Haiyaa… How could they… If only they know better…

What if your business is actually the business of education?

Dear Business Owner,

How often have you examined customer support inquiries, negative reviews and feedback, returned items, products sent in for repairs, after which you can barely contain yourself from swearing? These bleep bleep bleep!!! Everything allegedly bad about your product is the result of customer misuse or abuse, yet they blame you for selling inferior merchandise! And of course they will not admit to their folly, your attempts at explaining are waved away as evading responsibility.

But what if they really did not know better? What if their ignorance, misunderstandings, misconceptions are truly not their fault?

Imagine, car manufacturers without driving schools.

Roads are not always used for cars though cars are effectively the priority users today. The number of roads have also increased rapidly in order to accommodate more cars, dominating cities in the process. In tiny Singapore 12% of land is used for roads. That does not sound like a lot? To put this into context, industrial land use account for 13% and housing 15%. Let’s take a look at the case of the US, home of the first mass produced car which is responsible for the proliferation of and subsequent conquest of the roads by cars.

The emergence of automobiles in the early 20th century was indeed an unwelcome intrusion to prevailing road traditions which sparked tensions among pedestrians, police, traffic engineers, and motordom; everyone was grappling with evolving notions of road use, each group coalescing around their respective interests and perspectives.

Pedestrians (and parents) were concerned about justice and protecting the original (hence rightful) road users against these metal monsters, chasing down perpetrators when someone was hurt. As for the Police, they just wanted to maintain order and resolve the swelling chaos. Meanwhile, street railways, chambers of commerce, and the engineers they hired wanted to solve congestion because it was hurting them financially. Motordom (auto clubs, dealers, and manufacturers) simply bypassed complex questions of justice, order, and efficiency as they advocated for freedom to own cars. Embracing a rhetoric of modernity, motordom declared the onset of a new era - "the motor age" - dismissing custom as outdated and championing a forward-looking approach. They won. By 1930, pedestrians who used the roads “in an unconventional way” would admit to jaywalking instead of insisting on their rights to use the roads as they pleased.

The first attempts at traffic regulation in the US started with New York pioneering the first traffic code in 1903. By World War I, many cities had introduced innovative measures like traffic signals and road signs to address specific traffic issues. The first compulsory driver's license law in the United States was enacted in the state of New Jersey in 1913. This law required drivers to pass both a written and practical test to obtain a license. Other states followed suit, and by the 1930s, all U.S. states had some form of driver licensing laws.

However, the US was not the first. The world's first driver's license was issued in Paris, France in 1893. The recipient was a Parisian engineer and inventor named Auguste Doriot. This license was not a mandatory requirement for all drivers but was more of an honorary certificate. The United Kingdom implemented the first compulsory driver's license system in 1903 with the Motor Car Act. This act required drivers to obtain a license and register their vehicles. Germany introduced a similar system in 1909 with the "Imperial Automobile Act," which required drivers to pass a test and obtain a license.

Nevertheless, in the early 1920s, the US car industry faced a sales crisis which could be largely attributed to a surge in traffic accidents and fatalities. In 1922-23, the death toll on the roads rose dramatically by 20%. This alarming statistic sent shockwaves through the automotive world. Motordom struggled to grapple with a public relations nightmare of cars being increasingly seen as ruthless killers.

Imagine, car manufacturers without driving schools.

Would cars continue to be blamed for traffic casualties? Would car manufacturers then have been able to sell as many cars over the last century? Do we realise how far we have come that we don’t blame the car for our inability to parallel park? That said, golf club makers do want us to blame that pesky driver for our slices into the drink.

Are you or your customer more likely to be blamed if the desired outcome is not achieved?

What is your business’ equivalent of the driving school? What if your business is actually the business of education?