Have you ever had someone referred you to a place/business and told you to mention their name and you'll received a discount and/or special treatment but you did not get it ?

I have had a woman try to get me to give them a discount on my artwork.I did it and it came back to haunt me in a big way.I price it a certain way for a reason and won’t haggle with anyone over my sweat and time anymore.Besides,it’s far more satisfying to donate work for charities than to some woman who wants to match her couch….and that concludes my rant for the day….I think ;)

As a Jew, I am allowed to say that until recently, most Jews bought everything wholesale, because someone’s uncle was in the diamond, garment, furniture, etc district.

People have said that to me, but I rarely take them up on it. I’d feel awkward about it.

One time, my husband and I went to a restaurant suggested by a client of his. The client said to tell the hostess he’d sent us, which we did, not knowing the client had told the hostess to expect us and to not let us pay for our dinner. He’d take care of the bill. Well, that dinner was by far the worst restaurant food we’d ever had. The service was awful, the food was so bad we couldn’t eat it, and later we had to pretend we’d loved it because this client had paid for the meal.

Sort of along the same lines, my cousin is a cop about an hour and a half from here. Each year he gives family members these little cards with his name and badge number. The cards say something like “the bearer is entitled to courtesies extended to officers and their families.” Basically, if one of us is pulled over and hands this card to the officer with the license, it might get us out of a ticket. I’ve only been pulled over a couple of times, and never had the nerve to use the card. My husband has used his a few times, and while he sometimes gets attitude for it, he also doesn’t get tickets. I don’t think it would help if someone were driving drunk or doing something really bad though.

A family member recently referred us to a dentist, knowing we were unhappy with the dentist we’d been taking the kids to see. When I called to make an appointment with the new dentist, the receptionist asked how I’d heard of them. I told her, and she actually sounded thrilled that we’d been referred. The first time my husband saw them, a procedure they said would cost over $1000 ended up costing $200 because they didn’t charge him for most of what they did. Each time we visit, there’s something they don’t charge for: x-rays, novacain, etc. I don’t know if it’s because we don’t have dental insurance and they want to keep us coming back, or if it’s because they know people we know (and we’ve also referred people to them).

Guess who gets the discount…
Oh it’s you, thanks for the advertising, here’s your free steak as promised.

No, never happened to me.

@phoebusg You nailed it, the old customer referral scheme. Like when the car salesman lays out five of his business cards and tells you each one of these are worth 20 dollars. You just have to convince five people to buy a car from that salesman at that dealership and mention your name.