27.

John McGregor thanks you. You go and speak to his chalet girl. She gets angry at your implication that the cooking could be more varied. She suggests that McGregor is a trouble-maker and complains to her about everything. With reference to the coffee, she asks if you realise what coffee costs now and says that all the chalet girls have been told to make weak, instant coffee in order to keep costs down. She angrily offers you the job of making her tiny budget stretch to three meals a day for twelve hungry skiers.

You agree it must be difficult to work on a small budget but explain that McGregor could encourage everyone to complain if some concession isn't made to him. You suggest she pin up the week's menus in advance, so that members of the group can eat elsewhere if they do not like a particular meal. You also suggest that as a special concession, she serve Italian-style coffee, but after dinner only, and that if there is any problem with paying for this, you will check with the office in London.

Go on to 22 to hear whether this satisfies John McGregor.