Chapter 13 Summary

On his third day at Hotel X, the narrator is berated for having a moustache. Plongeurs should not wear moustaches, according to the order of hotel employees.

The narrator then elaborates on the caste system existing in hotels. At the Hotel X, there is a staff of 110 employees, and each employee fits in somewhere in the hierarchy. Highest of all is the manager. They have never seen the patron. All they know about him is that his meals must be prepared more carefully than those of the customers. Below the manager comes the maitre d'hotel. He makes 200 franks a day. The headwaiter is next, aking 5000 franks a month. The chef du personnel is next, making only 1500 franks a month but not having to do any manual labor. The other cooks are next, making between 3000 and 750 per month. The waiters are next, making 70 franks...