Symbols and Customer Performance

While doing some research today on totally unrelated tasks, I stumbled upon a 1967 article from the journal Science. It is by two gentlemen, Charles Baldwin and Robert Runkle, and describes their development of the biohazard symbol. The symbol was the product of an obvious customer performance problem, keeping humans safe from biological health hazards.

From the perspective of the coproduction experience model, symbols like this would be best classified as Access:Information, as they aid customers in making decision about products and environmental spaces.

DriveCam Provides Customer Feedback

I just came across this technology called DriveCam. It provides a "big brother" feedback system for drivers. In addition to fleet services, the company has partnered with American Family Insurance to provide a free program for teenage drivers.

This is an excellent example of a technology-driven solution that addresses part of the Vision component of the coproduction experience model -- feedback. While the market for fleet services is obvious, I'm wondering how many folks on the customer side of things would sign up for this service. While it provides great feedback for coaching good driving performance, it also provide pretty strong evidence of your guilt if your driving actions caused injury or death. But on the other hand, it is clear from the information on the company's website that it can also provide evidence of your innocence as well.