I think to attribute the success of the Japanese marques to marketing leaves out a large part of the equation.

Lexus, for example, had a very simple philosophy for their service departments: Treat customers as you would like to be treated. Amazing how many other automakers haven't managed to wrap their heads around that.

One thing I was taught by an auto insider years ago was that, when you go to a dealer to check out a new car, be sure to check how close the service department reception is to the showroom. The further away the service desks are, the higher likelihood there are un-pleasantries on a regular basis, and one day you may be on the receiving end.

When I owned my Magnum, for example, the service reception was down a 35-foot corridor, and through a set of doors, off the main dealer showroom and offices. That certainly said something, and sure enough in the end I had to invoke everything short of the Wrath of Khan to make the service manager honour a secret recall that existed for faulty valves (they wanted me to pay for a $1500 valve job on a car with just over 60k miles). It was a well known issue on the Dodge forums, for the 3.5 V6s.

At Lexus the service advisors are in open view, about 20 feet from the customer lounge and showroom areas with no barriers in between. I would guess Toyota is the same but haven't been in one of their dealers.

I seem to recall that Saturn made a big thing at their launch of having the service desks right in the showroom. However based on the local dealer that opened years after their launch, that went away at some point (the service desk was very well insulated from the showroom).

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22