Decision Tree vs. Random Forest - Which Algorithm Should you Use?

Let's start with a thought experiment that will illustrate the difference between a decision tree and a random forest model. Suppose a bank has to approve a small loan amount for a customer and the bank needs to make a decision quickly. The bank checks the person's credit history and their financial condition and finds that they haven't re-paid the older loan yet. Hence, the bank rejects the application. But here's the catch – the loan amount was very small for the bank's immense coffers and they could have easily approved it in a very low-risk move. Therefore, the bank lost the chance of making some money.