[tvandyck7]

Well if nobody here got a new D2 for free besides me, I wonder how many people got them. It must not be that many. I read about several others getting them on the Droid forums. There must have been a tiny window of opportunity when they were sending them out.
When I called in, I told them that I was getting tired of dealing with the POS replacement devices because they are usually worse than the one you are returning. After a bit of disputing, I asked to speak to the manager. He would only offer me a BB Storm 2, a BB Bold or Curve, a Moto Devour, a LG Ally, or LG Fathom. I told them that I didn't think that they were comparable to the D1, and that I think they should be able to replace my phone with a comparable model like the D2, X, or Incredible. The manager told me that they were NOT going to give me any of these... period. I agreed to try another D1 again. Then in 2 days, I opened up the box and it was a D2.
I have had my last 3 phones upgraded early and free by VZW. I started my smartphone collection with a $50 Omnia. 3 Months later, they upgraded me to a TP2. Then, 2 months later, they upgraded me to a Droid 1. And now after 8 months, they upgraded me to a D2. Call it luck I guess. I do spend around $2100/year though, and I have been a customer of theirs since day 1. That might make a difference, but probably not.

One other way to persuade them to accomodate you is to threaten porting out. Tell them you would like to pay the ETF and go to AT&T since VZW is not fulfulling your needs. They will quickly start offering up things. When I did this, they offered me 25% off of my service and a free upgrade. They would hardly let me go. My arguement was that if they are willing to do these things now, they should have done them before I complained. I didn't take it of course because I had to have a freaking POS iPhone 3Gs (which turned out to be a nightmare). I ported back in to VZW in 19 days. In the end, it is their responsibility to keep their high paying customers happy (to an extent).