We used to have this in society; it was the actual frowny or smiley face, like on your actual face. We gave them to each other all the time (well, maybe not in Finland). The problem now is that the people who get that information cannot do anything with it, because all of the power is too far up the hierarchy.
Are you saying that when a cashier asked, people didn't automatically smile and say "I'm fine, thanks" no matter how awful they felt the experience was?