To increase this clients charge ?

sack her off she is using you

Not asking you before putting in her will that you would look after her pet is a massive cheek. Does she pay you to look after it now?

Shecsounds massively selfish and entitled.

She is completely unreasonable to expect a discount in the first place and should accept an increase without complaint. You have to pay your own bills and it's totally reasonable to put your prices up given the huge rise in the COL. I would never expect a friend to do work for me at less than the going rate. Don't let her emotionally blackmail you when you see her - tell her you simply cannot afford to use your valuable time to work for low pay. Good luck - it's not you, it's her!

And THAT is pure manipulation

dont fall for that. That’s the low blow that has you bringing out the red card

Say you’re happy to look in and care for pet while she’s on holiday…

(when’s the last holiday YOU took btw @Boomboomi ? )

…but in future you’ll be a friend only and not a cleaner. It’s too much muddying of the waters

I did this 15 years ago and today I am still only getting paid £20 for cleaning a whole flat 🤣🤣🤣I’m out of my house 4 hours for this exact reason , we became friends . Never again , my lady is 94 now and I just suck it up but never ever again

The boundaries are crossed she has taken this personal in that she see's the friendship not that you ate earning a living.
She can change her will thats no biggy.
Id walk away completely find a new customer and keep boundaries firm.
Just learn from it be professional not over friendly .

If she can't afford a cleaner she needs to whip out her hoover and live within her means

She is playing on your friendship Op, making you feel guilty even though it sounds like she can afford an increase. Stick to your guns, increase your rate or give her notice and find another client who is willing to pay the going rate

Leave this job, just make excuses along the lines of 'just got an offer of a long-term assignment, can't fit you in anymore'. She is no friend of yours. And in the future do not 'go below going rates' - what is this need to compete with yourself? Why?

This is it, a real friend wouldn't devalue you or your work she would support your business if she was a real friend. She is not genuine.

She is treating you as slave labour because she wants a cleaner for £5 per hour below your rate and is bartering for that by offering 'friendship'. She will no longer be offering friendship when you are not offering cheap labour to her.

Let her enjoy her holiday and all her other luxuries but do not let her have any part of your hard work for free, she pays what it is or she goes.

Frankly I would be very surprised.
She is claiming poverty - despite eating out, getting nails done etc. Is it likely she would spend money on putting the cat in her will?
Mmmmm.

she wont die if she doesnt have a cleaner. Its a luxury that the majority of us would love, but cant afford.

I was thinking the same thing.
Can't you tell her that you're not as available as per your usual arrangement as due to the cost of living you've had to take on full paying clients.
Remember ... you're running a business to live..not running a bloody charity

And don’t worry about the cat. She can change her will

cats don’t care and are fickle

as long as fed

I bet the damn cat isn't in her will. Just another string in her tiny violin!

She isn't some impoverished 90+ with limited means struggling to pay a cleaner they really need. She's a working person who can take herself off on holiday.

The sooner the scales fall from your eyes about her @Boomboomi , the better it will be for you, because she is really not your friend.

OP she is an adult, you are not responsible for her emotional stability. Equally you are running a business offering cleaning services, she does not need to understand your perspective.

Your prices are your prices, either you think your time and skills are worth the rate you charge or you are scamming your customers, which I don't think is the case, I'm just making a point. Have some confidence in yourself and value your time.

If she cannot afford to pay the going rate she cannot afford your services. She is free to make choices about how she prioritises her spending but you don't have to cut your rates so that she can have her cake and eat it.

I would drop her as a client, it's clearly costing you money and stress. Tell her you value her friendship but it is no longer financially viable for you to provide your service at a discounted rate to anyone. If you do not make a decision about this now you will be cleaning for her at whatever the slightly increased rate is forever because you won't dare discuss increases in the future after this episode.

FWIW I think she is very emotionally manipulative and frankly it cringe inducing for a grown adult to behave the way she has. If she drops you as a friend you will have to accept that she's been clear about how little she values you.

Primarily you need to remember that no matter how much you might like a client you are running a business. Are you happy to leave your heating off this winter so that someone else doesn't have to choose between a manicure and a cleaner?

I would keep it neutral, not because she doesn't deserve to hear that you're upset, but because I suspect it will just give her ammunition to make you feel worse.

"Lucy, I'm sorry you felt offended that I have had to increase my prices. I put it off as long as I could. My business decisions have no bearing on our friendship, which I value. I completely understand that this may be too much for you and please don't feel obliged to continue with our arrangement - there is no obligation to continue the cleaning sessions. If you could let me know by next week if you want me to continue, that would be great."

Don't give her the emotion that she's looking for.

@Boomboomi
She knows shes got a person who she can string along by the way she's treated you
And the cats welfare is just emotional blackmail to keep you in your place
So you'll do/accept whatever she asks because of the cat
But believe me
My cat didn't care who was what as long as she got fed and sat in the most comfortable chair in the room
If I were you
I'd find new more appreciating clients
And leave her to her version of a "poverty lifestyle"
Let her eat cake

What's hard for you to get your head round, because you're wired up differently, OP (thank goodness!), is that there is no point telling her how you feel. She is absolutely not the slightest bit interested in your feelings. She just wants to get a job done as cheaply as possible, at your expense. Don't be fooled by her friendly gestures (gifts, wine). She is no friend.

Paying you for your cleaning service is transactional. You are providing a service she needs to pay.
She is a cf and chancer trying to manipulate you into seriously undercharging her, using your friendship as a bargaining chip. Bo real friend would do this.
You are not cleaning as a favour it is your job and livelihood.
She is an Awful woman, and for me I would see this interaction as ending the friendship

She is pretending to be your "friend" to take advantage of you financially. You are kind to her to your own detriment and she is a CF.
I would keep it simple.
You can clean for her at the same rate as all your other clients. If she thinks thats too expensive and can't afford it, then she can find another cleaner.

Forget the business about the cat!. I wouldn't be looking after her cat, she is massively taking you for a mug. Do you know how much people pay for catteries and cat sitters?

I think you should tell her you’ll have to let her go. Get yourself a full paying client, you shouldn’t be out of pocket on her behalf especially as she isn’t at all grateful for it. Say you want to keep friendship and business separate from here on in, so it’s best you part ways cleaning/pet care wise.

About the cat in the will. Is she leaving you money to pay for vet bills, insurance, food etc? Because that’s what normally happens.