Last week the Wall Street Journal ran an article about Wi-Fi services available on airlines. Bottomline: people love it, but really aren’t willing to pay for it. Why not?

According to the article, “in tests and now in regular service, usage drops off considerably when travelers must pay for the service.” Even Alaska Airlines, which only charges $1, saw a steep drop off in usage. (By the way, Alaska Airlines is a “cashless” airline, so if you want the Wi-Fi, you have to pay for it with a credit card - ggrrrrrrr.)

So what’s going on here? Is the economy causing people to cut back on non-essentials? Or have people become so used to ubiquitous computing that they expect “the cloud” to envelope them everywhere, all the time, for free?

Or could it be - as we suspect - that sitting in an (albeit overpriced and cramped) airline seat at 35,000 feet is one of the last places where you can seek refuge from our “always on” world of instantaneous communications?

An interesting question to answer for sure, and one which has ramifications for service design in the worlds of travel, entertainment, and hospitality.

Interesting times in the media worlds as the television and Internet continue their mash-up dance. Some interesting statistics from a recent article by Terry Teachout.

In 1949:
- Americans owned 85 million radios
- Americans owned 1.3 million TVs - of which over 70% were located on the east coast
- a 16 inch picture tube TV $695, or the equivalent of $6,212 in today’s dollars.
- TV networks were losing money at a clip of about $116,000 (today’s dollars) EACH day

Then came the tipping point. Fifteen TV stations on the east coast and in the Midwest got connected via a crude coaxial cable network, which enabled far more viewers to see network programs “live.” As a result, movie theater attendance dropped by 72% but bars who had TVs installed were filled to the rafters on certain nights.

Who made it safely to the other side? Big (radio) media companies who kept funding their vision, and entertainers who embraced the new medium, as opposed to pining for the past. Bob Hope and Big Crosby made the leap from radio to TV, while Fred Allen, a big radio star, decried the loss of the “theater of imagination” that radio made possible, and got left on the far shore.

These are underlying principals of service design; understanding what customers want, using technology as an enabler, and being patient to see your ideas to fruition. (This latter point is difficult for public companies who live quarter-to-quarter.) All in all, the transitions of previous media shifts are all good history lessons for today’s media executives.

The California Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum in San Francisco re-opened last fall in a $488 million eco-friendly building. Beyond the new digs, they also apparently have a new attitude as well. They now stay open late Thursday nights and transform the museum into one of the city’s hottest night spots. More than 3,000 people drink and dance while touring the hands-on tide pool, aquarium, planetarium and four-story tropical rainforest. But book your $10 ticket now because they often sell out in advance.

Who the heck wouldn’t want to hang out in a cool aquarium for happy hour, rather than sitting in bar? We’re glad to see that the lawyers haven’t killed off this idea (can you imagine the wrangling that took?) and see this as a great example of service design. Museums are, after all, in the service business, delivering memorable learning experiences. Massive sums of money are put into bricks, mortar, collections and all the people needed to support it. So why not leverage those sunk costs into new and innovative revenue streams?

It makes perfect, brilliant sense to open the museum after-hours in this way. It provides an uber cool backdrop for socializing, and who knows - you just might accidentally learn something while sipping your mojito.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “The New, Faster Face of Innovation” points out that technology is transforming innovation because it allows companies to test new ideas at speeds - and prices - that were unimaginable even 10 years ago.

Changes implemented on websites or even in-store promotions can be launched, watched and analyzed all within a 24 period. In turn, the authors believe that innovation is becoming a “way of life” at more and more enlightened companies, and we say it’s not a moment too soon. Companies will (or should) be willing to try new things because the price of failure is so low.

In turn, customers should be getting better tailored services, products and offers. This is all good news for service design. These are the types of clients we love to work with; they think big, start small and act fast. And in the end, they win because their customers win.

Great Andy Kessler piece on “Why AT&T Killed Google Voice” - http://is.gd/2qdrD

Enhancing the live sports experience with high-fidelity, realtime audio commentary…. http://is.gd/2qdk3

Starbucks is taking a page from Toyota’s playbook in their new focus on streamlining the coffee-brewing process. From bending over to scoop coffee from below the counter, to eliminating idle moments waiting for expired coffee to drain, an 11-person team is bringing the gospel of “lean manufacturing” to more than 11,000 Starbucks stores.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Starbucks says the efforts are already helping its bottom line, as shown by quarterly results last month that beat analysts’ expectations. However, there are some employees who fear that the new efforts will turn them into coffee-making robots.

This focus on streamlined operations is an interesting complement to the other tack that Starbucks is taking with some of its stores in “de-Starbucking” them. Stores across the country are being revamped to look like locally-owned coffeehouses, complete with local artwork, baked goods and live music. The stores go by the name of their street address i.e. “250 Chestnut” and have drawn mixed reviews from observers. While some accuse Starbucks of going “stealth” in trying to pretend to be a local small business, customers who have actually experienced the stores give them high marks for being much more community-oriented, fun and funky than their corporate brethren.

Turning a ship the size of Starbucks is a slow and daunting task, but we give management credit for both their initiative and imagination. This is a great example of service design in which they’re using both sides of their brains; focusing on both mechanics and aesthetics, to improve both the bottom-line and the customer experience. How can you do the same in your business?