Well, they will if your name is Cindy & John McCain, anyway:
Early in 2007, just as her husband launched his presidential bid, Cindy McCain decided to resolve an old problem — the lack of cellular telephone coverage on her remote 15-acre ranch near Sedona, nestled deep in a tree-lined canyon called Hidden Valley.
By the time Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid was in full swing this summer, the ranch had wireless coverage from the two cellular companies most often used by campaign staff — Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
Verizon delivered a portable tower know as a “cell site on wheels” — free of charge — to Cindy McCain’s property in June in response to an online request from Cindy McCain’s staff early last year.
Have you ever tried to get a problem resolved via the Verizon or AT&T websites? I’m sure you had the exact same experience, didn’t you? No? Well, it would help if you chaired the Senate committee overseeing the agency which regulates them, I suppose:
Ethics lawyers said Cindy McCain’s dealings with the wireless companies stand out because Sen. John McCain is a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission and the telecommunications industry. He has been a leading advocate for industry-backed legislation, fighting regulations and taxes on telecommunications services.
Now, I don’t think there’s anything ethically wrong here, but if McCain was at all interested in putting substance behind his rhetoric, he wouldn’t have accepted this. It does, however, give a brief glimpse into just how easy life is for people like the McCains. I suspect it gets incorporated into their general worldview, which shapes their approach to legislation. I mean, if they can just pick up the phone and have Verizon provide better service, why can’t the rest of us? No need for the FCC!
Megabeth
Yeah, I’m sure that they didn’t have to sit on hold with Verizon for 99 minutes to get a rep like I had to once. Thank goodness for speakerphone…
Plin
I have been ridiculously lucky with Verizon tech support (actually, I have good luck with tech support people in general–even Comcast, when I was in Philly). However, I have to say that I think even my luck would run out if I wanted my own cell phone tower, or if I complained about poor reception in my apartment.
Peej
Plin, you must have superior tech support mojo. NO ONE has luck with *both* Comcast and Verizon support.
Please come visit me (all expenses paid, of course) for a couple of days so I may benefit from it. You’ll just need to dial the numbers, I’ll do the talking.
Plin
Peej, I know, isn’t it crazy? When I returned my DVR to Comcast before moving away, I think I was the only person in line not gripped by a quasi-homicidal rage. I wish I knew my own secret.
Maybe I really should think of a fallback career in tech support enchantment…