Well, that's why it was his last-ditch effort, because it was unlikely to work. But the reasoning is that many companies will go out of their way to help "VIPs

Well, that's why it was his last-ditch effort, because it was unlikely to work. But the reasoning is that many companies will go out of their way to help "VIPs" and may even have a separate team to handle them that has more discretion than normal front-line support staff would. So sure, worth a shot if all else fails.