Tragic Bronson
Expert
- Messages
- 3,043
- Reactions
- 3,676

How Lexus Changed the Dealership Experience
Folgers shall never again pollute your delicate palate.
30 years later, has every dealer experience been as good as they were before? YMMV?One day in 1987, Dave Illingworth, the general manager of Lexus, dictated to his assistant "The Lexus Covenant." Hokey in a way that mission statements can be, Illingworth's spark of inspiration nonetheless reshaped customer service throughout the industry. "The Lexus Covenant" was carved into a block of granite and placed in the company's then headquarters in California. Every Lexus dealer, none of whom had seen or driven the LS400, had to sign a copy. You can find it on Lexus's dealership training website, though with a slightly evolved intro. It reads, in part:
"Lexus will do it right from the start. Lexus will have the finest dealer network in the industry. Lexus will treat each customer as we would a guest in our home. If you think you can't, you won't. If you think you can, you will. We can, we will."
In 2004, Lexus published a book—cleverly called The Lexus Story—that told the tale of implementing a promise that touched every corner of the fledgling brand, including the literal corners. When it came to designing the first dealership, the man chosen for the task, Jim Sherburne of Toyota's Calty Design Research, explains: "I felt that it had to have a feeling of permanence. 'We're here and we're substantial,' it should say."
That meant leather chairs, earth tones, and coffee tables instead of sales desks, and restrained and consistent signage. But it was the less obvious touches that best sold the new brand. For instance, Sherburne positioned the service write-up areas alongside the dealership's driveway so that service writers could see the customers approaching, slam the license plate into the computer database, call up the car's history, and greet the owners by name. Customers were given loaner Lexuses, not compact cars, and their vehicles would be washed before they were returned. Plus, Lexus established a roadside-assistance program.
Customer service among luxury dealerships was legendarily crappy before Lexus. Many owners would ditch dealerships, relying instead on independent shops to maintain their cars. Service was Lexus's way to overcome its lack of heritage. Lexus's senior technicians became "diagnostic specialists." They wore clean white shirts and were expected to explain directly to customers what was going on with their cars. It changed the industry.
Some 30 years later, almost every luxury brand has stepped up to meet or exceed Lexus's standard. Even the coffee is better now. Starbucks drip and real half-and-half have pretty much replaced percolators full of Folgers and packets of nondairy creamer in every dealership's waiting room. That's a win.