(MONEY Magazine) – Giveaways are everywhere these days as companies invent marketing hooks and trial offers to snare you as a customer. Last year U.S. businesses spent $7.2 billion on incentives and sample products, an 8% increase over 1992. Says Marie Beninati, director of retail market strategy at Kurt Salmon Associates, a New York City management consulting firm: "Retailers are pulling out the stops to create loyalty." To uncover America's top complimentary offerings, MONEY canvassed more than 100 retailers, marketers and consumer advocates. Yours for the asking:

1 Get into all the best places for free by giving a little of yourself. Volunteering to work a few hours can gain you entrance to surprisingly upmarket venues. For example, while living in Atlanta, Vince Toscano, 27, a minister, snagged an annual membership worth roughly $1,500 at the tony Sportslife health club by agreeing to spend three hours a week cleaning its exercise equipment. Now living in New York City, he's scouting for similar possibilities in Manhattan. Health clubs also sometimes offer discounts or memberships in exchange for a few hours a week of babysitting in their nurseries or teaching an exercise class or two. Check with club managers or the YMCA in your area for similar deals. Entertainment facilities appreciate volunteers, as well. Since 1987, Stephani and Ken Perlmutter of Chicago have given up one or two nights a month to be ushers at local theaters. Says Stephani, 29: "After we guide people to their seats, we're free to enjoy the show. We've seen all the major Broadway plays that came to town that way, including Steel Magnolias, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat and Phantom of the Opera. Savings are incredible because tickets are often $50 apiece." Next time you're on vacation, consider asking the hotel or resort manager if you can get a price break in the future in exchange for helping out. By serving as a ski host giving guests directions and tours on weekends, Richard Rootes, 37, received free season passes (1994 value: $600) for three winters at Salt Lake City's Solitude Ski Resort. Callaway Gardens (800-282-8181), a popular, 2,500-acre family resort in Pine Mountain, Ga., boasts a paid staff - of more than 1,200. But an additional staff of 500 volunteers help out with the gardening at Callaway, act as tour guides and assist with office chores. Such volunteers receive a free season's admission pass (worth $30), $2 meals in the employee cafeteria, plus 30% discounts at the resort's seven restaurants and three guest shops.

2 Demand special treatment as a patient or a customer. This technique can save on prescription-drug costs, since doctors are often overstocked with samples. After Leah Ingram was diagnosed with migraines, her neurologist prescribed Anaprox, which costs $15 for half a dozen tablets. The 28-year-old Ann Arbor writer requested free samples from the nurse and, she says, "I got enough to combat six headaches" -- or $15 worth. Specific, constructive complaints can also net results. Former waitress DeeDee Cooley, 29, wrote a detailed letter to a Mexican restaurant chain describing four unsatisfactory visits to different locations around her home in Atlanta. She suggested, among other things, that whenever orders were delayed, waiters inform patrons. The regional manager and three others apologized and mailed her two $50 gift certificates, plus vouchers for two dinners for four. Frequent-flier Michael Seid, 42, managing director of Strategic Advisory Group, a franchise advisory firm in West Hartford, Conn., doesn't even bother with letters. When travel problems arise, he simply hands one of his business cards to the gate agent, summarizes his complaint and then requests that an airline representative call him. So far, Seid has received six ticket upgrades, a $25 certificate from TWA and a free round-trip ticket to California.

3 Let retailers and shopping services pay for your consumer education. You'd be surprised how much you can learn, and save, by taking free classes at stores. Arthur Schaefer, a Portland, Maine attorney, was shocked by the $15,000 estimate he got from a stonemason to build a New England-style wall in front of his house. Then he noticed a newspaper ad for a free three-hour wall- building workshop given by a local retailer. Schaefer, 45, took the class one Saturday morning, had $5,000 worth of stone delivered and built the wall himself over a few weekends. Similarly, Home Depot sponsors twice-weekly free clinics for do-it-yourselfers at its 279 countrywide locations (call the nearest one for schedules). For outdoor lovers, Recreational Equipment's (REI) 40 nationwide stores offer free clinics that provide instruction on rock climbing, camping and kayaking. You can also call REI to query its staff sports experts (800-426-4840). For a rainy day, the corner video shop offers more education than you may think: Most of Blockbuster Video's 3,666 outlets, for instance, devote several shelves to free rental videos, primarily public- interest subjects like teaching safety to children and family health issues. Some of the best free tips come in the mail. If you've got a home office, Daniel Kehrer, author of Save Your Business a Bundle (Simon & Schuster, $22), recommends a free 54-page booklet called How to Save Money on Office Supplies, produced by mail-order firm Quill (708-634-4800).

4 Seek out local experts to pick their brains and get free services. Lawyers, accountants, financial planners and other professionals will typically give you free initial consultations lasting half an hour or more. Each week, for instance, Julie Kirkpatrick, senior portfolio manager at Lang Asset Management in Atlanta, meets with two or three potential clients with portfolios of $100,000 or more and spends an hour each (value $60 to $100) advising them about reaching their goals. Low-cost health care is not necessarily a bargain, but you may pick up top- quality pointers for the price of a phone call. Jed Best, for instance, a Manhattan pediatric dentist who charges $53 for an initial examination, spends two to three hours a week on the phone dispensing free advice to parents of his patients. "People hesitate to call," says Best, "because they think they'll be charged. But I consider answering questions part of my job." Medical centers are promoting free seminars too on everything from breast cancer to learning CPR. To find out what's available in your area, telephone the community education departments of nearby hospitals, suggests Judy Matusky, nutrition administrator for Main Line Health System, a suburban hospital group near Philadelphia. Also, ask about free health tests, including blood pressure, cholesterol and cancer screenings. Federal, state and local government experts can also help, without costing you money. After Raymond Lee of Aiken, S.C. called the U.S. Department of Agriculture's county agent because $45 worth of his shrubs died, the agent visited Lee's home, determined that he had a vole-infestation problem and recommended ways to get rid of the pests. Some government agencies are cutting back on services, but it's worth checking those in your area.

5 Accept offers to test new products and answer market surveys. Desperate for insight into consumer preferences, many companies now dangle payoffs when you oblige. While researching this article, for example, this writer was called by a new long-distance service. After answering several questions, the researcher offered $100, plus two weeks' worth of free long- distance calls, in exchange for testing its service. That required some time, but the savings were worth the trouble. (Before accepting any long- distance deal like that, make sure it won't result in a permanent switch in your phone service.) A Penny Pincher newsletter researcher was recently paid $10 for a nail-polish test at her local mall, then $20 for letting the testers check the results. (For a free copy of the Penny Pincher, send a self- addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 809M, Kings Park, N.Y. 11754.) You needn't wait for marketers to find you. "Scan the Yellow Pages for market research firms," says Robert Kenworthy at Compass Marketing Research in Norcross, Ga. "If they're looking for participants in focus groups or opinion polls or surveys, you could get money, products or coupons." You can also sign up as a secret shopper. For example, the Fairfax, Va.- based Restaurant & Hotel Services, a mystery shopping service firm hired by companies to test the quality of services, reimburses 1,500 participants throughout the U.S. and Canada for as much as $20 to $120 worth of restaurant meals and bar tabs for two (call 800-669-9993 for an application). One such shopper says she and her husband enjoy a night or two out each month, compliments of the company. If selected, you must supply an extensive written report of a recent dining experience and undergo a brief training session over the phone (or in person if you live in Washington, D.C.).

6 Tell firms why they should be giving you a nice bonus. Do you have reason to celebrate? Don't keep it to yourself. When her first wedding anniversary approached last May, Stephanie Janower, 25, of Chicago called the nearby Drake Hotel, where she had honeymooned, and asked for a complimentary night's stay (value: about $200). Her request was granted. And after the birth of her twin boys 18 months ago, one mother dialed five manufacturers' toll-free numbers to tell them the news. Within a month, she got about $200 worth of freebies including three cases of Enfamil baby ^ formula, six Playtex baby bottles and coupons for 100 free diapers and wipes.

Many firms and services will make a fuss about your birthday if you give them the date. For example, Takeout Taxi, a restaurant-meal delivery company serving 148 U.S. cities, marks customers' birthdays with a certificate for a free dinner ($9 to $15 value.) You can also offer to become a new customer by sampling a manufacturer's products. Now that private-label and generic products are eating the lunch of brand-name products, plenty of companies routinely send out free samples of such products as cereal, shampoo, coffee, soap, detergent and painkillers to attract consumers. You can plug into dozens of more samples by answering listings appearing in Freebies magazine ($7.95 for five issues; $2 for a sample issue; 805-566-1225).

7 Make sure that companies pay for your repeat business. When you're pleased with a product or service, drop a note to the manager or CEO. Says Mike Isakson of Omaha-based Merry Maids, a housecleaning franchise: "Good customers should ask for more. They'd be surprised how often a business will throw in a free service." Hotels, restaurants and airlines are especially quick to reward praiseworthy notes. When Leah Ingram and her husband Bill Behre flew on American Airlines recently, a mechanical error at a stopover in Raleigh-Durham kept their flight grounded for two hours. "The captain kept us updated," recalls Ingram. "He also called ahead and got our Miami flight held for us." She wrote American complimenting the captain and received a $75 voucher. Companies are tallying your business without reminders too. Following the airlines' lead, hundreds of retailers now issue frequent-user cards that give you free merchandise or services after you spend a certain quota. Thanks to a computer system, for example, Ritz-Carlton Hotel guests who make their preferences for newspapers, chocolates or other items known to the staff will find those requests filled free of charge the next time they check in at any of the chain's 30 worldwide locations. Finally, if you're a loyal customer of any retailer, don't be shy about requesting free stuff from the manager. A sports equipment store, say, might give you a Shaquille O'Neal poster for your kid's bedroom. Sums up consultant Seid: "I don't think of myself as asking for freebies. I think of them as conveniences I deserve."