To answer the OPs questions:-
Yes, I have hired from you. As we took 'Willow' out just a few weeks ago, I am well placed to comment as to that particular boat. As to reputation: I am a firm believer that a lot can be gathered from a website. Looking at the Middlewich one, with a pricing grid page which is not customer friendly, ancient photos, and an amateurish feel, I didn't have a high level of expectations for the holiday. Would I hire again? Yes, but with the massive caveat that *you* take each of your boats out for a couple of days to see what they are like to live on, and then fix accordingly.
Note that the following is posted in this public forum solely as the operation has changed hands and advice is sought. I would be sorry to see any organisation fail and I am not here to rant.
Initially looking to book a particular date showing as available on-line, I received the email response simply stating that 'sorry, the boat is not available'. I'd have appreciated an update to the website that showed that it wasn't (which happened within minutes of my reply), and for something along the lines of 'no, but these other boats are available', or 'these other dates are available'. You might gain some more business if you standardised responses in a positive way.
As it was, I persisted and moved the dates. The booking and the welcome were well handled. In common with most replies on here, the boat was a let-down in terms of neglect. Externally the front fender was hanging off to one side, which a snapped chain on the other. Non-slip surface coating was practically all worn off, making boarding and alighting hazardous in the wet. Internally, there was moss growing in the sliding kitchen window. The front curtain rail was bust so one could not shut out the light from the front cabin making sleep difficult, coupled with old thin duvets and pillows. In the main cabin we had the opposite problem, as the bedside lights were broken. Although not a problem for us, there was a disconcerting sound of slopping water from under the floor in the wetroom (which in itself is a daft design for a hire boat, quickly getting very muddy). It was also an inconvenience that the bathroom door didn't lock as it was out of alignment. Just as well we knew each other well.
Spanner and screwdriver were pointed out to us. It turned out that the former was for re-screwing on the speedwheel, which was hanging off the cabin ceiling and needed treating very gently. The spanner proved useful to tighten the bolt at the base of the loose tiller which was shredded and needed daily attention. It appeared that the boats electrics were deficient, they may have been getting a poor charge from the engine. As such in the evenings it was not possible to have more than two lights on or the radio would cut out. It was not possible to use the TV at all. My suspicion was that a lack of power kept causing the diesel cooker to switch itself off. It was not possible to have hobs and oven going at the same time, which made self catering almost impossible. Pesisting as not to waste food bought in advance, I did become exasperated when I found that the oven pan provided in which I was making a meal turned out not to fit in the oven. When a knob broke off the oven so it could not be reset, we gave in and called the engineer. He advised calling into another operators boatyard to make the fix, which we did with no problem, and provided them with a big laugh on seeing the state of the boat. Despite having a solid fuel stove at home, we could not use the one on board, as these can be fickle things, and the instuctions for it appeared to be for a different stove.
In short it was a great boat for those keen on vintage engines, but poor for those who wanted to eat, sleep, or just relax. It was a constant battle with most items on board. I would focus short-term improvements on enabling a good night's sleep for all, and enabling a meal to be cooked. New instructions need to be provided to cover all of the boats idiosyncracies. Longer term a full overhaul of the basics is badly needed. I would be sorry however, for the boat to be 'modernised', or indeed, retired. It just needs what is provided to work well.
Good luck!