I just flew on a transcon last night from EWR>>LAX and had no issue. They were a super friendly crew and made it a pleasure to fly in coach (yeah, oxymoron). I had the 375ml and a sandwich. I also use up all my reward-for-service coupons that come with your elite status booklet, so, maybe I have some bankable karma and that's why I've never run into issues when asking for freebies in coach?