Ooohhh....I just thought of a little WTF moment I had in the past.
At my work, I bill by the hour as a consultant. My book of work is usually filled a couple months in advance, which in my line of work is really really good. As a senior person, I charge a premium for my services. I am paid based on my billable hours and the revenue I bring in.
Several months ago, I received an email from my boss's boss asking if I would be willing to work on a new account. They were targeting a different market which could not bear my current rates, so he asked if I could work for a 25% discount. Sure, I'll work at a 25% discount, but the discount will be applied to the client, and not directly deducted from my billable hours, right? So basically, I still charge my regular rate (and my commission is based on my regular rate) and then the accounting folks just give them a discount, right? So if I bill $100, I make commission based on $100, but the client only pays $70, correct? NOPE. Commission is based on the discounted rate. Oh, and by the way, we'll have to take you off one of your existing accounts that is billed at regular rates (with no one to replace you) to put you on the discounted account. Oh, and you'll have to increase your travel time by two hours per day, since the client site is waaaaaay out at the other end of town. Oh, and your travel time is not compensated. Oh, and if you want to keep your current accounts, that's okay too; you can just work more than full-time -- the more hours you work, the more money you make!
Oh yes...when you put it that way, I can really see you're working hard to get me to say yes. What a great opportunity!