My mum needs to get some decorating done in her house, so she asked a decorator to give her a quote. It’s not a big job: a couple of ceilings, a hallway and two rooms. The quote for that little lot? £160 for paint, and a further £1,600 for labour. You could build the pyramids for less.
The problem is the Itsawoman Supplement, which is charged by an awful lot of tradesmen. The formula is simple:
* Work out how big the job is
* Work out how many days it will take you/your team
* If the customer is a man, multiply the time by your daily rate. That’s the price.
* If the customer is a woman, double the time, multiply it by your daily rate, double that, and then add a bit on. That’s the price.
It’s sexism, pure and simple, but unfortunately it’s very common. A plasterer tried the same thing with my wife a few months back: the price he’d agreed with me was around £600 (it was a fair bit of work) but when I wasn’t around and Liz asked for the final price, it had miraculously jumped to £1,000. Liz chased him halfway up the street and I think he was genuinely afraid for his life. Hopefully he’s learned a valuable lesson, but somehow I doubt it.
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0 responses to “The Itsawoman Supplement”
Hmmm, it hardly seems fair when you think that the woman is more likely to be making teas and coffee for the tradesmen while they’re there!
Pours himself a whiskey and sits back and sips
You know the more positive way of looking at things Gary, my son, is to realise that you got an Itsaman Discount. Be proud of it. It’s the Tao of Man to getsomething for the least possible effort :)