When they say 'I found someone cheaper'

There will always be someone cheaper. If you compete on price alone you'll bleed money and attract the worst customers. Compete instead on what the low price quietly leaves out — reliability, doing it right, actually showing up. Sell the difference, not the discount.

Do this

1. Never badmouth the cheaper option. Just make the difference plain and let them choose.
2. Name what 'cheap' usually costs later: the redo, the no-show, the corner cut.
3. Put your value in their language — peace of mind, no second trip, done right the first time.
4. Hold your price. The customer who only wants the cheapest was never really your customer.

Answering 'someone else is cheaper'

Stay calm and warm — this is a fair thing to raise:

"That's a fair bit cheaper, honestly. Here's the difference: I show up when I say, I do it right the first time, and if anything's off, I come back and fix it — no charge, no chase. Some folks want the lowest number; some want it handled once and done. Which are you after?"

You're not defending your price. You're helping them see what they're actually choosing between. Let the right customers pick you on purpose.