This is actually a really good point for discussion. Rural work is more spaced out and often further to get to and hence less popular.
We could start by looking at the trades that have a call-out charge. If you phone a plumber, an electrician, even a taxi then they will make a charge to come out to you. But a WC with a call-out charge is pretty rare.
The problem is how the general public perceives different trades. In the old days the village probably had one WC and one milkman who covered a few villages. Now lots of people are gunning for the work so instead of getting 30 houses in a village it can sometimes be only one. This one customer can often end up costing more in time and fuel than the value of the job.
I recently spoke to a rural WC who said that he couldn't even contemplate earning more than £100 a day, and that was a good day. On the other hand none of his customers would entertain a cheaper quote from a new WC. When I asked him if he could put his prices up he said "Definitely, but I don't want to."
I suppose the ultimate question is what price do we put on 'van time'? Van time is the time you spend in the van driving to the next customer. You're using fuel and rubber and you're not earning. Should you be paid for that? And if not, then why should plumbers etc be paid for theirs?
Being a tradesman/tradeswoman now is probably more highly competitive than it has ever been. When recession bites it is well known that a lot of people turn to the most convenient solution to make a living and that is on top of the fact that WFP has made WC a far more attractive option to outsiders looking for a career. But I maintain that all work has a value and if someone is out in the sticks then they should expect to pay a premium. In other words I wouldn't reduce my margin to service a customer and then take the money from the closely spaced customers. By all means do rural but make sure it isn't costing you to do it.
As for me I'm a wheelie bin cleaner. I spin your bin for £2.50. But I'm in a town that is surrounded by villages. In fact the population of the villages within a ten mile radius is greater than that of the town. If a village calls me it's £20 for up to 5 miles or £30 for up to 10 miles (but I will also clean two bins for that price if they're both empty). Why so expensive? Because by the time I've driven out there, had a chat with the proud bin owner, cleaned the bin and come back I could have cleaned 10 bins in town. Take it or leave it.
It's amazing how many take it
