In case you are including me in that "people" :D, please reconsider. We are not talking emergency work here, we are talking full time work well planned in advance and done when convenient. No different from the Sydney commuter who spends more than one hour on trasport to and from work.
And, Nev, my apologies for not capitalising the word Sparky and using "honest" as a shorthand for "not greedy" :D. No slant meant on your profession, and no intention to waste my and your time in a detailed cost analysis (which I am competent and happy to do, however, if you deem it useful for you).
The point here is value for money, and everybody seems to agree that your colleague provided it. I hope you do not deny that many, in any profession, do not. You can get an accountant (sorry, Accountant:wink:) for 80 bucks an hour or $1600, but that does not necessary mean that either of them provides better value.