Hi Stu, your in my 'neck of the woods' so you might know us. Your price is actually at the low end. The trouble perhaps though is that you are dealing with the customer as if they were one of your domestic or regular commercial carpet cleaning clients where they know and love what you do and are happy to pay.
The chances are this client has used you for carpet cleaning and been impressed? Then thought .... I will use AA to sort out a problem in my kitchen. You have then made the fatal mistake of not being as professional as you are with your carpet cleaning. This is a commercial client operating in a competitive market. She simply doesn't believe your graft is worth what you have done as she is looking at 'time worked' as if you were a kitchen porter on NMW - a gopher!
This is YOUR fault. The job should have been quoted specifying exactly what you would (and wouldn't do.. floor painting?) and then the price and the payment terms spelled out in black and white. Rentokil-Initial would have charged something like a grand for the same job!
Keep pushing for your cash but start reconciling it in your mind to swallow your pride, write it off to experience then if she appears to be entrenching herself in her position offer to meet halfway between what you want and what she is willing to pay by a date you define.
It sticks in the craw but you will learn from it and believe me the amount you will 'lose' is more than the time you will waste going to a small claims court (which you might lose 'cos everything is verbal) and you might even retain her business in the future, if you want it. But remember to put it in writing the next time.
If your working on Tyneside sometime, give me a shout and visit us. I really liked your website and stuff. If your problem turns worse and you need more advice I'm happy to help, just e-mail me. Best of luck and don't forget sometimes it's better to lose the battle to win the war.
Phil D
i