If the customer cannot afford the best paint for the job, how can he afford to employ you? The cost of the paint is a fraction of the overall cost of paying a decorator. Unless you are working for peanuts...
less coats equals less labour costs. That's what I was taught anyway.
Reputation is the all important factor in employing a decorator, cutting back on materials may help the price for the customer,
but they will forget that when it comes to seeing a"P*ss poor"job that dosent last , because of lack of proper materials.
Reputation goes before everything.