I wonder how much of it is that if you bill $175 an hour, they instantly compare it to their own salary. If it is someone in purchasing, it is higher than them

I wonder how much of it is that if you bill $175 an hour, they instantly compare it to their own salary. If it is someone in purchasing, it is higher than them. If you bill someone at an executive level it is equal to them (and they will think of this as below them), if you bill an engineer they will think it is higher than them. Now, I'd argue that is a fair rate if you are that much more productive than the average developer, but it instantly makes people offended. I still like the idea of billing by the hour though.