What's The Best Discount/Freebie You've Gotten Just By Asking For It?

For all the complaints we read about stubborn customer service reps who refuse to offer discounts/rebates/refunds/etc to customers who believe they’ve been wronged, we get the occasional story of people who get these things just by going through the proper channels.

Just as an example, Consumerist reader Blair says he’s been an AT&T customer for four years. After looking over his wireless usage and comparing plans with the Death Star’s competition, he found he could get a better deal elsewhere.

He writes:

I called up customer support and indicated that I was interested in canceling my service. I was routed to Customer Resolution or something similar. Upon hearing that I’m out of contract and that I was seriously considering switching, the rep gave me two options: I could either receive my talk/text package free for the next 6 months (it’s $20/month), or she could take $10 off my bill for the remainder of the lifetime of my account. I chose the former option and, naturally, will probably switch after the discount has expired.

Blair’s story is nothing extraordinary, but we know that people don’t always get this treatment when they try to cancel their service. And — like the Dish customer who got a free Roku box because he couldn’t watch Breaking Bad anymore — we know that some of you have been able to get a lot more just by picking up the phone.

So we’re asking you to share your stories in the comments about all the freebies, upgrades and discounts you’ve gotten without having to make too big a fuss about it.

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