve their sales.
If the preceding passage is true, which of the following must also be true?

A) The number of salespersons at Merkin's has declined over the last few years.
B) The number of salespersons at Merkin's has increased over the last few years.
C) Some of the best salespersons have left the company.
D) There are external factors, such as an economic recession in the area, negatively affecting Merkin's tire sales.
E) Merkin's expenses from issuing rewards to top salespersons have declined in the past year.