You know, I think it's getting to be an epidemic.

Another long drive to a McDonald's today-this time for lunch-and another failed attempt to get onto the Internet through their free wireless connection. This one, recently announced on wififreespot and proudly trumpeted with signs advertising the hotspot at its front door, is at 10995 Metcalf in Overland Park. Same problem as with the erstwhile free offering at the McDonalds across from the Kansas Speedway, and at Mesa Wraps in Westport-no backhaul once you connect to the access point. And the reaction of an employee once I let the manager know gave me the feeling that this wasn't just a one-time occurrence. He immediately pointed to a ceiling tile, telling his boss he'd have to remove it to gain access to the router. The manager, however, gave me the standard response-"I'll call it in again"-I heard out by the speedway back in March. Well, at least he didn't totally blow it off like they did at Mesa Wraps.

I really hope this doesn't become a trend. Hey all you managers and other entrepreneurs out there, listen up: If you want free Wi-Fi to pay off for you, you've got to deliver what you promise. If that means rolling up your sleeves and climbing a ladder to restart a router or modem, get the ladder out and get after it. And if it means going out and buying better quality equipment because your bargain-basement router isn't cutting the mustard, well, that'll probably mean fewer trips up that ladder. And if it means getting tough with a vendor whose expertise and level of service aren't up to snuff-even to the point of showing them the door-do it. One would hope you wouldn't be so cavalier towards anything else detracting from the customer experience you offer.

Once more, since gas hasn't gotten any cheaper since March, I'll leave a full evaluation of this one to one of you. The access point is 802.11g, broadcasting a SSID of 10995MetcalfMcD. Here's hoping you have better luck than I did.