"Clients–the good ones, at least–don’t CARE how many hours you’re spending to do X and Y, as long as you’re doing a damn good job at X and Y and adding significant value to their company"

amen...i've been discussing this concept with a frontend developer just this week, and could not agree more.

things have set market value, irregardless of how fast you can get it done, and undercutting this market value is a sure way to keep your bank account low.