Perhaps to clarify
1stly - thx Lucy for the information and i can appreciate what you are saying. A reasonable travel cost is fair. In Qld the WL's are not allowed have security as i understand it.
2ndly - perhaps "justify" was not the correct word. Before everyone gets on the band wagon, yes anyone can charge what they want, but as a consumer cant we ask how is that charge justified. You only have to look at all the hype that goes on over fuel prices, interest rates etc etc. Only yesterday I had a bobcat in and was charged one hrs travel time - reasonable cost and standard, but by crikey if he wanted to charge 2hrs, id be asking him to justify that.
3rdly - further to above, my point re "justify" was more in comparison to a WL offering incall services who have to pay rent, supply towels (which a wl offering outcalls doesnt) and still have all the other costs associated with the job. I would have thought a WL offering incalls would have higher overheads.
4thly - Lucy made an interesting point about "exposure costs" something i'd never considered, but really thats a risk us mp.nets take too. I visited a WL once who lived in the same street as one of my customers at the time , and who drove past as i was pulling up so yes we also have "exposure risks" I wonder if had forked out for a $200+ room only to later be told by the WL "sorry they won't allow me in" who's out of pocket the most. The poor old mp.net.
and lucky last - this post wasn't to be a yet another whinge about prices, as it is my choice who I see and where I spend my money. It is more about highlightly that behind these transactions is the mp.net, and perhaps the WL's might like to consider the mp.nets (there customers) when deciding how they operate their business. The WL in question may have done that and is only really looking for the rich executive businessman and as such set the price at the level she has so as only to attract that type of client.
PS. look at Candy's special for instance. Yes it does intice the mp.net to spend more, but still value for money in my opinion and suits the needs of Candy. And as Candy said - higher price doesnt mean better quality.