Great article at Fast Company by way of 37 signals about Alaska Airlines' proactive attempts to rethink the check in experience. This is really a great case study that illustrates a point I try to make to my own clients, students and colleagues:

You don't always need fancy research, study and expensive agencies to help you improve experience. Often, you can find the really innovative solutions yourself. Here's how:

Identify the challenge/opportunity

Select a mix of your smartest, most enthusiastic, hardest working people

Give them a reasonable amount of uninterrupted time within which to problem-solve

Encourage them to talk to other people who have solved similar problems - even outside of your own market

Give them the ability to brainstorm, model and experiment

Have them create a prioritized list of improvements, based on business and customer value

Test each improvement and adjust as necessary

Roll out solid solutions across the board

In this case, Alaska Airlines assembled a team of its own people. They read books, interviewed and visited theme parks (like Disney), hospitals and retailers to find innovative solutions to expediting check-in. They created models for the redsign using cardboard boxes (cool) ... and then they built test podiums and refined the designs in real airports.

The article will tell you more. In summary, the outcome has been improved customer service, streamlined check ins for customers and a significant cost savings.

A+ to Alaska for its grassroots approach to resolving customer experience challenges from both the customer AND the business side. This seems a heckuva lot smarter than cutting out meals, beverages and peanuts...