Peter Stathakos - Stack Of Toast

Both Robert and Hugh have recently spoken about what Hugh calls The Kryptonite Factor. Scoble's post about it is here.

Here's my take on it. My wife is (was) the owner of a Kryptonite lock. It was used to guard her year old bike, but as soon as the story hit we promptly took the lock out of service. I was able to open it with relative ease with a handy Bic pen. The more I played with it the faster I got. Heck, if I get any hungrier I may go downstairs and try the technique out on the vending machine locks. They look like the same round key design.

So here's the customer facing point of view. I went to the Kryptonite web site and found the page through which I had to request a replacement lock. However, two big things were missing.

1. No explanation of the replacement procedure. All it said was that I'd get a UPS Call Tag, but for what? Nowhere did it tell me how to get my replacement lock. Did I have to mail the old one back or could I junk it? Was a new one coming in the mail or did I have to wait for a coupon and then go to a store to pick one up? Nothing. Nada. I got an e-mail a few days later confirming my request, but that's it. I'm still kind of confused. Also, what about the people that REALLY need to use their bikes. What if they have to pick up a new lock like RIGHT NOW. Do they get any compensation from Kryptonite or are they just SOL?

2. No apology or taking of responsibility. It's so easy to say “guess what, we f'd up somewhere along the way. Sorry about that, we'll replace your locks”. Nope. Nothing. The closest you get is:

“We decided to simplify and expand our planned product upgrade program so that we could expedite the process for consumers and eliminate any lingering doubt in their minds about their locks. Standing by our customers is the responsible thing to do for those who rely on our security products to keep their valuables safe.”

There's no lingering doubt in my mind. My wife's lock is breech-able.

As both Robert and Hugh point out, one blogger giving a human face to this experience would go a long way. Someone to talk back to, ask questions to, whatever. Empower someone to speak to the people. The blogging community essentially broke this story, why not give people a channel to speak to through a blog?