A long time ago I opened a packet of KiMs crisps I had bought on the train only to find about 10 crisps in my bag. One was most unamused. Surely this must be a mistake I thought? It got under my skin, and as soon as I was home I jumped on Facebook to see if KiMs had a page. They didn't, which I thought was pretty weird, but what I did find was the page called 'Vi er pisse trætte af at Kims chips aldrig er fyldt helt op!', which means 'Us who are sick and tried of KiMs crisps never being full!'. So I joined, and posted my photo. I was definitely not the only one who felt a bit ripped off.
I tried emailing KiMs to say that this surely must be a mistake, but received no answer. Not surprisingly. I'd like to just point out that only once have I emailed a company due to a product I was not satisfied with, and received a box full as a sorry (I was 14 and my Sherbert Dip Dab didn't have a lolly in it).
A few months later (approximately) KiMs suddenly arrived on Facebook with a big competition. Their fanbase grew quickly (not surprisingly given that they're the Walkers of Denmark), but not as quickly as the other page. Currently, the official page has 25,026 fans, and the 'unofficial' page 28,946. People entered the competition, and somebody won, but the other KiMs group was never addressed.
KiMs then launched the 'Kald det Jørgen' ('Call it Jørgen' - Jørgen is the character used in all the advertisements) campaign, where people were encouraged to rename other products 'Jørgen'. Jørgenneven got his own Facebook page, which is now dedicated to finding Denmark's largest crisp after the original campaign ran into understandable trouble.
Last week, a post popped up in my feed, which read, "Alle sammen, gå ind på "KiMs Chips" og skriv "Fyld poserne op" på deres væg, og tag denne gruppe i opslaget :)" (Everyone, go on to KiMs Chips and write 'fill up the bags' on their wall, and tage this group in your post :)). I decided to check it out to see how many would actually do this. So far, about...well, there's been a lot. Sure, not thousands, but enough to totally swamp the wall (click for full-size).
As I scrolled down, I came across this photo from the newspaper Søndsagsavisen (Sunday's Paper). The headline reads 'You're paying for air.'
It is now painfully obvious that the KiMs Facebook page was made for the competition - their activity has been pretty much zero since the competition was won (save for a couple of focus group member pleas), making the dormant page a perfect location for spam. And they got it. Although this isn't just random spam, it's frustrated posts from consumers who demand an answer - or indeed - any response.
So far, KiMs have been silent.
Why create a new page for Jørgen instead of using the KiMs page? Why leave that page dead? Why the silence in regards to both the newspaper article and the spam from the 'unofficial' group?
It might not be the largest social media crisis, but it's one that should be addressed. Come on KiMs! How hard can it be? Perhaps there's a reason for all the air that we don't know about? Perhaps there's a weight limit? A crisp limit? There must be some reason behind all the air, because surely, surely you're not just doing it on purpose...
Update
It's been brought to my attention that one user received an answer from KiMs after a couple of emails. The user then posted the answer on the wall;
"Tak for din henvendelse. Hvor meget vores chips fylder i poserne afhænger af hvor meget tørstof der er i kartoflerne, som igen er afhængigt af hvor på sæsonen vi er. Når der er meget tørstof i kartoflerne er massefylden større, hvorfor der er færre chips i posen for at ramme den angivne gramvægt. Desuden skal der være lidt vægt i posen for at beskytte dem under transport."
("Thank you for your inquiry. How much our chips fills the bags depends on how much dry matter there is in the potatoes, which in turn depends on the season we are in. When it's very dry, the potatoes have a larger density, so fewer crisps are needed to hit the specified gram weight. Furthermore, there must be some weight in the bag to protect them during transport.")
Still seems like a lot of (hot) air to me, but the real problem remains the same - lack of communication and a failure to address the issue.
Update Two
KiMs has come back with an answer. Sort of. On their own wall. Here it is.
(Why is there so much air in the bags? It is important that there is a certain amount of air in the bags as air protects the crisps from breaking. But there is too much air and too few crisps? We understand if some of you feel there is more air in the bags than before. A couple of years ago we began to fry the chips in sunflower oil instead of palm oil. We did this because we always want to improve the products and sunflower oil contains less saturated fat than palm oil. Sunflower oil is significantly more expensive than palm oil. We were therefore faced with a choice between raising the price or reducing weight by 25 grams. We chose the latter. Our main goal is to be Denmark's favorite brand of crisps, and therefore it is important for us to emphasize that we in no way want to cheat anyone. Therefore we always listen to criticism and assesses the content and size of our bags. Sincerely, KiMs.")
Fair enough. It's good to get a response. Interesting to see they didn't mention the environmental benefits of not using palm oil considering KitKat's slight
brush with Greenpeace, but, that's neither here nor there.
Although if they do always listen, they should really post it on the other page as well, or at least tag it.
