I’ve been a basketball fan and player as long as I can remember. I had the full sized Dr. J poster on my bedroom door growing up and The Iceman staring at me from my wall. I grew up watching Phi Slamma Jamma and the Houston Rockets and have been trying to build the same love of the game in my two sons, working with them in the driveway and coaching their junior high basketball teams for several years (you should see my collection of basketball strategy and coaching books and DVDs). Now, as a Dallas resident, I follow the Mavericks and have enjoyed watching Mark Cuban mold the team – good or bad, it’s always interesting.

Early last year, we were pretty excited to learn that the NBA All Star Game would be played in the new Dallas Cowboy stadium. Devoid of a corporate sponsor for the moment, it’s affectionately known as “JerryWorld” and to some as the “Deathstar.” Whatever you call it, it’s an incredible facility and boasts the largest video screen in the world (see the picture above). In the stadium’s football configuration, the board stretches from 20 yard line to 20 yard line and forms an 11,000+ ft diagonal HD image!

While I’m definitely a fan of the Jerry-Tron, there are aspects of the stadium that are not as nice. It is incredibly confusing to get from level to level in the stadium and several levels are not connected contiguously so you can’t walk all the way around the stadium at certain levels. Not a very customer-friendly design.

Another thing that was very surprising was the wait to get into the stadium. As expected, the security was tight and tents were set up to facilitate TSA-style screening – no big deal. What was amazing was that the wait was about 60 minutes and that there were no signs or staff members managing the line or informing (or – gasp – even entertaining) the guests. What an opportunity for the master-marketers Jones and Cuban to sell some gear, some season tickets or whatever. To top it off, my friend who we were sitting with arrived 45 minutes later and walked right in another entrance! He said there were NO wait times.

This got me thinking that for a stadium with a $1.5 Billion price tag would support the investment with a model of superior customer service. The Cowboy Stadium could learn a lot from fellow Dallas businessman and Lexus dealer Carl Sewell. With a few people and some walkie-talkies this problem could have been licked.

Or, in this labor sensitive economy, maybe there is a technology solution? How about some basic IR sensors posted along the light posts next to the line like those used in banks or airports and a simple wait time display? This type of technology would also boost the overall security profile of the facility and grounds. Given that the stadium boasts the largest video screen in the world, maybe sprinkle some cameras and smaller displays around the exterior of the building too? Or, how about offering a location-aware iPhone app to help people find the best entrance, locate their seats, order food, and find the concession they are looking for?

When you first begin to engage your customer, why not set the stage that you care about them and you want their business and longer term relationship? Give them some helpful information about their visit – wait times, seat locations, etc. to get them ready to do more business with you.

Consider the experience my partner Rajesh and I had in the Delhi airport yesterday with one of the newer, progressive airlines as an example why integration across customer touch points is critical to everything from revenue generation to long term customer retention.

1. We entered the front door of the terminal with only a printed itinerary in hand.  “Checked” by security guard, we were let in.
2. At the ticket counter, we were shown that our itinerary was for Dec 18, not Dec 16 (oops Rajesh!).  Unfortunately, the “ticket” counter couldn’t make a change to our reservation.  To do that, we would have to exit the terminal and go into a separate ticket office adjacent to the terminal.
3. At the ticket window, we were told that yes, there were seats available, but unfortunately, since we booked online, she could not help us.  Instead, we needed to call the online booking call center.
4. As Rajesh called, about 6 people got in line ahead of us.  On the phone, the agent told us that the 8:20 pm flight was unavailable but that we could get on the 9:20 pm flight.  Fine.
5. Back through security (with the right flight date – kudos to the first security guy – NOT) and to the “ticket” counter where we were told that the original flight was still available (“who told you it wasn’t?”) but that, of course, she couldn’t fix it.  So, exasperated at this point, we just took the boarding passes for the later flight.
6. Finally, with 2 hours to kill, Rajesh asked for passes to the lounge which he and a guest are entitled to as a premium club member.  “Sorry,” she said “but you are on the later flight which is our budget service and we don’t offer club passes with that class of ticket.”  Quickly, Rajesh countered that we wanted the earlier flight and that we were willing to pay for it but they couldn’t get their stuff straight.  Passes issued.

Good grief – we think we have it bad in the US.  A horrible experience all around – as a customer and for the airline. One view on improving this is to look at the capabilities available in each customer touch-point.  Something like this:

At a glance, it looks like the Web channel is pretty capable but that the rest of the business needs to catch up. What do you think?