the Evolution 2000 in seconds
This is so incredible. You had better believe that Kryptonite, makers of the most popular bicycle locks in the United States, will know what blogs are from this week forward. I believe the story was actually broken last weekend on a web-based discussion board, BikeForums.com, where a user observed that using a 10-cent Bic ballpoint pen you could easily pick a $100 Kryptonite lock. A variety of Kryptonite products seem vulnerable to this. The above link (see headline) is to a video of how to do it, in case you had any doubts. (Other videos here and here.) I just heard the story also on National Public Radio, and it also ran today in the NY Times, and it’s basically breaking out all over the place.
Incredibly, Kryptonite’s site (which is loading veeerrrry slooooowly today) still has nothing about this issue, a week after the story broke, despite the homepage ironically proclaiming “This is the place to get the most information about our products, our dealer locations, our company and more.” The most recent news on the homepage is about their having moved office locations in June 2002. (I see that they did provide a response to Engadget, and it’s less than encouraging that they’re on top of the crisis, or unclear that they even view it as a crisis.)
This is simply going to devistate Kryptonite. Too bad, I’ve always been a fan. Of course, this isn’t principally a communication problem; it’s a product problem. The only thing I could think that might save their business at this point would be a massive recall/refund for every customer with a U-lock. But this is also a communication problem. As a customer (I have four of their locks), I would really like to know whether this problem affect their other products, or whether it is limited to that Evolution 2000. But their communication on this sucks. The story broke online, yet there is nothing about it on their web site. They could really, really use a blog to try to contain the damage ASAP. But looking at their actions so far, I am not optimistic. For myself, I will probably go out and buy another brand this weekend, as I’m not going to risk losing my bike while they try to get their PR act together. (I’m certainly not going to bother trying to call them and wait on hold for 2 days with the volume of calls they must be getting now.)
As Phillip Torrone writes in his Engadget follow-up post:
We’ve spent over $100 on these types of locks for our bicycles, and hearing “the world just got tougher and so did our locks,” kinda got us a little miffed. The world didnít get tougher, it got Bic pens, blogs and your locks got opened.
Sad.
Engadget: Kryptonite Evolution 2000 U- Lock hacked by a Bic Pen
Time to Buy a New Bicycle Lock
If you use Kryptonite locks to secure your bicycle, it’s time to replace it. Kryptonite is well and truly fucked. This is essentially a product failure, but it is also a monumental PR and customer communication failure. I am sure…
Trackback by Bruner Blog — September 17, 2004 @ 3:29 pm
The Kryptonite Lock Debacle
Rick and the NYT comment on how the Kryptonite lock company, not to mention thousands of bicycle lock owners, are now completely hosed by a world of Bic pen carrying thieves. [More on this at engadget] [Click here to watch the video (WindowsMedia)]…
Trackback by Dana's Blog - Internet Marketing and Sales Technology Ideas From the Trenches — September 19, 2004 @ 10:03 am
Looks like they have heard the news….major effort underway to undo the damage…see the link.
http://www.kryptonitelock.com/inetisscripts/abtinetis.exe/templateform@public?tn=home_home
Comment by jbr — September 20, 2004 @ 10:58 am
is it kryptonite locks only ,or ALL tubular locks?
Comment by rr — September 22, 2004 @ 5:05 am
Well, I am an expert in business communication, not bike gear or security systems, so I’d seek a more definite answer on that from a bike or security forum, but I would suspect that any lock with the same kind of cylindrical key design is vulnerable.
Comment by Rick Bruner — September 22, 2004 @ 7:42 am
Engadget: Quand les blogs font mal aux entreprises
Engadget prouve, s’il le fallait, que les blogs peuvent couter très cher à la crédibilité d’une marque. La vitesse de propagation de l’information peut aussi bien transformer une petite marque en fer de lance que l’inverse. L’article sur le Krypton…
Trackback by DayLiFe — September 23, 2004 @ 5:56 am
Tarkistapas oman polkupyöräsi lukko…
Tuli luettua vahingossa jenkkiblogia, ja siellä artikkelia polkupyörän lukoista. Lukot näyttävät peloittavan tutuilta ja avautuvat turhan helposti muovisella kuulakynällä. Tarttee varmaan miettiä/kokeilla päitisikö omaan lukkoon. Epäilen kyllä että ei.
Trackback by Nettielämää — September 27, 2004 @ 1:19 am
Weblogs in der Krisenkommunikation – Kryptonite
Eine richtig großartige Geschichte, die zeigt, wie wichtig Weblogs für die Unternehmenskommunikation sein könnten: Ihr kennt alle diese dicken Kryptonite Fahrrad-Bügelschlösser? Irgendjemand hat rausgefunden, dass man nur einen Kugelschreiber braucht,…
Trackback by Das E-Business Weblog — September 29, 2004 @ 5:35 am
Weblogs in der Krisenkommunikation – Kryptonite
Eine richtig großartige Geschichte, die zeigt, wie wichtig Weblogs für die Unternehmenskommunikation sein könnten: Ihr kennt alle diese dicken Kryptonite Fahrrad-Bügelschlösser? Irgendjemand hat rausgefunden, dass man nur einen Kugelschreiber braucht,…
Trackback by Das E-Business Weblog — September 29, 2004 @ 5:35 am
Marketers join the blogging dialogue
Marketers must stop viewing lead generation as just a campaign and blogging as another marketing medium. It’s a conversation – a dialog. When I started marketing to executives, a friend gave me this great advice, “Brian… just be people with
Trackback by B2B Lead Generation Blog — October 14, 2004 @ 8:17 am
Presentation on the Impact of Blogs on PR
Recently, ClickZ editor Pamela Parker and I participated in a webinar on the impact of blogs and participatory journalism on PR. The event, attended by over 300 professionals, was organized by the technology chapter of the PRSA and graciously sponsored
Trackback by Micro Persuasion — October 20, 2004 @ 9:46 am
My friend Cannondale touring bicycle with paniers was stolen , he use Kryptonite top of the line u lock , thief also try my touring bike but I use top of the line master lock whith cable combination and my $ 2500 bike was OK , so I was right and lucky because i did not not lessening friend and do not let him use one lock to secure two bicycles . This day we learn the thief steal more bicycles , all stolen bike use Kryptonite . This manifacturer fuck really badly .
Comment by Vlad — June 20, 2005 @ 7:42 pm
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Trackback by ç ‚ç³–ã?®ç”˜ã?„付箋 — July 8, 2005 @ 3:18 am
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Trackback by ç ‚ç³–ã?®ç”˜ã?„付箋 — July 8, 2005 @ 3:20 am