I've had similar experiences. Don't get me wrong, I have had some good work, and a few commercial jobs, but I have also had idiots wanting carpets cleaned for £5-£10 each...Had two people ask me to breakdown my price for £70 wool carpet to be cleaned.
My reply: my time, fuel, van tax, van insurance, van MOT, public liability insurance, my tax, my NI, safecontractor approved, and machine wear and tear, not forgetting the cleaning solutions.
I got the job after all that.