My cereal of choice is Great Grains, made by Post. I'd try to describe it but I'm pretty biased, so I'll let Post do it: "Savor the exceptional flavor of Post Selects Great Grains Crunchy Pecans cereal today. It's the unmistakably sweet and abundant Pecans, crispy multi-grain flakes and crunchy granola clusters that makes this Post Selects Cereal taste so delicious." --Post website.
Well said. It's true; there are abundant pecans and they are unmistakably sweet. I'm sure I've probably convinced you to go out and try Great Grains, which is great--except YOU CAN'T.
Great Grains is NOT available in Canada. I've struggled with this issue on a daily basis since I moved to Canada six years ago. Recently I grew tired of the costs of shipping Great Grains from Florida to Toronto and I decided to do something about it.
On December 9, 2008,I began a letter writing campaign.
December 9, 2008
Kraft Foods Global, Inc.
Global Consumer Relations
1 Kraft Court
Glenview, IL
60025
USA
To Whom It May Concern:
RE: POST GREAT GRAINS CEREAL
I would like to commend you on a product of yours: Post’s Great Grains cereal, of the pecan variety.
I am a huge fan of this cereal. I have been eating it for years, often times consuming it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My doctor says that this is not healthy for me, but I disregard him because I enjoy your cereal so much. Sometimes the thought of waking up to a bowl of Great Grains cereal is the only thing getting me out of bed in the morning.
However, I have run into a major problem. I have recently relocated to Canada, where, to my incredulity, Great Grains is not sold. I have been attempting to locate this product for months and have scoured every major grocery store in Ontario, to no avail. There are other Post products, such as Honey Bunches of Oats (which pales in comparison, might I add; however, I do enjoy it as a second-rate replacement of Great Grains), but no Great Grains. Can you please explain to me why you do not supply Great Grains cereal to Canada? Has it been banned, perhaps because it contains so many grains?
I am willing to do whatever it will take to bring Great Grains to Canada. Would a petition help? Do you have a shipping program that I could enlist in, which would ship Great Grains to me in Ontario? If not, could one be started? I think I could find many participants. None of my friends seem to have any objections to grains, especially if they are great.
Please let me know the answers to my questions. I have asked my mother in Florida to give me boxes of Great Grains for Christmas. If Great Grains were available in Canada, then I could ask her for the boxed set of “Will and Grace” that I really want as well.
Thank you for your help, and happy holidays.
Yours Truly,
Samantha Clark
Did I shake up the Post Cereal office? Did I even receive a response? Am I eating Great Grains cereal RIGHT NOW? Read ahead to see...
Hmm. Not exactly the response I was hoping for. Still, Kim sounds pretty reasonable and eager to please, so I decided to try again.
January 22, 2009
Kim McMiller
Associate Director, Consumer Relations Group
1 Kraft Court
Glenview, Illinois
60025, USA
Ref: 18500453N
Dear Kim,
Thank you for your reply letter of December 22, 2008. Can you believe that I just received it yesterday (January 21, 2009) in the mail?? Almost a month later! I believe this may have been due to the fact that the Post Office was confused when you addressed it “Roseland Ave,” when; in fact, I live on “RoseLAWN Ave.” But how nice it would be to live in a land of roses, Kim! It is wishful thinking on both of our parts, indeed.
Your letter was very courteous and concise. However, I am still confused. You forgot to answer my questions about starting a shipping program of Great Grains cereal to Toronto, Canada, where I live. I already have 9 people (including myself and my roommate) signed up for this shipping program. They will be very disappointed if we do not hear any news of our shipments! If you could just let me know the expense details, then I would be happy to spearhead this program.
And my offer of starting a petition to allow Great Grains in Canada still stands. I honestly think that if you opened Great Grains up to Canada, you would not regret it. I think you should do a trial month of stopping Great Grains service to an unimportant city, like Delaware, and shipping to Toronto instead. After a month, see which city eats more Great Grains, and then, presto, you (and I) are set! Maybe it could even be made into a TV reality show or documentary, in which case, I would like some of the royalty rights but of course not all.
Your Friend,
What's with all the hate between the borders?! You should definitely have the freedom to choose and eat your favourite cereal!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think Ketchup Chips should be mandatory in the US!!!!!
http://www.canadianfavourites.com/v/vspfiles/photos/Lays001-3.jpg
great post, can wait to hear the rest. keep it up & nice blog 2
ReplyDeleteyou should eat oatmeal crisp. i do.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy Oatmeal Crisp, but just as a substitution for Great Grains. I also once had an alarming experience with Oatmeal Crisp (which you'll hear about soon; I like talking about cereal).
ReplyDeleteJason, I agree--I wish we had ketchup chips at home! We also don't have dill pickle chips or Coffee Crisps or Mr. Big or a lot of other candy bars. That's a lot of letters that need to be written.
Thanks Zak--I'm loving the new title and I think the readers are, too. :)
I am all for sending companies letters of complaint especially if they have a wit about them but one thing about your post concerns me. You claim there is a cereal better than HBO's therefore my life must be a sham, joke, or even a misplaced left sock.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have someone take initiative! We need more leaders like you--never give up hope!
ReplyDeleteGreg, please don't lose your faith in life. HBO is a great cereal; I'll give credit where it's due. Definitely in my top five, maybe even top 3. But not number one. Try GG and your faith will be restored.
ReplyDeleteAnd Anon, this is just the beginning; I promise you that.