Exactly! But too, retention is our incentive to consistently give our clients quality experiences: so they will want to come back again.
And the other side of this is, what happens if he does return? He will likely expect the same rate.
Some have pointed out that there may be conditions under which it might be preferable for an SP to accept a lower rate than to have no business at all -- and there's some truth to that. But if the customer wants to return, when conditions are more favourable, now what does she do? Does she give him the appointment and then kick herself when someone willing to pay her full rate asks to book that same slot? Does she cancel with the lower paying guy and take the better business? Does she tell the lower paying guy that she can't confirm for sure until ten minutes before the appointment, so she can be free to take someone willing to pay her full rate until the last minute?
And what if there's more than one guy like this who wants to repeat? Now she has two classes of clientele: preferred and second class. That would be a pain to manage, I'm sure.
And so really, what is our incentive to give someone who pays less the type of service that will ensure his return? Why not just take his money and put as little effort in as possible?
I recently went through a prolonged exchange of email with some fellow who figured I should give him a significantly lower rate (we're talking less than my half hour rate for several hours of my time, because he doesn't like to rush). He tried very hard to make me feel guilty, asking me to look inside myself and see if I wasn't just being selfish and greedy, that I couldn't reach out and do something for another human being. Nice try, but I don't feel at all guilty. Reason? Like everyone else here, SP and hobbyist alike, there are luxuries that I might enjoy having, but I either can't afford them or I couldn't justify paying that much for them. This isn't anyone else's fault, and I neither blame anyone else for the fact that I'm not having these things, nor do I feel that anyone owes it to me to give them to me for less.
There are few people in this world for whom money is truly no object. The rest of us have limits on our budgets, and we accept that. There's always the option to make more or spend less elsewhere to find the money.