Posted By: bb7353
Hmmm. Didn't mean to strike a nerve with anybody. Yes, the cost of living has increased, but discretionary spending (spending on things that are luxuries, not necessities) has decreased. More people are eating at McDonalds that at Morton's Steakhouse; hotel rates for folks who aren't traveling on business have gone done (check them out on weekends); housing prices in the Boston area are down 30% (or more in some areas); many people are renting DVD's from Netflix and Redbox for a buck and a quarter instead of dropping $12 to $20 for movie tickets, popcorn, and a soda; the net worth of the average middle-class family has fallen by 40%; ads can be posted for relatively minimal amounts on a number of websites known for advertising the services of providers, and anybody with $50 and a little technical knowledge (or access to search engine results providing instructions) can set up her own website to advertise her services 24/7.  Even if (big if) the price of a Boston-area hotel room has increased an extra $75 a night (and it hasn't), how does it logically follow that a half-hour appointment that once cost $125 should now cost $175 (an increase of 40%)? Yes, the prices on a lot of things have gone up, but that doesn't mean that the price of a half-hour of company (however pleasurable, and let's face it, when meeting new providers, it's often a roll of the dice, right?) is worth an extra 40% for the client. A guy who is looking for a half-hour of diversion will be tempted to skip that half-hour (the client pays for gasoline, too, by the way) as an incredible luxury and may well keep the extra dough for necessities. No one (and not me) is saying that a half-hour of good company should cost less than it did a couple of years ago, but it's basic economics that a provider will risk losing clients if she doesn't limit her fee increases to something reasonable.  Personally, I would think it makes more sense to see another two or three clients a day and build a base of loyal, repeat clients, than try to raise the fee on a half-hour appointment (the economy session, right?) and wind up with fewer clients.  But whatever works for you, that's what I always say . . .